• by Tanya Gazdik , February 23, 2015

The brand has been without a chief marketing officer since Bev Thorne and the company parted ways in September. Thorne is now the chief marketing officer at FirstKey, which provides real estate financing products and services.

During her seven years at Century 21, Thorne led the brand’s marketing, from Super Bowl TV ads and sponsorship of the Olympic U.S. bobsled and soccer teams to social media marketing campaigns.

Rick Davidson, president and chief executive officer of Century 21 Real Estate LLC, declined to comment to Marketing Daily on Monday about what the company’s plans are for filling the CMO position or how it is handling duties in the meantime.

The new effort includes two TV spots, "The Chase" and "Mom's Basement," and three major sponsorships with U.S. Soccer, CFH Racing and IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden, and USA Bobsled & Skeleton.

"We are proud to put our affiliated agents front and center in our national marketing and advertising efforts,” Davidson says in a release. “This marketing campaign will keep them top-of-mind with home buyers and sellers throughout the year."

The TV spots continue the theme of “Smarter. Bolder. Faster.” which Thorne was instrumental in creating.

In "The Chase," an agent races against the clock to deliver a message before his clients board their flight, while "Mom's Basement" features an agent tasked with finding the perfect bachelor pad for a man who might prefer to stay in his mom's basement just a little longer. Both spots use a humorous bit of misdirection while also highlighting the fact that Century 21-affiliated agents will go to any lengths to help clients find their dream home.

The new ads will appear on the NCAA College Basketball Tournament airing on CBS, TBD, TNT and truTV, including spots during each Final Four game; 2015 Women's Soccer World Cup airing on Fox and Fox Sports; 2015 U.S. Men's and Women's National Soccer Team matches airing on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox and Fox Sports; Latin Grammy's airing on Univision; National Spelling Bee airing on ESPN and ESPN2 and Little League World Series, including spots during the International, U.S and World Championship games airing on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

In addition to the new TV ads, the brand will continue a second season with CFH Racing and Newgarden.

The brand also is renewing its sponsorship as the official real estate company of U.S. Soccer, which includes the U.S. Women's, Men's and Youth national teams through February, 2016. With commercials airing during U.S. Soccer matches including the Women's World Cup, which begins in June, the partnership will put the international brand's 100,000 affiliated agents located throughout 78 countries and territories, in front of hundreds of millions of futbol fans around the globe. 

Earlier this year, Century 21 also announced that it will remain the official real estate company of USA Bobsled & Skeleton for the second consecutive year. The sponsorship includes a dedicated sled wrapped in black and gold featuring the Century 21 logo. In addition, the company's logo will receive placement on all national team sleds and team jackets.