Creating culture and movement with apartment branding is easier said than done. A few tips can make a framework that’s a little easier to follow. Read on for the 7 ways to help bring your Class-A lease up or new construction apartment brand into the “mover and shaker” category.
#1 Brand Development
IT’S A WHOLE LIFESTYLE BRAND
Branding for apartment communities is far more than logos—you’ve heard us say this before. Brand development should go wider and deeper than just the visual. Since your apartment community is where your residents will live, make memories, enjoy hobbies, build friendships, and experience so much—you should lean into this.
A lifestyle brand (or luxury brand) is one thing. It sets out to market a particular lifestyle that’s attainable through using the products or services the brand offers.
When you introduce an apartment brand as a lifestyle brand, you show your prospects what they can have (and enjoy!) and the problems they’ll solve once they begin living in your apartment community.
For example, when branding a 55+ apartment community, you will likely be focused on the ease and relaxation that’s involved with your no-maintenance homes. Your branding should also be tailored to show a well-connected life of residents in your community. Again—you’re selling the well-connected, social, and easy way of life after retirement
#2 Brand Personality
Don’t be vanilla (with no fudge?!) in a world of strawberry-balsamic and lavender-lemon ice cream. Get your personality pinned down.
WHAT’S BRAND PERSONALITY?
In short, it’s the same as with people. Some are eccentric. Some are unoriginal. Some are just plain fun.
Quick exercise for you, reader.
Think of the most boring person in your life for a second. Nothing stands out. They’re just…there. Not particularly memorable.
Now, think of one of the most interesting person in your life. What makes them leave an impression like that? The way they:
- Dress
- Speak
- Interact
- Pursue life
Every bit of them makes an impact.
Find a way to have your brand make an impact in the same way. Leave an impression with the way your brand is presented: online, in print, and in-person.
Now that you know what brand personality is, next is how to create one for your apartment.
HOW TO CREATE AN APARTMENT BRAND PERSONALITY
Step 1: Ask the right questions.
Kind of like a personality quiz. (See this design sprint brand personality slider for more inspo.)
Step 2: Be honest and authentic.
A little bit of aspiration is okay here, but keep it in line with what you can honestly and authentically achieve and offer.
Step 3: Get buy-in.
Your staff have to get it and they have to be willing to reflect the vibe. This means it can’t be unrelatable (see Step 2 in terms of authenticity)
Step 4: Allow that personality to influence visual, verbal and marketing decisions.
(WWYCD: What Would Your Community Do?) Your brand personality is part of your guidelines for how you look and sound. Before you okay that ad, consider your personality and whether it aligns.
#3 Create FOMO
The ol’ Fear Of Missing Out! To be clear, are we asking you to incite jealousy and covetousness with your apartment brand? A little bit, yes. Enough to get your prospects and leads to research a little more and maybe even schedule a tour. If they want it, they’ll pursue it. But how do you create an “I’ve gotta live there” mentality? Three ways that we can think of (just off the top of our heads):
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
How does your apartment brand interact with the neighborhood around it? Are you at street fairs? Are you showing off local coffee shops and partnering with local spots for cross promotion? Are you helping raise money or supplies for local shelters? What is your apartment brand doing that puts it above the rest in terms of “doing good”? If you take care of the neighborhood you’re in, they may end of taking better care of you with referrals and general positive vibe and word of mouth.
UNIQUE EXPERIENCES FOR ALL
Whether a person is a resident or a member of the visiting public, there should be something to offer them. Are you hosting a craft fair? Do you have an “open swim day”? Will you have a holiday door decoration competition that you invite the public to judge (and/or enjoy)? Carve out a niche for your apartment brand by creating something that you’re well known for—and that folks would hate to miss out on, just because they didn’t live there.
SWAG
Yet another acronym…Stuff We All Get—yet, it’s not for everyone! The swag that you give out has to be equal parts clever and wantable. Useful is great, but also consider your ideal resident and their wants and needs (along with current trends). If you can find swag that works well with your apartment brand, even better!
Bottom line here: Visibility is far more than ad impression rates.
#4 Philanthropy
This falls in line with brand authenticity and community involvement. Philanthropy is a vital piece to any community. When your apartment brand is involved in making the neighborhood better, it’s a great way to make connections.
AUTHENTICITY
No philanthropy should be done out of a feeling of obligation. Generate a giving spirit from the top of your community brand and it will flow down through a healthy workplace culture. Soon, you’ll be known as the apartments that “always have a canned food drive” or “winter coat drive” or put together a volunteer group to serve at a shelter. (It’s better to give than to receive!)
INVITATION TO ALL
When you engage in community programming and assist your neighbors, it can create a positive culture within your staff, but also with your residents and those who are thinking of living in your community. When you’re involved, it’s like an invitation to everyone else to do better and be the change! Along with you, they too can make their mark in the world.
#5 Be Health and Wellness-Minded
THE MEANING OF HOME
Home is where the heart and hearth is. It exudes warmth and comfort. It’s focused on doing and feeling your best. Finding the balance between relaxation and energy. Similar to how you can focus your apartment brand into a lifestyle brand, you can exude the feeling of home to your prospects and your residents by focusing on the amenities that they want most: Safety with smart locks and doorbell cameras, health with fitness classes in the gym, and an on-site juice bar tells your residents what you value most: their health and well-being.
RETREAT!
Home is your residents’ own personal retreat. This means you should prioritize giving an ample heads up when there are maintenance calls, ensure new residents are comfortable after they move in, and that they have everything they need with their welcome packet—and feel confident that this is going to be a great living experience.
#6 Connection with Authenticity
WITH LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES
It’s not just lip service. Walk the walk and connect with other small businesses in the area. Become acquainted with the bookstore down the road, the brunch place next door, and the sweet gift shop across the street. Making those connections leaves a positive impression on the neighborhood and opens the way for better word-of-mouth marketing, possibly from folks who don’t even live there!
GET INTERPERSONAL
Whether we’re connecting residents to residents or residents to staff, it’s vital that they feel like home is a place of rest and connection. We’re not quite going to sing “Where everybody knows your name” at you, but that’s kind of what we’re driving at. The more familiar and comfortable your residents are, the more likely they are to renew a lease. How can you do this? Resident events. Transparency in your social media posts and your About Us page.
CONCIERGE-LIKE SERVICE
Consider how it feels to be catered to. Kind of nice, right? When your needs are anticipated and your problems are solved with a smile, it just makes your day a little bit better. A hotel concierge does exactly that—opening doors, figuratively. At your leasing office, you can help open doors (physical, literal, all of the above) and ensure your residents have everything they need. Being open to feedback and offering above-and-beyond service is certainly a way to stand out among the competition.
#7 Apartment Branding Must Be Memorable
Everything we’ve listed out above is a clear path to sticking in your prospects’ and residents’ minds. But how can you stay top of mind? Two ways.
CONSISTENT AND THOROUGH BRANDING
Everything you touch, everything that goes through your office, from corporate to on-site leasing office, should have something to do with your brand, and be recognizable as only yours. Logos, colors, fonts, brand voice—using the brand guidelines is a great shortcut to getting everything aligned and looking and sounding like your apartment community.
GO BIG BRANDS
Creating excitement through going big is a fun way to make your brand larger than life! Think: huge wall murals, full-length window coverings, and really cool wall art throughout the clubhouse. If you’re able to use an interior designer to select the right finishes from the start on a new construction or Class-A lease up, you’ll be able to make your brand a priority from the start.
Drive your brand straight to the heart of your ideal resident with sincerity and consistency.