Zillow and Compass have launched competing marketing media campaigns over the disappearance of Zillow’s Chicagoland listings.
As the battle between Zillow, Compass, and MRED plays out in court, both sides have launched an all-out marketing attack aimed at convincing agents, brokers, and consumers who is to blame for Chicagoland listings disappearing from Zillow.
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The fight since MRED pulled the plug on Zillow’s listing feed early Wednesday has spilled over into paid ads on Instagram, comment threads on LinkedIn and the brokerage’s marketing channels. Now, Compass said it’s preparing to carry that message on physical billboards in Chicago.
In a post announcing the initiative, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin shared a rendering of several billboards with the message “Not all listings are listed on Zillow” and asking agents where they should be listed. A Compass spokesperson confirmed to Inman that the company is preparing to install billboards in Chicago, but declined to provide details on where.
Robert Refkin’s Instagram post announcing Compass’ Chicago billboard campaign.
In comments, Compass allies suggested locations ranging from Chicago freeways and major sports arenas to the National Association of Realtors’ main entrance on Michigan Avenue.
Meanwhile, Zillow has been running paid ads on Instagram telling agents that “MRED has cut off access to your listings,” while promoting its direct feed program BeOnZillow for brokers who want to submit listings directly to Zillow. Compass has launched its own paid advertising blitz, promoting its website and claiming, “We can’t show you anything that isn’t on Zillow.”
Compass Management brands @properties | Christie’s International Real Estate, Coldwell Banker Realty, and Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty are also participating in the push, posting variations on the message that consumers can’t find every available home in the Chicago area on Zillow.
The controversy has also reached LinkedIn, where Zillow and Compass executives and corporate communications staff have responded directly to the posts and brought the issue to an audience outside the real estate industry.
Errol Samuelson, Zillow’s chief industrial development officer, directly responded to the post, claiming that Zillow “has not suppressed a single company from listing in Chicagoland,” adding that the entire failure was Zillow’s decision not to list nine Compass listings in Florida, Georgia, and California.
Meanwhile, Levkin claimed that Zillow’s feed was removed because the portal was filtering listings by agent or brokerage name, pointing to NAR’s no-filtering policy, while also sharing screenshots of national mainstream media coverage and claiming that “consumers everywhere will find that they can no longer find all residential listings on Zillow.”
Redfin also confirmed to Inman that it plans to launch a targeted marketing blitz in Chicago, emphasizing that consumers can search and find all available listings on its platform. Rocket-owned Redfin began a public partnership with Compass earlier this year.
Examples of targeted ads Redfin plans to run in Chicago.
“This fully integrated marketing campaign allows buyers to compare Redfin to other sites,” Rocket CMO Jonathan Mildenhall said in an email. “With our complete MLS inventory, plus the exclusive launch of ‘Redfin Early Access’ listings that buyers won’t find on any other major site, we’re confident Redfin will become the preferred site for homebuyers in Chicago.”
Zillow sought emergency relief in court Friday morning, asking a judge to intervene after MRED blocked the portal’s access to Chicagoland listings. A legal battle could quickly change the facts on the ground, especially if Zillow wins emergency relief to restore MRED’s feed.
But whatever the outcome in court, the onslaught of advertising has raised the stakes and brought what might otherwise have been an industry dispute into the court of public opinion and consumer confidence.
Update: After publishing this article, a Zillow spokesperson confirmed to Inman that a federal judge had ordered MRED to restore Zillow’s access to MLS-originated listings.
Writer Taylor Anderson contributed to this report.
Email AJ LaTrace
