Rock Station Seeks Disenchanted Real Estate Professionals

I was listening to the radio last night, largely tuned out while concentrating on not crashing my car into a 4 ft snow embankment, when I heard something that caught my attention.  It was an ad that went something like this (I tried desperately to find it, but failed):

National home sales are down, according to the National Association of Realtors.  Put your skills to better use with a job that rocks.  Clear Channel Communication is now hiring in sales and marketing...

There are 3 things that I find note-worthy about this ad:
     1)  I've never heard an ad so targeted at a particular industry's workers. 
The point of this message was to attract real estate professionals to the radio industry, suggesting that they could earn more and be more successful if they abandoned real estate.
     2)  The ad was targeted at real estate professionals, not any other industry's workers.
This radio station's management obviously thought that a real estate professional could easily transition into the radio world.  They believe that real estate-related abilities were suitable for radio and that real estate professionals already had the skills and experiences that they desired.
     3)  I was listening to DC101, "DC's Rock Station."
Those who live in the DC area or are familiar with the radio station might understand what I'm talking about.  If I were listening to WMAL "News Talk 630" or even Mix 107.3, I don't think that I would have been caught so off guard by this message.  But I wasn't, I was listening to DC 101.  I believe the main audience of this radio station is teenagers, college kids, and young adults, as they play alternative and rock music that generally makes older people want to bang their head against a wall.  That makes me wonder if they were trying to appeal to the younger, newer real estate professionals who have not seen the "good times" and are disillusioned by the slow market.   

Real estate professionals and the entire industry are becoming the focus of many ads and debates.  DC 101 clearly thought that many real estate professionals were dissatisfied with their jobs or income and that they might be tempted to leave their industry for a career in another one.  I'd be interested to see how many Realtors, home-builders, and developers leave their jobs for one in radio sales and marketing, but I doubt I will ever find out.  Nonetheless, the fact that DC 101 is even running this ad says a lot about their perceptions of the state of the real estate industry, as well as the professionals involved in it. 

Comments

[Colleen Corgan]

Apparently DC 101 isn't the only station running these ads in the DC area... I just read a post over at the real/diaBlog that reported hearing a similar commercial over on Hot 99.5. (Hot 99.5 also appeals to a similar audience, playing pop and the rest of "DC's HOTTEST Music.")
Both stations are owned by Clear Channel, so I guess this is a general campaign they are launching. I wonder if they are doing this nation-wide or only in the DC area.

[Danilo Bogdanovic]

They're targeting the heck out of agents, aren't they?! They might actually have some success considering the influx of new agents at the same time the market took a dive.

And thanks for the real/diaBlog mention!