Considering how often the terms “mortgage default” and “housing bubble” have been in the news over the last couple of years, it’s easy to see how potential first-time home buyers want to look a little longer before they leap.
To that end, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has launched its largest public awareness campaign ever to help home buyers consider all their options before choosing a mortgage.
The four-week campaign, created with Toronto-based agency Quiller and Blake, includes transit ads in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa, as well as online ads.
“We’re a small federal agency with no regional offices, but have a mandate to provide education on financial products and services to Canadians, so we’re really trying to raise the profile of the agency and what we can offer consumers,” said FCAC spokesperson Julie Hauser.
The campaign compares shopping for a mortgage to screening prospective employees with the tagline “It’s like interviewing your mortgage before giving it the job.”
The interior transit ads feature QR codes that, once scanned by a smartphone, open a free app that gives consumers access to the FCAC’s services online at moneytools.ca, including tip sheets, video testimonials, a mortgage calculator and a mortgage qualifier tool.
Hauser said the fall is the best time to reach out to consumers because it’s when home buyers are usually conducting research for a potential early spring purchase. “We don’t tell people to go to specific banks or brokers, to us it’s important that consumers know how much money they’re borrowing and understand, before signing any contract, just what they’re getting into and what their options are,” she said.
