by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, April 5, 2017

HomeAdvisor, an InterActiveCorp (IAC) company, has unveiled the national advertising campaign Just Ask HomeAdvisor, as part of a $100 million investment to educate consumers on the company’s search platform that matches homeowners with “trusted” profile.

Boulder-based agency EVB produced two 30-second spots. The TV ads will run on broadcast and cable networks including ABC, NBC, HGTV, TNT and TBS. The campaign, which focuses on quick tasks from services like search, could be tied to other digital media.

HomeAdvisor estimates that 90% of project referrals are made by word-of-mouth. The majority of homeowners tell the company they want background checks and scheduling features on the site, so the TV spots focus on those features.

In one TV spot, Will asks his next-door neighbor Todd if he knows a dependable roofer. But in addition to the referral, Todd wants Will to do a background check, get some additional quotes, and research the average price for the roof he needs to have installed. He also wants him to book the job for two weeks from now on a Tuesday.

In the other spot, Janet asks Kim for a house painter. She’s looking for quotes from the top four and free background checks and reviews — all within two seconds.

In both spots, the voiceover announcer says: “You cannot expect your neighbors to do everything HomeAdvisor can. So to find and instantly book a background-checked home pro for free, just ask HomeAdvisor.”

The two spots depict happy, smiling people as they search for help with home improvements.

Upbeat advertisements — even emotional ones — put consumers in a good mood and make them more likely to complete a purchase, according to recent findings from a Yahoo study on emotions.

A recent study from Yahoo, The Receptivity of Emotions, analyzes the emotional state of consumers and how they receive messages through advertising. It found that reaching consumers in the perfect upbeat mood can increase the impact of digital advertising by as much as 40%. When consumers are upbeat, they are 24% more receptive to content, but 40% more likely to be receptive to digital advertising.

While consumers are 30% more likely to engage with native video content than when they are in other emotional states, they also are 28% more likely to engage with content marketing and 21% more likely to engage with direct marketing.

Yahoo gathered more than 18,000 mood data points during a week-long study using a specially developed mobile app. The results also took into consideration insights from in-depth interviews and an online survey of more than 4,000 people across the U.S., UK, Germany, and Canada.

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

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