An estate agent’s ‘turf war’ circular has been the subject of a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority.
The flyer was delivered to homes on behalf of Bournes Estate Agents, which operates in the Andover and Whitchurch areas in Hampshire.
According to the ASA, it included a picture of a property marketed by competitor Austin Hawk with the text: “3 VIEWINGS NO SALE TIME WASTED” in direct comparison to the same property marketed by them with text stating: “12 VIEWINGS SOLD STC SUCCESS”.
Additional text stated: “Originally advertised with your agent then swapped to Bournes.”
The un-named complainant, who told the ASA that there were a variety of factors which could impact on whether a house sold or not, challenged whether the comparison in the ad was misleading.
A spokesperson for the ASA yesterday said: “We contacted the advertiser about the complaint and they agreed not to make competitor comparisons which included details that customers cannot independently verify in the future.
“As the circular was no longer being distributed and we had received assurance from the advertiser they would make their future advertising compliant with the advertising rules, we considered no further action was necessary and closed the case on an informal basis.”
And as the market toughens, we will no doubt see more of this desperate marketing; tit for tat, no one wins, giving the industry a bad name and negative. Leave this type of marketing to pb et al, we are better than this. Call me soft but I could never see a situation where slating the competition could be seen as effective marketing for my business.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Never slate the opposition in your advertising or indeed when talking to potential clients. You may think it works but actually it does more long term harm than good.
Better to state your USP.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register