3 Reasons Why Dogs Pee On Fire Hydrants And Realtors Advertise In Newspapers

October 17, 2007

dog-peeing-on-the-beach-2.JPGThere’s nothing like a quiet walk along the beach, being towed by an eager dog named Little Bit, to contemplate — even solve — the deep mysteries of life. I’ve been pondering the status of real estate advertising lately, and the answer to one particularly vexing question — Why, despite declining readership, despite more tangible online ROI, despite rising prices, do Realtors (r) still continue to advertising in traditional print media? — suddenly came to me. The inspiration was none other than Little Bit’s morning constitutional, dispatched with amazing regularity on piles of beach detritus standing in as a proxy for the more regularly favored target, the city fire hydrant.

You see, my friends, there are even more similarities between us humans and our canine allies than we had ever thought. It turns that the same 3 motivations behind Little Bit’s biological machinations also underpin the clockwork-like precision by which Realtors (r) spend $800 of their hard-earned money to advertise, seemingly increasingly futilely, in newspapers. Here goes:

  1. Branding — By consistently spraying his scent, Little Bit reinforces his brand recognition. Ah yes, Little Bit — I remember him! If you’re ever looking for a good game of catch-the-tennis-ball, he’s the one! In the same way, Realtors spray their scent — more accurately, their picture — across pages of newsprint in hopes that, over time, some of it will stick. Ah yes, Realtor John — I remember him! If you’re ever looking for a good agent, he’s the one!
  2. Marking territory — A close relative of the first, marking territory is all about establishing dominance. Little Bit’s thought process: So what if Fifi, Fluffy, Buffy, and Max have all passed by? The real king of this beach is Little Bit. That’s right, you sniffed it here! I’m not gonna let these interlopers pretend they own this area!Realtor John’s thought process: So what if Realtors Fran, Franklin, Betty, and Mike have already plastered their pictures over pages 1-5 of this week’s real estate section? My picture is better! bigger! less recent! They don’t own this area, I do!
  3. Habit — Little Bit pees because, well, that’s what dogs do! Even he can’t remember whether his mother taught him, or his early playmates did, or if he just took to it naturally. Realtor John advertises in the newspaper because, well, that’s what Realtors do! It may have been one of his early mentors, or some buddies of his in that first brokerage he worked in 2 decades ago, but regardless, that’s just what comes naturally!

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Written by Kevin · Filed Under Advertising, Industry 

Comments

15 Responses to “3 Reasons Why Dogs Pee On Fire Hydrants And Realtors Advertise In Newspapers”

  1. Chad Huck on October 17th, 2007 10:54 am

    #3 will go by the wayside soon though unless newspapers do what some local papers around the Charlotte area. They list links to their paper advertisers online!

    Also, I am very thankful for this post because I have been contemplating the relationship of dogs peeing on fire hydrants and realtors advertising in newspapers. The only relationship that I came up with is dogs pee on newspapers that realtors advertise in. But now you have helped me with some other relationships. Thanks.

  2. Chris Iverson, Realtor on October 17th, 2007 2:33 pm

    Kevin -
    I’m having a sense of deja vu here . . . didn’t we have this discussion as part of the Are newspapers dead? series? Maybe it was verbal instead of online (imagine that!).

    As a little empirical evidence of the emergence of the blog as a disruptive technology in the publishing industry, I was quoted in the PA Weekly last week, based on some of my Mortgage Mania posts on the 3 Oceans blog.

  3. The San Diego Home Blog » Blog Archive » Paper Trained on October 18th, 2007 8:17 am

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  4. Kris Berg on October 18th, 2007 8:18 am

    Kev - Did the other dog walkers find it the least bit disturbing that you were photographing your dog doing his, um, doodie?

  5. Sam Benson on October 18th, 2007 12:19 pm

    Kevin,

    You are truly a sick puppy!

    Cheers,

    Sam

  6. Marian Bennett on October 18th, 2007 8:43 pm

    Also, the higher up the hydrant Fido hits, the more territory he owns and “covers”. I’ve seen an eleven inch tall Scotty Terrier do handstands on his front paws in order to cover more “area” than any other Fido. That breed must have good balance - something many realtors (r) I know don’t have, including this commentor.

  7. Diane Aurit on October 19th, 2007 12:33 pm

    Great analogy but how do you break this behavior that appears to be innate? Perhaps survival of the fittest will weed them out?

  8. Thomas Johnson on October 19th, 2007 8:03 pm

    Zestifarming!
    Little Bit is….. Zestifarming! Smart dog!

    http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=1457

  9. Dick Todhunter on October 21st, 2007 2:47 pm

    Cute, thanks.

    I live in Seattle. Newspaper advertising covers too large a geographic area, but can be limited to smaller geographic areas as well. But still to large for effective use of funds.

    I would question spending money advertising as described and would rather see promoting myself in my farm area. Once I have that listing I go to the Internet for marketing, as 70-80% of home buyers start there and it is much less expensive.

    Pick it apart, but the reality is “be local” in order to make a real impact!

  10. 100th Carnival of Real Estate- HIP HIP HOORAY!!! « RE Revealed on October 22nd, 2007 8:18 am

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  11. Trulia Blog » Carnival of Real Estate on October 22nd, 2007 11:47 am

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  15. Anonymous on February 9th, 2009 8:22 am

    haha

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