The spring Parade of Homes was a resounding success. The weather was ideal and the expansion of the parade to three weeks, from two, allowed visitors to spread out their touring, with opportunities to see more homes. The parade magazine was a fantastic tool enabling visitors to map out their tour in advance.
To the delight of thousands, the Manitoba Home Builders' Association continued to expand upon the use of social media, which was initiated during last fall's Parade of Homes, thereby making the experience that much more enjoyable.
In the 2010 autumn Parade of Homes, 10 bloggers wrote reviews covering all homes, eliciting comments from other interested readers. These were posted on both the Winnipeg Free Press and the MHBA websites. The increased response was staggering. Website visitors reached unprecedented numbers.
This spring, thanks to the foresight of the relatively new digital media department of the Free Press, the parade went boldly where it had never gone before: Facebook, Twitter and QR codes were added to the mix.
The number of bloggers doubled to 20, thereby permitting more in-depth analysis and ensuring again that all homes were covered. In the spring 2010 Parade -- before this technology was utilized -- there were 26,428 parade-related page views on the respective websites. This year, there were more than 180,000 -- an increase of more than 600 per cent.
The Twitter campaign generated 44 followers, a good start for something never tried before. This number will undoubtedly grow during the next parade in the fall. On Facebook, there were 43,858 impressions and 686 active users, surpassing our goal of 500.
A new concept this year was the implementation of QR codes, a small box that accompanied the home listings and looked something like a Rorschach test. With one click on a smartphone, this box of lines suddenly turned into a series of photos or a WFP TV video about the home. Viewers were able to access considerably more information about each home or supplier than ever before. This relatively new concept was utilized 3,714 times during the three weeks of the parade.
This fall's Parade of Homes takes place Sept. 17 to Oct. 8. Be sure to look for exciting innovations created to maximize your parade experience.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.
