In order to reach first-time home buyers during peak open-house times on Sunday afternoons, Montreal-based agency Bleublancrouge purchased a two-hour exclusive block of ad space in two of Astral Media’s top-40 radio stations. The campaign for Laurentian Bank’s mortgage products, ‘Les Visites Libres Banque Laurentienne’ also includes integrated branding during some of the stations’ VJ banter.

‘Being on the right medium at the right time, when people are driving by to find new houses, is the best time to talk to them and inform them,’ says Claude Lamoureux, Bleublancrouge media director. He says the Astral stations were ideal because of their popularity among the young couples they’re courting. ‘Our demo that we wanted to target is young couples searching to buy a first home, between 25 and 34,’ he says.

‘Les Visites Libres’ features sections like ‘top 10 signs you’re ready for a new home,’ produced in a top-10 song countdown style. The ads also give advice on down payments and promote special offers, like 5% cash back mortgages. The combined Laurentian spots, info clips and branded entertainment segments comprise about 15 to 20% of the two-hour segment, Lamoureux says.

‘One of the hosts talks about her process when she bought a home, and that is live,’ Lamoureux tells MiC. Bleublancrouge developed the creative for the exclusive, heard on Energie 94.3 (French) and Virgin Radio 96 (English) that will air every Sunday between 2 pm and 4 pm until the end of April. The campaign is also supported by more typical ads on two other Montreal stations (Rock-Detente and CHOM), and a banner web component on real estate-purchasing sites.