Brokers call for increased awareness

Brokers are calling on their associations to take their advertising to the small screen to challenge the interest big banks are creating

It’s time industry associations start investing more money into marketing the channel, say to industry players, and they have to look no further than one broker who has already suggested an interesting campaign.

“I envision an ad about the mortgage broker channel where all the banks visit a potential client, crowding the house,” Warren Ross, a Quebec-based mortgage broker and financial advisor told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “And then a broker visits and shows that clients calling one broker is the same as calling 20 (different) lenders.”

According to Ross, the main message is that brokers have access to dozens of lenders and therein lies the value and the convenience that the channel provides.

It’s a suggestion Ross originally made in the comments section of a MortgageBrokerNews.ca article about CIBC’s recent campaign that focuses on mobile specialists who make house calls.

Similar broker advertising campaigns, most notably by DLC, have won great support for the industry. The network aired commercials during Super Bowl XLVII and noticed a 98% increase in web traffic during the game.

And an industry-wide campaign would surely be welcome by players across the country.

“Having 20 different mobile specialists crowding in someone's living room would make an awesome commercial and quite a statement about the power of a licensed mortgage broker,” Ryan Smith, a broker with The Mortgage Centre, commented. “We're able to offer so many different options for everybody's unique needs; this and our training are what set us apart and give us a competitive advantage.”

The broker channel obviously lacks the marketing resources of the big banks, but players argue the industry associations should dedicate more time and money to marketing the channel.

“I too like the idea of associations like CAAMP or MBABC continuing to support us through marketing and advertising our advantages to consumers,” Smith wrote.