Client Success: Driving Referrals for a Local Mortgage Company

With a strong housing market predicted for 2021, mortgage companies are eager to drive referrals from potential homebuyers as they seek out financing for their home purchase.

But the battle for local market share has only grown more competitive as online lending options have crowded into these markets, leaning on strong digital ad strategies to gain a foothold with local buyers.

As one local mortgage company in the Southwestern United States started developing its own advertising strategy, it realized it needed a stronger digital blueprint to drive referrals to both its business website and its customer help line.

The company approached Cox Media hoping to build a new ad strategy that combined traditional and digital campaigns to increase its referrals and sales opportunities.

The Goal

The mortgage company’s top priority was to increase the number of new home loans and refinanced mortgages issued to residents of a mid-sized city in the Southwestern United States. To achieve this, the company wanted to take a targeted approach to increasing both the volume and quality of its inbound leads.

To increase activity in its sales funnel, and to achieve a higher volume of new customers created, the client was focused on measuring a number of performance metrics across its pipeline, from impressions and video completion rates all the way down to the total number of home loans originated in that target community.

The Campaign

To achieve the client’s desire to increase lead volume and total conversions, Cox Media developed a full-market penetration campaign that utilized both linear TV advertising and video-on-demand to reach consumers in this market area. As the only cable TV provider in this area, Cox Media was able to use its cable TV and VOD services to target specific ZIP codes prioritized by the clients.

These ads were geared toward increasing referrals to both the client website and a phone number where interested prospects could ask questions or get started with the mortgage prequalification process. By increasing the number of leads available to the company, Cox Media created more sales opportunities for the mortgage company, resulting in more opportunities to increase its market share during a promising year for the housing market.

The Results

Soon after the launch of this penetration campaign, the local mortgage company saw a strong increase in traffic to its website, as well as an increase in phone calls and online form submissions from consumers interested in a new home loan or home loan refinancing. The client also achieved an average of 21,880 ad impressions per month and an increased volume of home loan closings for the business.

The first phase of this campaign was so successful for the client that the company extended it for an additional three months—before the original campaign had even reached its conclusion. To capitalize even further on this advertising success, the company added over-the-top (OTT) streaming advertising to this multi-channel ad strategy, providing an outlet to connect with non-Cox cable subscribers in the local market.

A well-designed ad strategy is the key to turning sales potential into profit. Find out how Cox Media can build an effective ad campaign aligned to your business goals—contact us today to learn more.