U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Housing Counseling (OHC)
Housing Counseling Awareness and Visibility Campaign
Driving HUD housing counseling forward.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Housing Counseling (OHC), provides services to help homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and the unhoused improved financial literacy, access affordable housing, and preserve homeownership. Despite proven benefits, many stakeholders are unaware of housing counseling or see it as only for at-risk consumers.
To change perceptions and increase engagement, OHC partnered with CMRignite to run a 5-year awareness and visibility initiative. Goals included raising awareness, motivating behaviors to seek counseling, and fostering partnerships to share resources.
Over five years, CMRignite boosted awareness of housing counseling services through research, branding, website redesign, social media, and events. Toolkits reached over 2,000 agencies, “Dare to Own the Dream” videos received 10,000+ views in one month, Disaster Recovery materials were translated into 17 languages and 2 training series engaged over 300 participants. An e-blast brochure series achieved a 32% open rate, more than double the industry standard.
“The training was awesome! Very interesting, engaging, and relevant to what all Housing Counseling Agencies should know to effectively increase visibility using different social media channels. Every organization should take this training to learn how to strategically market their program to consumers in their community.”
National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) Representative
