Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, a national alliance of mortgage bankers, announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products for the use of images and audio from the timeless film The Wizard of Oz. The agreement will give Lenders One members access to the film’s visual and audio materials for advertising and marketing purposes.

This relationship marks a major milestone, not only in Lenders One history, but in the history of the mortgage industry as well. The campaign, The Brains, the Courage and the Heart to Make Your Dreams Come True, makes available video clips, still images and sound bites from the film. These creative items will be customizable for each lender to use in conjunction with the Lenders One brand and in a variety of promotional formats, enabling members to promote their services nationally as the best mortgage bankers in the country.

“I truly believe The Wizard of Oz is the ultimate movie licensing opportunity for a mortgage organization, in this day in time particularly,” said Scott Stern, CEO of Lenders One. “It promotes the power of leveraging the knowledge and experience of a group to ultimately achieve success. In our case, success means sending future borrowers down the Yellow Brick Road to homeownership. And having a dedicated The Wizard of Oz marketing department will give our members everything they need to make the campaign even more compelling.”

Members of Lenders One will have access to a multitude of advertising and marketing materials that feature video clips, photographs and sound bites from the film. The materials will be customizable by the members to use in their markets in a variety of formats. To ensure a successful campaign rollout, Lenders One has hired a seasoned marketing professional to work with members to develop their advertising and marketing plan and to assist them in their media buying efforts. Lenders One member, Tom Mencke, president of Flossmoor, Ill.-based First Mortgage Corp., explained, “The images from The Wizard of Oz are very familiar to everyone. They send the message to potential homebuyers that we, as members of Lenders One, have been in the industry for a long time, that our business is sound, and we will be around in the future – it is all about proven stability in today’s market.”

Mencke added that there are four other Lenders One members in the greater Chicago area. “This campaign enables us to leverage our business and reach out to the community by aligning under a single message,” he said. “As we each position ourselves with this new marketing initiative, it will reinforce our purpose, distinguish our success and bring new customers through our doors.”

As one of the most recognizable movies in history, The Wizard of Oz campaign will help Lenders One members better reach their target audience and gain instant recognition in their markets by utilizing famous phrases such as, “There’s no place like home.” Stern continued, “Soon members will be generating more leads from customers and referral partners as this unique marketing opportunity highlights a quest to get home and the friends that help along the way.“

About Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative

Lenders One is a national alliance of mortgage bankers which was established in 2000 and is based in St. Louis. With more than 125 members originating $40 billion in mortgage loans annually, the Lenders One alliance ranks as the ninth largest mortgage originator in the U.S. Lenders One leverages its aggregate buying power and preferred-investor relationships to negotiate better lending terms and provide premium business services at reduced costs. Its mortgage productivity system additionally allows members to close more loans, satisfy continuing education requirements and market themselves more powerfully. For more information about membership, contact Tim Stern 866.728.5678 or visit www.lendersone.com.

About Warner Bros. Consumer Products

Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

THE WIZARD OF OZ and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Turner Entertainment Co.

(s08)

• The SOA Marketing Paradox and the Wizard of Oz