Author: Stacey Feeney

Measuring Brand Value & the ROI of Branding in Multifamily

Written by Stacey Feeney on July 16, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Branding.

The value of branding in multifamily can feel intrinsic—and intangible. But if you could determine the ROI of your branding, you’d see just how valuable the existence of, the quality of, and the consistency of brand is for a multifamily community.

But how can you measure the way people feel? What numbers can you apply to “they really get me, and I’m telling all my friends”? Well, take branding vs. marketing. Yes, marketing is so much easier to measure your ROI. You spend a certain amount on ads, and then you’re able to see how many of your leases signed stemmed from those ads. Clear returns. Branding just isn’t as clear. But it’s just as valuable, if not more.

Let’s walk through the value of branding and how to determine your ROI for branding by recognizing the components that create the value of your apartment or multifamily brand.

Brand Value for Multifamily

For multifamily properties, brand value is the value placed on the relationship you’ve built with your residents, employees, partners, and prospects. Your consistent branding helps underscore subconscious recognition and trust. A strong brand can attract (we’re worth it) and retain (we’re still worth it) the right residents.

Basically: When your branding is well developed, well received, AND consistent, your prospects are more likely to accept your pricing (a willingness to pay a premium for a home that best resonates with their values) and your residents more likely to renew their lease year over year– because they see the value.

Components of Brand Value

But what makes up brand value for apartments? Generally four things:

Brand Awareness
Brand Loyalty
Perceived Quality
Brand Association

For fun, let’s pretend that Brand Value must = 4. And to have that point amount, you must achieve each of these components for brand value:

BRAND AWARENESS

Is your community being spoken of and referenced on social and around town? If you have brand awareness in your market, that’s a point.

BRAND LOYALTY

If you have residents renewing lease after lease and telling their friends, that’s brand loyalty. Having higher retention rates and getting referrals is an excellent sign of brand loyalty. Point for you.

PERCEIVED QUALITY

When surveyed, do you residents perceive the amenities and quality of features to be fair according to your prices? If yes, that’s another point.

BRAND ASSOCIATION

Like word association, but not quite. If brand awareness is word-of-mouth, brand association is what they’re saying. What do your residents and prospects think of when they hear your brand name? Do they have a split-second, subconscious positive reaction? That’s a good brand association. POINT!

Measuring Brand Value in Multifamily

Now, we measured that, but there’s a lot more to it than a pass/fail grade (point or no point). It comes down to actually measuring the quality and quantity of each of these aspects.

METRICS

Qualitative metrics will help you determine if your brand is perceived through customer satisfaction. This can be determined through resident feedback, general social media sentiment (good comments vs. bad ones) and reviews on Google, on facebook, and anywhere else you’re collecting reviews.

Quantitative metrics will help you see what impact your brand value is having on your bottom line. It’s a little closer to seeing how your overall brand is performing in “the real world”. Looking at occupancy rates, renewal rates, rental rate increases, and lead conversion rates can help you see whether your brand is getting it done.

BRAND EQUITY MODELS

There were two brand equity models we looked at to get a little inspo for this post: Keller’s Brand Equity Model and Aaker’s Brand Equity Model.

KELLER MODEL
The Keller model is a pyramid that’s based on customers. By basing your brand equity on residents, you’ll be closer to knowing what they want and need, possibly before they ever engage. Plus, each piece of the pyramid is built one on the other. At the foundation: brand identity. Then brand meaning, brand response, and brand resonance. Each of these are based more on emotions and feelings, so the best way to determine your standing is through feedback, reviews, and surveys. When you’ve built the “top” of the pyramid, you want to stay there by continuing a positive relationship with your residents—so they can keep feeling good about staying with your apartment community.

AAKER MODEL
Your brand strategy if you use the Aaker brand equity model is more about recognition, at the subconscious level. By being able to differentiate your offer and set your value provided apart from your competition, you have better brand equity. Your residents will have brand awareness, brand association, and become brand loyal. Which is a great strategy for nurturing residents that renew. As far as measurement goes, you can measure just about anything. Look at your year-over-year results and compare where your customers are, and how they’ve grown. One of the best ways is asking “Would you recommend us to family or friends?” Just using that question along with a comment box can give you vital insight that’s both measurable and actionable.

MEASURING BRANDING ROI

But again, how can all of this be measured? You must think in terms of linking your brand value to how your community is performing financially. It’s quality that rolls into quantity. If you’re seeing:

Increasing occupancy rates thanks to differentiation from your comps through strategic branding
Ability to charge higher rental rates thanks to a higher perceived brand value
Reduced marketing costs thanks to strong brand loyalty, resulting in renewals, and word-of-mouth/referrals

Plus, using analytics and KPIs to see how your brand is performing, you might see a positive performance align with events or campaigns you put together. Consistently keep an eye on how your brand is doing regularly. For example, both brand recognition and brand loyalty can each contribute a 2% increase in yearly revenue, according to Tudor Consulting.

Enhancing Brand Value

If you’re wondering how on earth your apartment community is going to get there, start at the beginning.

Ensure you have a viable brand identity. And then you can take it from there.

SMART AND STRATEGIC BRAND DEVELOPMENT

When you start strong with the right brand elements, your brand will be solid as a rock. You’ll have the guidebook to decisions and know which direction to go. This includes your logo, visual identity, and brand voice. Every bit of your brand guidelines should be informed by research and strategy after you’ve determined your target resident.

CONSISTENT BRANDING

When you’ve got your brand guidelines all set up, it will be a lot easier to keep your branding consistent. When you’re consistent, that leads to recognition and trust. Every touchpoint should be consistent: website, social media, email marketing, and printed marketing materials. (This includes your brand voice, too.)

RESIDENT EXPERIENCE

Check in with your residents. Go above and beyond. PLUS: When your brand is valued by the employees, they’re more likely to go above and beyond for your residents as well. That equates to better customer service, i.e. an improved resident experience. Be open to feedback and learn from (and fix!) the negatives.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Are you getting the pulse on how the broader neighborhood views your brand? If they don’t know who you are, that might be a problem. Start getting involved in the community. Do fundraisers and partner with local shops to increase visibility and improve your overall brand appearance. Whatever you’re doing, make sure it’s authentic.

Solid brand development and implementation strategies are more valuable today in multifamily than we’ve ever seen historically—and while it can be difficult to measure, outside industries who have long invested in their brands prove without a doubt that brand absolutely proves a worthwhile ROI.

Brand Centralization for Consistency and Recognition

Written by Stacey Feeney on July 8, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Branding.

Multifamily operations have been headed toward centralization for a while now, if they’re not already there. Centralization is a way to improve efficiencies and streamline operations. While not every definition of centralization in multifamily is the same, think of it this way: Centralization generally places what is scattered in operations and puts it in one location. Sometimes it’s data. Sometimes it’s minimizing on-site staff and keeping customer service, including maintenance, in one place for multiple properties. (We can talk pros and cons another time.)

Whichever way the cookie crumbles for centralization, branding shouldn’t be left to chance. With brand centralization, you’ll help improve the consistency you’re aiming for when you centralized your staff and data. You’ll also gain brand recognition by keeping your branding streamlined and consistent.

Benefits of Brand Centralization

EFFICIENCY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS

Have you ever opened up a Word doc, worked on a piece for a while, and then your computer crashed? Maybe your computer saved it, maybe not. You’ll probably have to start over.

If you don’t have a consistent brand centralization plan for your properties, chances are you’re starting from scratch if you add a new asset. It shouldn’t be that way. It should be easy, and clear as a bell what your next step should be if you need to create a brochure for the latest addition. That’s efficiency. And by saving time, and not starting from scratch, you’re using fewer man hours. That’s cost-effectiveness.

BRAND RECOGNITION

A consistent brand presence can create buzz. It can improve brand recognition. It can help set you apart from the competition. When there are a lot of multifamily communities to compete with, making sure that you’re set apart can help put you way ahead.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Not everyone on your team may be gung-ho about the changes you’re making to get your brand on track. Your leasing teams or if you still have on-site staff may think it takes too much time. Ensure that you quash this resistance by giving sufficient training and help them understand the why behind your branding consistency.

Basically: consistency through branding centralization means better outcomes for your business.

Strategic Branding

WHY IT’S ESSENTIAL

Having a brand strategy can help everything fall into place a little easier. You’ll get consistency, clarity, and a streamlined way to bring your idea to your residents and deliver what you portray. Being thoughtful and thorough from the start can help you settle into your branding more quickly, and gain brand recognition more quickly, as well.

VALUE OF IN-DEPTH BRAND DEVELOPMENT

If you have multiple locations, and you’re working towards consistency and efficiency, centralizing your brand along with it will require comprehensive brand development. This means your name, your logo, your visual identity and your brand voice are all outlined and complete with clear examples. Using your branding guidelines to connect with your residents and prospects is getting to their hearts, going for human-level interaction, which is something your brand might have lost in the centralization process.

Note: If you have portfolio-level branded communities, think of how you can best keep the brands in one family, under one large branding scheme. Ensure they work together.

Steps for Brand Centralization

How do you centralize your brand? Centralizing your multifamily marketing, staff, and data was tricky enough—but how do you get your brand to be consistent across every channel? Three (relatively) simple steps:

STEP 1: COLLECT AND ORGANIZE BRAND ASSETS

There are a lot of pieces to your brand. Take your brand guidelines and assets and make them available to those who need them. Place them in shared folders, and ensure the creative agency you’re working for has supplied every asset that you’ll need. This includes:

Brand visual guidelines and examples
Brand voice guidelines and examples
Logo files
Font files
Color palette (with codes!)
Stock Images
Design Elements (like patterns or textures)
Professional Photography
Floor Plans
Sitemap

STEP 2: DESIGNATE A BRAND AMBASSADOR

A brand ambassador is someone who oversees full brand implementation. Generally, a marketing manager should have this duty. They’ll need to police it, and make sure the branding is consistent. That way, anytime an item (like a giveaway or a set of envelopes) is ordered, they can ensure it has the right colors, the right logo, and follows the guidelines that have been carefully crafted, and must be protected. In order to more easily maintain branding consistency, it’s worth training teams to understand what is the brand (and what isn’t). Anytime you can get more employees in the know about your branding identity, the easier it will be to keep it consistent.

STEP 3: GIVE YOUR TEAM THE TOOLS

Once your team has been trained in understanding the brand guidelines, give them the tools for branding centralization. Think about using Canva’s Brand Kit and getting starter templates made so you can guide your team members who may not be designers. Even at the property level, it’s vital to keep your brand cohesive.

Brand Consistency Everywhere

Sometimes you may have a little less control over your branding in the process of managing your properties. In the case of using external partners, share crystal-clear guidelines.

EXTERNAL PARTNERS

It’s likely that at some point, you’ll be dealing with third parties using your brand. This could include ordering swag or promotional items from printers. It could be the local city council. It could be a local partnership with a non-profit or coffee shop nearby. It might be with event planners, too. Each of these external partners should have a version of the logo that will work, and should have access to how to use it. More importantly, these third parties should understand how your brand must look (the brand style) when all the elements are brought together.

PROVIDE CLEAR GUIDELINES

Give these external partners the information they’ll need to know exactly how much space to leave around your logo. Provide your brand guidelines in full. However, even with full brand guidelines, they may still have questions. At that point, it’s really helpful to have your brand ambassador be the point of contact for any brand-related inquiries.

Balancing Brand Voice and SEO Writing in Multifamily

Written by Stacey Feeney on July 1, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Branding, Writing.

Writing for Brand Voice vs. SEO

Marketing your multifamily community means you have to pay attention to your writing from every angle. It has to sell and convince—but first it has to be found. SEO gets your audience to your website (from those magical Google results). Brand voice captures them and convinces them.

Branding is the heart and soul of your brand. If you’re consistent and clear on what your brand is, it will allow your ideal residents and prospects to resonate with you as a brand. Brand recognition and brand loyalty is tied up in branding—and using brand voice for apartments ensures your words align with every other part of your brand.

In order to achieve both website traffic and conversions (along with brand loyalty) you’ll need to find a way to create truly effective content by balancing SEO and brand voice in your multifamily writing.

Understanding Brand Voice & Tone

BRAND VOICE

Brand voice is your brand, put into words. You relay your core, the foundations of your brand. It’s who you are, what you do, what you believe, what you value, and what you bring to the table. Your soul comes through with your mission, vision and values.

With your brand personality, you can infuse your brand voice with the right words—if you’re traditional, formal, and elegant, it’s unlikely that you’d use a fragment rather than a full sentence.

BRAND TONE

Brand tone is the way you say it. Your words will be different depending on whether you’re writing a blog post about an upcoming event or writing a letter, welcoming your newest resident. One will be longer, and one may be slightly more casual. You’d also shift your tone if you were responding to a review—an apologetic and straightforward tone would work better there.

Both of these sets of writing are vital to multifamily to be able to engage authentically with your residents and prospects and keep the branding experience consistent. Build trust, build engagement, build your “fan base,” and see more loyal residents.

The Role of SEO in Website Copy

SEO, or search engine optimization, is tailoring your online presence—usually your website—to show up for more people searching for you (or for keywords related to your business). If you want to be a competitor in a crowded market, or boost your marketing with your website, focusing on SEO should be part of your regular to-do list. Writing website copy with a focus on SEO can help put you in front of the clients you want most.

SUCCESSFUL SEO FOR MULTIFAMILY

If you want SEO to work well for your multifamily website, focus on the following:

Keyword research: Understand what terms you could reasonably rank for
Focused content: Write content around the keywords you want to rank for and shift your headings and subheadings to include those keywords
Use links—both internal and external—to help boost your visibility and helpfulness

Remember: The Google algorithm is always changing. But it’s most focused on helpfulness and accuracy. Whatever is relevant and authoritative will win out.

Differences Between Brand Voice and SEO Writing

BRAND VOICE VS. SEO WRITING

The approach to both is different. The style is different. The objectives are somewhat shared. One is more about branding (who you are) and the other is more about marketing (how you reach your audience). So essentially brand voice vs. SEO writing is a new version of branding vs. marketing. Both necessary, both good.

Brand voice writing…

Is approached with the goal of communicating an idea and is formed with the brand personality and audience at the forefront.
Is more creative in style, and less information-based
seeks to portray the brand fully through words and connect with the reader

SEO writing

Is approached by taking content topics and keyword research to create content that will reach the audience through search
Style is informative, addressing one specific topic
Seeks to increase visibility through higher search ranking

Balancing SEO and brand voice is vital to reaching your audience and communicating your brand’s values. (You can’t connect with someone who can’t find your website.)

CHALLENGES

Balancing the two types of writing can be a challenge.

Weak brand voice.
If your brand voice isn’t strong enough, it can be totally overcome by SEO writing that’s technical and helpful, but doesn’t necessarily sound like you. Might even sound like a robot (*cough* AI *cough*) and if it’s boring, they’re not gonna keep reading.

Not knowing your audience.
If you don’t know your audience (and haven’t done your research) you’ll be writing to…exactly who? Everyone? Probably no one. By recognizing your audience, you can address their pain points and write content that actually applies to them. Do the research and make content they’ll connect with.

Low-quality content.

Again, write helpful content that’s infused with your brand voice—so it’s recognizable as your brand, and it’s helpful to your audience. If you’re just writing blog posts to fulfill a keyword, it shouldn’t be obvious. It should still be helpful. Start with pain points, then move to topics, then work on long-tail keywords. (Plus, low-quality content will get dinged by Google anyway.)

When to Prioritize Brand Voice or SEO

CONTENT FOR BRAND VOICE

Brand voice should be the priority when you’re working on copywriting. Think: ads (physical and digital) email newsletters (“Hey, it’s me again!”) and social media posts where you’re directly engaging with followers.

You can still maintain SEO-friendliness while focusing on brand voice. Keep your audience in mind—and be helpful with information that still sounds like your brand.

CONTENT FOR SEO

SEO is technical. Longer form content, like blogs and website copy (and especially landing pages) should focus on SEO. It allows for long-tail keywords to be used in context.

Likewise, you can still manage to communicate using your brand voice even while you have SEO-focused content. After you have the keywords where you want, go line by line and make sure everything you’ve written still communicates your brand’s personality through words.

When you write a first draft of anything, go through it with a focus on either one, but keep both in mind. You don’t want to alienate your customers with a landing page that doesn’t sound anything like your brand or an ad that isn’t particularly engaging. What we’re saying is…Both! Do both!

Balancing brand voice and SEO is no small feat. Most companies have a hard time doing either one. Look at your current strategies. See where your SEO is getting you. Start measuring your results after you develop an SEO strategy, as well as a strong brand identity, including brand voice. Make adjustments to your current copy and create a guide for your content going forward.

The digital market is always changing—and you’ll need to change with it. Be visible with SEO and connect with customers using your one and only brand voice.

Apartment Photography Checklist Optimized for Marketing

Written by Stacey Feeney on June 20, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

You know the whole “golden hour” perfect lighting part of the day? Well, the summer months are the “golden hour” season of the year—the time when everything looks a little better, a little dreamier. Use our property photography checklist to get the best photography of your communities, optimized for marketing.

The goal is always to lease-up your community. Well, having a collection of beautiful photos (the best possible ones) will make marketing’s job way easier.

Property Photoshoot Prep Checklist

You’ll want to check off every one of these property photoshoot checklist items before your photographer arrives (not while they’re trying to capture the perfect shot). You’ll both save time and headaches if you prepare ahead of time:

Quality Property Photography’s Important

LONG SHELF LIFE

When you invest in high-quality images, you’re not throwing money down the drain. By choosing the proper season (summer) and preparing in advance (with our checklist) you’ll be that much closer to taking photos that will stay useful in your marketing for a good, long while. Since the gallery is one of the most viewed pages on your website, having a great photo of your clubhouse or pool creates a longer lasting impression than any amenities list ever could. (Think of it this way: Would you rather see a photo of a pool with all the umbrellas and chaises around it, or would you rather read “large pool” in the list of amenities?)

BUILD THE BRAND

Quality apartment photography captures beautiful images—but also so much more: the lifestyle and the experience your property offers. Your space is unique, your ambiance is different, and your community isn’t the same, according to your brand. And your photos should reflect that. When you show off beautiful, well-composed photos that work within your brand guidelines, you set yourself apart. Images, or rather, photos, evoke emotion, tell your brand story, and lead to a more consistent brand image. Bottom line: Investing in quality property photos shows your prospects that you’re invested in your brand, and likewise: in them.

Apartment Photography Shot List Checklist

Capture multiple angles of the property for each of these areas in both wide/overview shots as well as tighter details when worthy.

*Adjust this apartment photography shot list checklist to the specific spaces your community has to offer. Add or remove amenities as needed.

Get the Details

While you have a photographer there, take a closer look. By adding detail shots to your list (more interesting angles, photos of people at the clubhouse, closeups of feet in a pool, someone cooking dinner in their unit) you can create an unstoppable lifestyle image library that NO one else will have. And the photos will be authentic because they’re actually part of your community. Provide your photographer with your apartment brand guidelines so they know what kind of vibe and ambiance they should be looking for and helping capture.

When you get the photos back, you can use them to enhance your brand and make completely unique visuals for any number of your marketing materials.

The heart of summer is a lovely time to refresh your property photos, and it’s our favorite for when plants look their best. (But your brand may be an “autumn”—so you do you.) Follow our checklist, invest in high-quality, professional photography, and bump up the appeal of your property to your prospects (and likely your current residents, too). Your marketing efforts are about to get an extra shot of sunshine.

Branding Multifamily Value-Add Communities

Written by Stacey Feeney on June 17, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Branding.

New “luxury” style communities are coming into the market at break-neck pace. As they dominate the market, older multifamily communities are struggling to keep up and compete with their newer, more modern counterparts.

Even if your older communities aren’t the newest or the nicest on the block, you can leverage their unique strengths and employ smart marketing strategies to stand out as you figure out your best methods for branding multifamily value-add communities..

Spotlight Your Community’s Strengths

LUXURY IS OVER THE TOP

New “luxury” communities are pushing their neighbors to the limit. Offering unheard-of amenities that go a little farther than necessary: golf simulators, pickleball courts, speakeasy bars. Things that residents don’t necessarily need—but could be attracted by. There are a lot of “it’s like vacation, every day!” style places that may be going overboard, because they feel the need to have all the bells and whistles to snag their residents.

ADVANTAGES OF OLDER COMMUNITIES

Just because the modern competition is bringing some wild apartment amenities to the table doesn’t mean you give up. As an older community, you’re established. You (may) offer:

An ideal or convenient location
A quiet, homey atmosphere
A mature setting with full trees, nearby parks, bike trails close by
Larger units compared to newer developments

Beyond these things (which are far better than most amenities) if you have a culture of close-knit community at your apartments, that’s huge. Long-term renters help create the family feel, and loyal employees help with familiarity, as well. Loyalty goes a long way!

Smart Marketing For Multifamily Value-Add Communities

WHADDAYA GOT?

Amplify what you have. We talked advantages. Take note of those things that make your community special, whether it’s a listed amenity, or just a feeling. Pro-tip: that vibe is part of your brand. That resident and staff loyalty is in direct correlation to how you present your brand and how you fulfill the promises you’re making.

That said, there are a few specific things you should focus on to market your older community.

MARKETING IDEAS

Emphasize location – Location matters. What are the area trends, the vibe, the history, the culture? Look into cross-promotion with another local spot, and consider offering a local hot spot tour for your newest residents.

Focus on the atmosphere and vibe – Feels like home? Easy to catch public transit? Big trees everywhere? Trails nearby? Everyone knows each other? These things are a BIG DEAL. Authentically brand your community by pointing these gems out. It’s not everyday you move into an apartment that feels welcoming and homey.

Be the neighborhood know-it-all – Get the inside scoop on everything. Even if you’re not a luxury hotel or apartment, you can still function as a concierge with pro-tips for your new residents. Throw neighborhood recommendations out like confetti, and bump the resident experience up a few notches.

Spoil residents in small ways – You don’t need to hand out golden retrievers as a party favor. Instead host events, like a movie viewing with popcorn. Or a pool party with lemonade. Give your residents small gifts, make them feel seen and valued, and bring about some community bonding in a natural way.

Branding for Lower Property Classes

Branding is value made visible and tangible. Older communities may lack amenities but branding can make up for it, even if it’s on the simpler side—lower class apartments can still use branding. (Consistency accounts for a lot.) You can create culture with your apartment brand. Here’s how:

RESIDENT EXPERIENCE

How your brand makes your resident feel is directly tied to their living experience at your community. Ensure that you are communicative, friendly, and get your residents what they need. Your brand is not your offerings. It’s how you interact, engage, and grow your resident relationships over time. Your brand can encompass a whole lifestyle: of home. Of welcome. Of comfort.

COMMUNITY CONTEXT

What does your community bring to the fabric of the neighborhood? What role do you play in the value you offer to your residents, neighbors, and the broader area? Consider how you interact with local shops and non-profits. Philanthropy and community engagement bring about a better neighborhood and make your brand more authentic and relatable to your residents, as well.

Older multifamily value-add communities can still compete.
Just leverage what you have to offer and get creative with your marketing. And use your branding! That will be your best tool to help underscore your value to your residents as they have a positive experience with your property.

Explore creative apartment branding and marketing strategies for your communities with us at Zipcode Creative—no matter the year your community was built.

NAA Apartmentalize 2024 Guide for Multifamily Marketers

Written by Stacey Feeney on June 10, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

Multifamily conference season is still going strong. Up next: NAA Apartmentalize 2024! This year it’s taking place in Philly, the city of brotherly love. Apartmentalize offers learning, networking, and solutions specifically for multifamily, and helps you stay current on industry trends and best practices.

We know that hitting every conference isn’t always an option, so if you’re going, we outlined some of the best ways to make the most of your time at NAA Apartmentalize 2024, with some scheduling tips, and top picks for sessions and speakers.

Given that we’re all up in the branding scene, we aimed to pick out our favorites for marketing and branding in multifamily. There are a ton of sessions, so we narrowed our picks to speakers we know or admire, and topics we think will be most helpful for your community branding and marketing efforts.

Organizing Your 2024 NAA Apartmentalize Schedule

With over 100 sessions and 10,000 attendees, you might feel a little lost. Take a deep breath and make a plan. Think of it as a Choose-Your-Own-NAA-Adventure. Registration is open each day, beginning on late Tuesday morning.

Expo Eats will get you a complimentary lunch on Thursday and Friday—be sure to find it.

Below are some important things you’ll want to take note of for your schedule (June 19-21):

WEDNESDAY

Education Sessions: 1-1:50pm, 2:05-2:55pm, 3:10-4pm,
General Session: 4:15-5:30pm
Welcome Reception: 5:30-6:30pm

THURSDAY

Education Sessions: 8:30-9:30am, (Express: 12:30-2:30pm) 2:15-3:15pm, 3:30-4:30pm
General Session: 10-11:30am
Complimentary Lunch with Expo Eats
Thursday Night Party: 7-10pm

FRIDAY

Education Sessions: 9-9:50am, (Express: 10am-1:30pm) 11am-11:50am
Complimentary Lunch with Expo Eats
General Session: 1:45-3pm

PRO TIP: Don’t forget to take a break, get some water, go to your room for a few minutes when you need to have a little quiet to collect your thoughts. Making a plan will help. Find the sessions you care about most, and prioritize those.

NAA Apartmentalize Top Topics

There’s a lot to see at NAA Apartmentalize. We chose a handful of topics that looked good to us—from a marketing and branding perspective, of course. If you’re feeling extra on-top of things, you can even click “add to planner” next to your favorite sessions, so you can organize it through your MyNAA Planner Account!

What’s the Big Idea? Marketing Innovators Pitch Game-Changing Strategies

Wednesday, June 19

3:10-4pm
Location: 115ABC

Education Session

With:

Esther Bonardi, VP, REACH by RentCafe

Israel Carunungan, Chief Marketing Officer at LCP Media

Josh Draughn, Vice President of Marketing & Customer Experience at Weidner

Anne Baum, Director of Marketing at Towne Properties

Expected Takeaway:

Discover how to realistically create an authentic brand that connects with potential and current renters while avoiding stock photos
Use data to assess marketing risks and rewards so you can reallocate spend and balance your marketing strategy
Learn how media assets can help improve your leasing experience, increasing engagement and conversions

Why It’s Our Pick:
Breaking open marketing norms and creating a sense of place? Yes. Learning how to use media assets to better your leases, engagement and conversions? Also yes.

Open Space #5: Romancing Your Residents to Renew: (Pets, Amenities, Community Events and More)

With:
Maria Pietroforte
Katie Rigsby, President/Multifamily Consultant at Katie Rigsby Inspires, LLC

Why It’s Our Pick:
Be part of the conversation and learn from contemporaries at this Open Space. You can help guide the conversation and be part of the bigger picture in a peer-to-peer learning event—this one is particularly interesting because it’s all about focusing on amenities and making a community feel like home for your residents. Branding is part of that culture, too!

Additional Thursday sessions we’re interested in:

From Data to Decision: Are Your KPIs Actionable or Irrelevant?

Open Space #4: How Can Affordable Providers Compete with Market Rate (Leasing Rates/Incentives, Salaries)

The Power of Market Research: Positioning Properties for the NextGen

Friday, June 21
9-9:50 AM
Location: 108AB

With:
Marcus Armstrong, Research and Development Engineer at J Turner Research
Chelsea Kneeland, VP, Strategic Partnerships at J Turner Research
Tyler Marker, Director of Marketing & Professional Development at Zidan Management Group

Expected Takeaway:

Be able to identify different types of market research, and what needs and wants are on Gen Z prospects’ minds that impact your market.
Learn how to collect and analyze market research data for better decisions.
Develop better strategies for implementing their market research findings.

Why It’s Our Pick:
Gen Z is a big topic for us. They represent a huge market share, and we should be paying attention to their desires in order to be competitive.

From Search to Signature: The Resident Experience

Friday, June 21
12:15 PM – 12:45 PM
Location: Booth 1165
Express Education

With:
Paula Munger, Vice President, Research at National Apartment Association

Carl Whitaker, Chief Economist at RealPage, Inc.

Expected Takeaway:

Explore survey results from residents who have recently searched for an apartment to learn their methods and motivations.
Consider how the survey results translate into potential future staffing models.
Discover which technologies industry professionals are using to improve the prospect experience and boost occupancies.

Why It’s Our Pick:
What’s the secret behind how prospects choose you? First they have to find you, then they have to narrow down their choices to you. With a new generation of renters, we have to meet them where they are. All IRP, all the time—using data to make decisions is smart. (Including in your branding, of course.)

Additional Friday sessions we’re interested in:

Breaking Barriers: The Impact of Adaptive Reuse Projects

Paid, Earned and Owned: The New Rules of Influence Marketing

NAA Apartmentalize 2024 Speaker Picks

The general sessions are full of award-winning stars, heroes, and actors. It can be fun to fawn over them with any fellow fans—so be sure to check out the general session schedule to see when you can catch vocalist/songwriter/author/actor Leslie Odom Jr., Medal of Honor hero and veteran Kyle Carpenter, and actor/producer/philanthropist Mark Wahlberg.

Beyond household names, we’re also interested in hearing from our own multifamily stars.

NAA Apartmentalize 2024 has broken down the rest of their sessions into:

Game Changers – Inspiring speakers from three outside industries: Comedy, AI, and Workforce Strategy
Education Sessions – 90 sessions on all manner of multifamily topics (ops, leasing, affordable housing, marketing)
Express Education – 30-minute interactive sessions with Q&A and storytellin
Open Space Sessions – Small group discussions with a dedicated topic for creative conversations

So, there are a lot to choose from here. But these were the speakers that stood out to us (and the bios are straight from the NAA website):

Noel Carson, Vice President of Marketing, Creative Director at Bozzuto

Noel Carson is the VP of Marketing and Creative Director for Bozzuto. He is charged with championing the Bozzuto brand as a compelling voice in the multifamily category and leads the team responsible for the brand development, launch, and commercial performance the organization’s new development pipeline. With two decades of experience in brand and creative direction, his work has been the recipient of over 70 regional and national awards through the American Advertising Federation, Creativity International, among others. Noel graduated from the University of Notre Dame with majors in Marketing and Design and holds an MBA from Georgetown University.

SESSIONS:

Friday, 9-9:50AM: Static to Dynamic: Revolutionizing Apartment Websites in the Digital Era

Janet Rosseth, Founder and CMO at Cadence Marketing Solutions LLC

Janet Rosseth is the founder and CMO of Cadence Marketing Solutions, a Minneapolis-based boutique consulting agency specializing in pacing new initiatives and supporting multifamily marketing endeavors. Her career spans 25+ years serving multifamily developers and operators in roles directing marketing and leasing strategies. Her expertise lies in assessing needs and deploying both traditional and disruptive solutions that aid in asset performance, optimizing marketing infrastructure, extending the bandwidth of marketing teams, and removing the friction factor in the renter experience. She leads the Cadence Run Club online community for multifamily marketing influencers, connecting & supporting marketers, operators, and vendor partners who challenge the status quo in marketing. She’s a speaker and facilitator for large and small groups, local and national industry events, often sought on panels to represent the voice of the marketing teams and clients she serves.

SESSIONS:

Wednesday, 2:05-2:55pm: Take Control of Lead Generation with On-Demand Ad Strategy

Kim Boland, Director of Digital Marketing at Morgan Properties

Kim Boland is the Director of Digital Marketing at Morgan Properties, where she leads the development, implementation, and maintenance of digital marketing initiatives for the company’s expanding portfolio. With over a decade of experience, Kim has been a driving force in enhancing Morgan Properties’ online presence and supporting promotional efforts for both apartment communities and corporate ventures. Throughout her tenure at Morgan Properties since 2009, Kim has earned numerous accolades for her exceptional contributions to the company and the industry. Notably, she was honored as a national-level winner for Connect Media’s 2021 Women in Real Estate, recognizing her outstanding achievements and leadership in the field. In addition to her role at Morgan Properties, Kim is a sought-after speaker at industry events, sharing her expertise and insights with fellow professionals. She also serves on the Advisory Boards for AIMconf, G5, Rent. and BetterBot.

SESSIONS:

Wednesday, 1-1:50pm: Surf’s Up! Marketing Channels Making the Biggest Waves

Thursday, 8:30-9:30am: The ROI of Apartment Automation: Real-World Case Studies

Kristi Fickert, Vice President of Enterprise Growth at Realync

Kristi is the VP of Enterprise Growth at Realync. She spent 15 years in a senior marketing role for a Top 50 management company before working in the technology sector of the industry. She speaks at the industry’s largest conferences and has been a featured speaker for the Cincinnati Reds, Urban Land Institute and Commercial Real Estate Women. She’s been on numerous podcasts, published in UNITS magazine and spent two terms as a City Councilwoman.

SESSIONS:

Wednesday, 3:10-4pm: Open Space #3: How Does AI Fuel Your Everyday Workflow?

Thursday, 3:30-4:30pm: Leasing Across America: Insights and Impacts From 100 Shops

And there you have it! Your 2024 NAA Apartmentalize guide—from Zipcode Creative. (Don’t forget to have fun!)