Demystifying the homebuying process for first-time homebuyers

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development

Purchasing a home is often seen as the key for building wealth and equity for the future. But for many first-time homebuyers, the dream of owning a home remains a dream unfulfilled. Discouraged by the prospect of a large down payment and seemingly unaffordable mortgage payments, they believe that home ownership is out of reach and never realize that programs exist that can make owning their own home a reality.

SERVICES

digital marketing
content
brand stewardship

THE CLIENT

The Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP) is the state’s flagship homeownership program. It provides 30-year fixed-rate home loans to eligible homebuyers purchasing in Maryland. Its loan terms are competitive with other home loan products on the market, but what sets the MMP apart is the homebuyer education and counseling services, financial incentives, and other types of assistance the program offers.

The MMP is provided by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. Through the MMP, the department has empowered thousands of Maryland families to realize the American dream of homeownership.

THE PROBLEM

Despite the impact of the MMP, many potential first-time homebuyers in Maryland were unaware of the program or simply believed that homeownership was unattainable for them. The MMP needed to reach these potential homebuyers and show them that homeownership could be in their future.

THE SOLUTION

All Things Creative launched an integrated campaign that used a variety of media to raise awareness of the MMP and to educate first-time homebuyers about the products and services the MMP offers to help them purchase a home.

THE APPROACH

Working closely with MMP leadership, we developed a theme for the campaign as well as content for ads, newsletters, blog posts, websites, social media (paid and organic), and other outreach tools targeted to specific populations.

The blog posts covered a variety of topics to demystify the journey to homeownership, such as eligibility requirements and the loan application process, and also discussed financial literacy topics related to homeownership and wealth building.

The campaign also featured ads for the MMP during National Homeownership Month and collateral for SmartBuy 2.0, an ongoing MMP initiative that offers first-time homebuyers the opportunity to pay off their student loans while purchasing a home.

Before the campaign began, the MMP had only a few hundred followers on social media. But out campaign raised the MMP’s profile. One organic post got more than 500 likes.