Key facts
- NAR won Meta's 2026 Agency Award for Best Use of Automation.
- The award recognized an AI-driven campaign targeting first-time homebuyers.
- The campaign used Meta's Advantage+ Audience targeting.
- The campaign generated 432,000 landing page views.
- Cost per view was reduced by 29%.
- Overall ad spend was cut by 25% compared to traditional targeting.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been awarded Meta's 2026 Agency Award for Best Use of Automation. The recognition stems from an AI-powered campaign designed to reach prospective first-time homebuyers more effectively and at a lower cost. The campaign utilized Meta's Advantage+ Audience tool, which employs machine learning to identify potential buyers beyond manually defined segments by analyzing engagement, audience, and conversion signals.
This initiative, a collaboration between NAR, advertising agency Havas, and Meta, demonstrated significant improvements over traditional targeting methods. The AI-driven approach resulted in 432,000 landing page views, a 29% decrease in cost per view, and a 25% reduction in overall ad spend. Bennett Richardson, NAR's chief marketing and communications officer, stated that the award reflects the organization's strategic modernization efforts to help members achieve transactions more efficiently.
Meta is actively promoting its Advantage+ automation tools to marketers in the housing sector, who are seeking greater efficiency amidst high interest rates and limited inventory. For real estate professionals, first-time buyers represent a crucial segment for new business, though identifying and converting them can be challenging with conventional targeting. The results of NAR's test suggest that AI-optimized audiences can enhance marketing budget effectiveness and drive more engaged traffic to lead-generation content, with a notable 9-point lift in the intent to use a Realtor.