Market Proof Marketing: Home Builder Marketing Insights

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Julie Jarnagin joins Caroline Collard and Jackie Lipinski to dive into the nitty gritty details that separate effective marketing from flashy trends and flimsy strategies. 
From unintended brand messaging in the biggest ads of the year to understanding the halo effect on your brand performance, this episode is full of the kind of compounding analytical attention to detail that actually converts when the market heats up. Listen in to discover where to focus your attention and efforts in this year’s spring market. 
Story Time

• Caroline - We’re still thinking about the ads from the big game, but that’s not always a good thing.
• Jackie - Don’t underestimate the obsession you can create from a brand loyal person with the right content. 
• Julie - Are marketers judgier about AI, and does it matter? 

In the News

• The McMansion Era is over: How American homes have changed in 20 years
• U.S. House votes to pass Housing for the 21st Century Act
• The Halo Effect: Your Paid Media Went Offline, Can You Survive Without It?
• Chrome Extensions That Make Your Life Easier

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Host Kevin Oakley joins Jackie Lipinski and Beth Russell to discuss the coming shift from search sessions to decision sessions, the value of attention, the growing importance of giving your audience a clear next step, and the personal pain of clearing your browser cache. 
If you need a clear next step for your spring marketing plan, listen in for real signals amidst the noise of today’s AI opinions, tactics to avoid the dreaded inventory birthday, and how to hone your messaging to convert locked-in buyers. 
Story Time

• Kevin - You can’t get to urgency or action without attention, so start saying something 
• Jackie - Can a marketer really stop in-person disappointment before it starts?
• Beth - A tale of two interest rates (and the benefits you can’t cuddle up with at night)

In the News

• Google Local Hotel Photos "Good To Know" AI Labels
• The Shift From Search Sessions To Decision Sessions
• A surprising share of homeowners have high mortgage rates. Here’s the breakdown

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Host Kevin Oakley is joined by Jackie Lipinski and Beth Russell for a deep dive into the difference between strategy and intent, the tradeoffs that rule the day, and what you learn from failure.
From timeless struggles with SEO, content creation strategy, and letting sales teams be marketers, to the timely news of Redfin's CEO departure and the reigning YouTube SEO advantage, this episode covers wide territory your marketing team needs to know to succeed. Tune in and take notes!
Story Time

• Jackie - An A/B test proves you don’t propose on the first date
• Beth - With events, a theme is not a game plan
• Kevin - A tale of two seasons (and one counterintuitive winner)

In the News

• Glenn Kelman leaves Redfin after 20 years as CEO
• Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Onsite Team Create Content
• YouTube is no longer optional for SEO in the age of AI Overviews
• The case for and against influencer-led Super Bowl ads

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Host Kevin Oakley joins Julie Jarnagin and Beth Russell for a timely conversation about what’s worth your effort in 2026. 
From Google audience size changes to alleged customer journey changes, this episode is all about right-sizing, prioritizing, and knowing when to say no. If your 2026 to-do list is already growing out of control, this episode will help you find optimal grip on what really matters for your marketing.Story Time

• Beth - It's Barbs, not bots, that make difficult processes easy and enjoyable
• Julie - Catch the excitement that crests in January and turn it into something lasting
• Kevin - When the first 4,000 leads don't work out, do you keep going?

In the News

• Google lowers audience size limits across Ads
• Marketing Loves Declaring the End of Things That Still Work 
• The User Journey Isn’t Linear Anymore: It’s Always On

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Kevin Oakley welcomes Trevor Bacon, Chief Executive Officer of Parcl and Parcl Labs, to examine how real-time real estate data and market-based signals are changing the way housing markets are interpreted. 
Drawing on financial-market frameworks applied to residential real estate, Trevor explains why traditional pricing indexes often lag reality and how alternative signals—like sentiment and probability—can offer earlier insight. 
The conversation invites builders and housing leaders to think more critically about timing, risk, and how market narratives are formed.
Key ThemesReal-Time Pricing vs. Backward-Looking Housing Data


• Most housing data describes where the market was, not where risk and opportunity are forming next

• If pricing moves faster than reporting, how many decisions are already outdated by the time they’re made?

• Treating housing like a slow-moving asset may be the most dangerous assumption builders still hold

Prediction Markets and the Future of Market Signals


• Markets reveal more truth when people put capital behind beliefs, not opinions

• What would change if builders watched probability and sentiment instead of headlines and forecasts?

• The next competitive advantage may come from understanding expectations, not just transactions

Follow Trevor, Parcel Labs, and Learn More

• Trevor Bacon on LinkedIn
• Jason Lewris on LinkedIn
• Tampa's Hidden Supply Pipeline: Land Banking Fuels Mounting Market Pressure

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Julie Jarnagin, Beth Russell, and Caroline Collard discuss end of year plans, trends, and truths. 
From major brands’ flops to risky tactics built on good science, the team helps marketers chart a path through end of year planning that leans into what works and away from fads that will only dilute brand reputation in the year ahead.Story Time

• Beth – With costs top of mind, buyers need a vision before they’ll fall in love with a home
• Caroline – Write down your goals now before the year ahead buries them in busy-ness
• Julie – Goldilocks-ing content plans for 2026: finding the just-right-ness between structure and flexibility

In the News

• What View/Save Ratios Reveal About Buyer Engagement on Real Estate Portals
• McDonald’s Pulls Down AI-Generated Holiday Ad After Deluge of Mockery
• Brands look to experiential marketing as antidote to AI slop, digital fatigue
• Negativity Bias: Why Customers Don’t Want Anything To Do With You (And What To Do About It)
• Google updates links in AI Mode and expands Web Guide test in all tab

 

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Kevin Oakley and Jackie Lipinski welcome a very special guest into the podcast studio. Caroline Collard is Do You Convert’s newest Marketing Coach, manages the Marketing Strategist team, and is lauded as DYC’s digital strategy secret weapon. With Caroline’s keen perspective in the mix, the team discusses end-of-year campaigns, video trends, 2026 market forecasts, and whether OpenAI goes from red to dead as Google surges ahead. 
From consumer data use tactics to the trust gained from putting in real work, they share insights on the latest marketing trends and updates, giving homebuilder marketers room to reflect on the strength of their own consumer-facing signals and strategies headed into 2026.
Story Time

• Caroline – Spotify Wrapped data assumptions: the good, the bad, and the funny
• Jackie – Brand promos are wearing out their holiday welcome in Jackie’s text messages
• Kevin – Kevin yearns for signals of effort that grow weaker as simulated intelligence replaces effortful thinking

In the News

• OpenAI hits pause on ChatGPT ads as CEO declares a ‘code red’
• Publishers turn to vertical video to compete with creators and grow ad revenue in 2026
• Zillow economists say the housing market will warm up in 2026, with more sales and modest price growth

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Julie Jarnagin joins Beth Russell on this special Thanksgiving edition to tackle the challenges marketers face in a world overflowing with information and AI slop.
From breaking out of narrow thinking to sparking authentic connections with your audience, they share practical ways to transform your marketing by starting with the underlying thoughts that ultimately shape strategy. 
Learn how to stand out, ignite that spark, and stay ahead before an avalanche of AI noise drowns out your message.Story Time

• Beth - Can a brain scientist teach marketers how to avoid categorical thinking traps?
• Julie - A school tour sheds light on building a great onsite experience

In the News

• Meta's AI tools are going rogue and churning out some very strange ads
• Adobe to buy Semrush for $1.9 billion
• As AI slop spreads on social media, brands have lessons to learn

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Host Kevin Oakley joins Jackie Lipinski in the studio to discuss technology, change, and the inevitability of pain. Kevin shares cogent examples (like choosing not to participate in a bad economy through a 500% tip) to illuminate counterintuitive mindset moves to keep builders moving forward. 

From the struggles that shape resilience to the real story of search data for builders, this episode is a reminder that you don’t have to internalize the valley, or the narrative.

Story Time

• Jackie – Pain points and growth spurts look the same in retrospect
• Kevin – If seemingly constant change has you reaching for more control, choose focus over fakes

In the News

• Post to Google Business Profiles: An Untapped Realm in the Building Industry
• October 2025 Monthly Housing Market Trends
• Scams at Scale
• State of Search Q3 2025

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Nick Aufenkamp, founder of DIY Home Buyer Academy, joins Kevin Oakley to explore how transparency, data, and evolving buyer agency are rewriting the rules of real estate. Kevin and Nick share surprising takes on the current and future state of the Zillow + ChatGPT partnership. From start to finish, this episode is brimming with insights on what happens when buyers start leading the process themselves.
AI & the Mirror Effect

• Tech is giving us a mirror; turn it into a map
• New tools are revealing what buyers actually trust and why
• Nick’s own emotional arc with Zillow’s ChatGPT experiment: from frustration to fascination

Agency After the NAR Settlement

• The settlement flipped on the lights, yet shadows from the past still linger
• Why buyers now want (and expect) more control in every transaction
• How builders can back empowered buyers without burning agent bridges

Follow Nick on LinkedIn and Youtube:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickaufenkamp/https://www.youtube.com/@DIYHomebuyer