• by Larissa Faw , January 8, 2020

Zillow has appointed FIG as lead agency partner as the real estate platform rebrands from an online marketplace to introduce additional services, such as Zillow itself buying and selling homes.

Deutsch previously serviced the account.

Zillow reported advertising costs of $177.3 million in 2018, up from $156.5 million in 2017. Media expenditures for 2018 were an estimated $124 million according to Kantar. Media spending for the first nine months of 2019 was around $73 million per Kantar.

“Our team at Zillow has been working hard to find the right creative partner to help shepherd our brand through this critical period of transformation,” stated Aimee Johnson, CMO, Zillow. “We feel that FIG’s sharp strategic point of view, coupled with the artfulness that they bring to storytelling is exactly what we need to bring our new mission and promise to life.”

First up, the two partners will develop a new overarching brand strategy and launch a large-scale brand campaign. 

Last year, Zillow’s Olly Downs discussed the company’s three-year business transformation during MediaPost’s Email Insider Summit. Zillow is heavily relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to help guide this journey. "AI will relentlessly pursue whatever metric you've set up for it," he said, so "be careful what you wish for." 

The agency review was conducted by the Mercer Island Group.