2024 Multifamily Marketing Budget – The Creative Guide

Written by Stacey Feeney on January 10, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Branding, Marketing. 1 Comment on 2024 Multifamily Marketing Budget – The Creative Guide

New Year, New Budget!

Peace out, 2023. Same with last year’s budget? That’s in the rear view mirror, too.

But the lessons you learned from last year’s budget and spending and results…should be front and center as you prepare for spending for multifamily marketing in 2024.

With a new year comes a new budget. Can’t you just smell it? First off, you got through another budget review season. Congrats. It’s approved and you know what to do next. Right?

First, you’ve got to take a look at your goals. What creative endeavors are you tackling first for your apartment brands?

We’d like to make a few simple suggestions.
1) Better branding for multifamily.

2) More branding for multifamily.

Basically…increase quality and quantity—they’re not mutually exclusive.) Especially now that you have the money to spend in 2024!

How to Spend Your 2024 Multifamily Marketing Budget

Think bigger, think better. Your branding has to be up to snuff and catch up with your competition this year (and with the ever-changing technology around us). You won’t see growth in your leasing rates unless you address your out-of-date logos and inconsistent brand. Perhaps you’ve got some branding under your belt—you could always do more. Keep sharpening and keep growing.

BETTER BRANDING

Our first bit of advice around your apartment brand: Make it personable, relatable, imaginative, and innovative.

Our second? Hire professionals. Especially the ones that know multifamily inside and out—Zipcode Creative has been at this for years, and is ready to help you with any multifamily project, of any size.

MORE BRANDING

Logo? That’s not all!
Don’t rely on your logo to do it all. Your logo is one piece. An important piece, but not the end all, be all. There’s plenty a logo won’t do—it won’t capture attention, increase engagement, and it certainly won’t lease up more units…on its own.

Think bigger.
Add brand identity.

Add brand messaging.
Add brand-cohesive copy.

And how does your role fit into this “more branding” idea? Read about your branding responsibilities broken down by role:

BRAND VOICE

Find your apartment brand voice and use it everywhere you can.

What’s Your Brand Voice?

Is it serious? Playful? Mature? Young? Does it make jokes every chance it gets? Hire a professional to help you both develop this brand voice and make it shine in every bit of copy you (or they) create. When you craft the perception of your brand through your words (and tell people who you are by what you say) you can start building up your brand in their minds. They’ll be thinking about you—finally.

Your 2024 Vision Board

Do you ever miss those inspirational posters that were highly popular in the 90s? Do we even dare to tell you to “Be the bridge” and “Strive for excellence”? Get beyond the black and white words and the cheesy photo and begin to envision what your year could look like. Think about the results you could create with a little more calculated effort AND with your 2024 multifamily marketing budget at the ready

On our vision board…for you, we are seeing:

Websites
Whether you go fully custom or use templates is totally up to you. Even though you could choose either option, make them work well for you by maintaining brand consistency with your color palette, fonts, and brand voice.

Your website is your digital domain; it’s where the newest leads will look for your community, searching for the information they need—availability, interior renderings or photos, and contact information. Make sure it looks and sounds like you—and attracts rather than deters.

Using website templates for your multifamily community isn’t all bad. Templates aren’t perfect, though. Boost your template usage with better branding. Make sure your color palette is accurate and used throughout, creatively. Ensure your fonts are populating the way you expect. Add in a little more about your team or about your management company to give a fuller view of your company from the inside out.

Better Copy

Step one: Get all the good words. Step two: Use the good words. If only!
With your brand voice settled, now you can spin the threads of your community with one engaging idea after another. Why you exist—what you offer—what issues you solve for your residents. Getting professional help with copywriting for apartments will help everything go more smoothly, too.

Video Marketing

Video content helps increase engagement on social media. According to LinkedIn, videos on social media are shared 1200% more than text and image posts. So: Don’t sleep on it. It’s among our favorite trend predictions for multifamily marketing in 2024, and it could help boost your views on instagram or facebook!

Keep in mind while you’re creating:
1) Know “why” you’re making the video. (what’s the point?) Is it education, entertainment, or broader engagement?
2) Know the desired length of your video.
3) Have a plan that details your point, the length, and what should show up in the video.

Ensure your video is accessible, relatable and clear, and you’ll be well on your way to crafting a video marketing strategy that will help secure more leases.

(See also our blog post about apartment brand social media strategies here.)

Now that your 2024 multifamily marketing budget is set and ready to go, advocate for better (and more) branding. This is the best time of the year to do it! Whatever your setting your sights on for 2024, ensure your multifamily brand is ready to take it all on.

Multifamily Marketing in 2024 –Trends Galore

Written by Stacey Feeney on January 2, 2024. Posted in All Articles, Branding, Marketing.

Plenty of trends are coming for multifamily marketing in 2024—get ready with the list straight from the apartment branding experts at Zipcode Creative!

Mortgage costs have been going up with steep interest rates across the nation. Most homeowners aren’t selling, making for fewer houses on the market. And many cannot afford a down payment needed in order to buy a home. This means apartment home rentals are becoming more and more in demand. In order to stay competitive, you need to know what the trends in apartment marketing are.

If you haven’t already invested in excellent branding for your apartment community, make your resolution to do so now! Branding could be the very thing that causes your community to be remembered, propelling its culture and vibe to the forefront for the ideal resident you’re targeting.

#1 Target Residents’ Top Desired Amenities

Your residents could live anywhere they can lay their head. But they choose their home because they want the amenities being offered. Make sure they know all about them. Consider the top trending amenities across the nation today:

Creative working spaces
Pickleball courts
Deliveries
Wellness
Smart home tech
EV chargers

But what’s the best way to do this? Create culture and nail down your vibe through branding, make your physical spaces awesome, use events to have fun and show off amenities and build campaigns around your best offerings.

CREATE CULTURE THROUGH BRANDING

Your Ideal Resident Profile (IRP)
Find your ideal resident profile (IRP) through research. Create a culture with your brand that is tailored to who they are and what they want in their home life. The culture you create can be sporty and active, cozy and comfortable, social and spunky, or whatever you think will help create a great home vibe for your IRP.

For example, sports are always a great way to have a little friendly competition and bring people together. When you show off your pickleball courts, pit residents against staff or create teams and tournaments (with prizes)!

BRING EXCITEMENT TO PHYSICAL SPACES

Branding doesn’t have to stay in the 2D spaces. Bring your brand to the physical world! By weaving your brand through the building, you create another level of engagement with your brand for all visitors, prospects, and residents.

Murals
Murals are a breath of fresh air. Instead of bricks—a blast of color. Adding murals that fit into your branding and evoke a feeling are a fantastic way to up the ante visually in your less-exciting spaces. Find a wall that needs sprucing, and figure out what will work—whether it’s a repeating pattern from your brand guidelines, or an artistic rendition of a dog near the entrance to the doggy spa.

Directional Signage
Much like a mural, it’s nice for residents to have indications of where they are in the building. “Meet me by the pool” is a lot easier when you have clear signage that gets residents exactly where they need to go. Of course, ensuring the colors and font coordinate and work within your brand guidelines is a must. Additionally, having directional signage is like a tiny little advertisement for other amenities around the space, and can initiate a little curiosity in your residents. “I forgot we have a working space—I need to check that out!”

Working Space
Speaking of…these are still popular for the hordes of people continuing to solopreneur or work-from-home—even part-time. It’s nice to “get out of the apartment” every so often, and strike up a friendly conversation or two when you’re working to make every day a little less “same old, same old” and much more “Nice seeing you here again.” Market the space, what it offers, and call out all the things that make the space amazing in a campaign. When you call attention to the awesome design and useful space as some of the best things you offer, you’re answering the ever-present “why do I need to live here?,” confirming for your residents that you have their best interests, needs, wants, and desires at heart.

MARKETING THROUGH EVENTS

Host happenings in your amenity spaces. Think different, go unique—ditch the tired old events and people will come!

A workspace mixer—but for entrepreneurs? Cool.
A pool party that includes both current residents and prospective residents? Hold it at the height of summer, where people need to cool off!

When you create events based around the amenities that you offer, you’re utilizing your spaces well, and showing off (or marketing!) exactly how awesome your amenities are. Not only are you listing it as an option in your brochure, but you’re including it in your flyers for events. This doubling down will help spread the word twice as fast.

MULTIFAMILY MARKETING IN 2024: CAMPAIGNS

There are a million ways to go when it comes to marketing your amenities. But which one will work best for your brand? Try campaigning your best features. You can craft your messaging to be so much more than “Now Leasing “Luxury” Apartments, friends!

Always start with your audience. Where will they be?
And always A/B test. And keep doing it.

Multi-platform Campaigns
Using print, digital, ads, emails, and signage in a combination that makes sense for your brand is a great way to spread out your budget and find the way that best works to reach your audience. And get creative to grab attention. If you’re able, creating a related but different style for each channel can help keep it interesting, especially if your audience will be seeing ads for your community on multiple channels. For example, if you’re showing off your smart home technology, you could create a multi-layered graphic to portray each piece of your smart home offerings, your digital ad can swap through the options, your emails can include bullet point benefits of smart home technology, and a video for social media ads can show someone getting into their building no problem, using a touchless entry system.

The more creative you are—the more likely it is to grab attention!

#2 Go Hyper Local when Branding Apartments

Because apartments are businesses (you know this!) it’s easy to forget that it’s your resident’s home where they’re making memories and enjoying their community. It’s where they are growing up, with their job nearby (or near their favorite attractions). This means that leaning into local and learning the best around the block can be a gamechanger for your branding.

MAPPING OUT YOUR BRANDING

Branding, if heavily influenced by your location can give you a leg up on the competition as a differentiator. It’s not a coincidence that you’re in this neighborhood and the same group of people that are headed to the local book store or coffee shop are also attracted to your building. Look around you and be inspired. Your branding should simultaneously consider the ideal resident profile (IRP) and the demographics of your area. Find something that is relatable for your ideal resident and zero in on it to create something that will feel like it’s created just for them.

Being aware of the area’s high points and low points and local knowledge gives you insider information, and helps you better tell the story through your branding and marketing. Your story can include the highlights of the area, why you are the right choice of community, and why your apartments fit right in with the rest of the neighborhood. When you know what’s “going on” locally or historically—or both—your story becomes so much more compelling.

#3 Using Branding to Capture Your Audience

DIGITAL DOMINANCE

Utter digital domination is the only way to go. What do we mean? Hopefully things you’re already doing online: a website, digital ads, email marketing, and social. In fact, a study by Shelter Realty revealed that 72% of respondents generally turn to the Internet first when searching for an apartment. They’re looking for the easiest, most streamlined way to find their next home.

Website
Your website is your biggest marketing tool. Certainly branding is vital in creating a website that is representative of your community—and is consistent—but the website must be useful. It should offer more about your community, your location, your events, and plenty of photos of the inside, the outside, and what units are available. If you don’t have a website (or a good one), you will lose out on a lot of leads. This is the hub of your online presence, and everything else that you put out should direct leads there. You can even create landing pages specific to digital ads you create to track the results. Make sure your website is recognizable as your brand—many website builders backends even have brand toolsets to upload color palettes and fonts.

Digital Ads
Placing ads on social media, as search ads, or even using retargeting can be an amazing way to capture
leads and drive them to—yes, you guessed it—your website. Work with a designer to ensure you have everything you need on the ad and that it fits within your brand guidelines.

Email Marketing
Grand openings, offers, and announcements should all flow through email. They can certainly end up on the website, but should be sent out to your email list—the emails should be worth opening and apply to the readers. Email marketing is the one way you have control over who sees it, so you can stay top-of-mind for your ideal resident. It’s also useful for your current residents for any reminders of events coming up, helping keep them connected and looped in.

Social Media
If you’re not on social media, you’re missing out! It’s fun, organic social is free (except for time) and it’s a fairly important piece of the puzzle for many prospects. Seeing what you post and recognizing your brand (and brand voice through the captions) is one more thing you can do to help engage with your residents and prospects.

Go where the people are—online. Target them with your ads. Speak to them with your perfectly branded emails. It’s a lot of work to be everywhere, but the digital landscape requires you to find your residents through every channel. When you’re in front of them regularly, with consistent branding, and marketing your best and most desired amenities, and giving them the inside scoop on what’s best around the block, you’ll shoot to the top of their list this year.

Multifamily Branding – How to Get an Edge in 2024

Written by Stacey Feeney on December 18, 2023. Posted in All Articles, Branding, Marketing. 1 Comment on Multifamily Branding – How to Get an Edge in 2024

Maybe you’re working on wrapping up Q4 and your numbers weren’t what you’d hoped. Maybe they’re better and you want to keep that momentum—good on you!

If you truly want to get an edge in 2024 in your community, turn your focus to multifamily branding, the beautiful, well structured sister to marketing.

Where to begin?

Start here.

Reality: Brand Consistency Aligned with Property [Class]

We’ve written a lot about brand consistency. We’ve also written about aligning brand with your property class. It’s imperative that you’re realistic about how you present your community via your brand. Your prospects can’t be set up to fail right off the bat if you overdo it on the brand (or if you under-do it). Get your branding in order and keep it consistent.

How: Take your property class and figure out how best to brand it according to the quality and offerings of the community and the pricing and budget you’ll have. Our shortcut for how much branding for what level of property class is covered here, too!

Relatability: Creating a Personable Brand Through and With Its People

When we create brand guidelines for apartment communities, we like to ask: if your brand was a celebrity, who would they be and why? When you make your brand into something that feels more tangible, it’s easier to see what choices should be made next. And then, it’s easier to create a brand persona that is relatable.

Another way to inject personality into your brand is to use actual people. Your staff. Your on-site management team. Your marketing crew. Even your CEO. A little transparency through a few fun facts, and you’ll find people jiving with the experiences you’re sharing. Behind it all, humans are running the show. It’s okay to let them know that.

How: Do super-short form interviews with the people behind the scenes. Revealing the faces (and personalities!) behind the names is always a good move.

Memorability: Market the Experience

How can you market an experience? There’s a whole thing called experiential marketing. It’s exactly what it sounds like. But if that’s not clear enough, experiential marketing is when a group creates an experience that can leave a long-lasting impression on the resident (or prospect). The hope is that it’s talked about, and remembered for a long while.

You know what’s fun about memories? They’re better when they’re shared. That means when your prospect or customer experiences something out of the ordinary (positive or negative) they’re going to tell their friends and family. That’s immediate word-of-mouth marketing too. So: Make sure the memory is going to be positive.

How: Throw a prospect party! Include something different and creative. Invite anyone who’s interested and have a fun bash together.

Imagination: Tell the Best Story

Storytelling is vital to an impressive brand. Pick a topic and run with it. One of our favorites is location—why is your community such a game changer for the area? Who does it benefit, how does it make a difference, and why was it set in this precise spot? If you don’t have a good story—like any friend would have told you after you get a cast put on for tripping over your own feet—MAKE one.

Next, tell the story of your company. How it got its name. What you’re passionate about and why.

Then, create a story around the culture of your residents. They’re living life in your community, there’s plenty of fodder there. Include their positive experience, testimonials, and reviews in your marketing materials. Don’t have any? Ask for it! When your prospects see the real-life goodness that stems from signing a lease at your community, they’ll be one step closer to moving in.

How: Hire a content writer to really bring the story to life. Make your staff available for questions, since research and experience will plug directly into how real the story is. Get creative and communicate well.

Innovation: Using Unique Branded Moments to Make Connections

Going with some giveaways? Decide what would appeal to a fair percentage of your population and lean into a branded giveaway that will connect—something they would actually want or find clever.

Vibe check. What kind of space has your community set up shop in? Who would likely live in your apartment community?

And then: are your residents eco-minded? Go for reusable branded cutlery.
Retro-loving? Seek out cute pins of your brand elements.

Luxe above all else? Leather keychains for new residents (think a classic hotel experience)

How: Think about what branded items connected most with you—and why. Then translate that into an experience for your residents and prospects.

Loyalty: Award Ambassadors and Foster Lease Renewals

Speaking of hotels and airlines—they love to point out and thank their Golden Super Special Star Loyalty Members with all kinds of deals and points and special offers. At the end of the day, it was created to foster brand loyalty (we’ve got to rack up those points and use them) and to make their customers feel special.

When you can foster lease renewals, this will help keep turnover down, because you’re creating a desire to stay in the community through rewards. Plus, it can create excitement for those seeking out a place to live—benefits galore.

How: With your residents, you can replicate this kind of program. Create brand ambassadors by offering special access to certain areas at specific times. You could also create a referral reward program.

This year, armed with a variety of new ideas to try (or keep doing), 2024 Multifamily Branding is going to be yours—all yours.

Social Media Apartment Marketing—Three Ways

Written by Stacey Feeney on December 10, 2023. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

Social Media Apartment Marketing—Three Ways

It’s time to post on social media to market your apartment community. But you’re not feeling it. Here are three social media content pillars that you can go to every single time.

Before prospects tour, they’re probably checking out your social media accounts. Get it cleaned up and consistent (with your brand) with high-quality photos and interesting content.

1- Show the Property on Social

First step: Show off the property on social media. This is what they really, truly want to see. (There’s so much content here!) Keep it real and authentic, though!

TYPES OF PHOTOS

It’s likely you already have oodles of professional photography of your space. Use those photos. Put in creative captions. Using what you already have will help with quality control, and will give your followers a (beautiful) idea of the spaces.

Taking photos with your phone is also fine—make sure they’re in focus, clear, and well-lit.

Capture photos of the following to vary the textures, colors, and content in your posts:

Inside common spaces (the gym, the lounge, the leasing office)
Outside areas (barbecue area, pool)
Inside various apartments—you can get up close to beautiful countertops, drawer pulls, updated shower fixtures, pretty lighting, and plenty more that will show your attention to detail, and the modern selections or updates you’ve chosen for your residents)
The surrounding neighborhood hot spots

SHORT TOURS (SNEAK PEEKS)

It’s always fun to watch a quick video of something you’re interested in. With the average person now glued to their phones, video content is a great way to capture attention and keep it. Keep every video short and sweet, and consider making content only for one space at a time (the pool) or for one room at a time (the primary bathroom of a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment) for example. Quick tours can leave the prospect wanting more—and may help bring them in for a full tour soon enough.

Camera-shy? No problem. You don’t have to be filmed performing a junior high dance on camera. The trick here, again, is to be real and show the property off.

2 – Share the Culture on Social

An apartment community, with an emphasis on community, is an intriguing and appealing concept to prospects. Get them on site by showing off the culture of the community through your social media posts.

DAY IN THE LIFE

Show off what it’s like to live at This Place. Friendly neighbors? Fun events each week or month? Easy lease payments? Smooth maintenance requests and service? Tell it all! (All the good stuff, of course.) This could include a quick walk to a local coffee shop, or setting up a doggy play date at the dog park!

INSIDE EDITION

For easy content, do a quick Q&A and with some of your staff. This makes things personal and creates heartwarming content that helps prospects and residents connect with staff at the community that they may interact with.

TESTIFY

Having testimonials be part of the regular content rotation is a great idea. It’s like boosting a five-star review on your google page—only you can shorten it, tighten it and pick your favorites. When your prospects are scrolling, they’ll be able to see the best of the best from your happy residents. This can be particularly good or effective if you use an example from an efficiently resolved maintenance request.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Show off your events, parties, and contests. There’s likely always something going on, so be sure to advertise it well. Use your logo and craft a clear caption. When the prospect heads to your profile to scroll, they’ll be able to see just how fun it could be to live there!

3 – Lean into Local on Social

Don’t be afraid to go “beyond your borders” and get out into your community’s neighborhood. There’s so much to do and see—right? Pick a few restaurants, shops, and parks to show off. If you can, rent a bike and ride around to make a fun reel on IG. By visiting these local places and showing them off on social media, you’ll also get a feel for what your favorite spots are. This makes your recommendations to new residents that much more authentic. For example, you could say, “Yes, this is my favorite groomer in the area!” and it would be accurate information (instead of just a Yelp-based answer.) Pretend you’re Rick Steves for a second, but be a tourist in your own town, hunting down the best cup of coffee and the perfect spot for a picnic.

Showing all these places and activities can give prospects a clearer understanding of the local vibe.

Final Social Media Apartment Marketing Tips

BE SEASONAL ABOUT IT

Don’t be afraid to decorate for fall. And post about it. (Everyone else is, so you’ll fit right in.) In summer, you can pot a tomato plant on your patio. In fall, you can create some fun soup recipes to share, perfect for anytime your residents have an autumn gathering. Quick reminder: Doing seasonal stuff sometimes makes us lose our heads and our focus on the brand. So…

DON’T FORGET YOUR BRAND

You thought we might get through this whole post without talking about Your Brand? No way. Make sure you’re still maintaining every bit of your brand guidelines with your posts. Colors, fonts, and brand voice in the captions will help associate you with your brand again and again. When you create a community brand as a lifestyle brand, it can drive signed leases because your prospects want to be a part of something that looks like THAT! Everything should stay aligned—beautiful social graphic templates are a great place to start for your regular content, like testimonials and “around town” type posts.

Whatever you do, have fun with it and that will come through in your posts.

Owners and Developers and Apartment Branding

Written by Stacey Feeney on December 2, 2023. Posted in All Articles, Branding, Marketing.

Why Should Owners and Developers Be Involved in Apartment Branding?

Good business sense will help us let owners and developers in on a little secret: branding is a huge component of how your community is perceived. And if we know anything about reviews, testimonials, websites and logos, perception accounts for a whole lot of decision-making. The owner is the one with the hands on the pursestrings. This is their “baby” and they must have a say in the branding.

In short, it’s their company and it’s their money, so if the branding fails to impress, your community may not meet its goals in obtaining and retaining residents.

Why is branding important? Owners create a community with your blood, sweat, and tears. The branding is a prospect’s shortcut to how they’ll identify that hard work in building this branded community. But ultimately, the customer (prospective resident) will determine if it’s visit-worthy—based on the branding you put out there—and it will leave a lasting impression, good or bad.

Why’s Branding Important for Multifamily Owners and Developers?

The company behind the apartment building should be reflected in every bit of its branding. Represent your community well with branding that looks good and sounds good and makes residents feel good about where they live (or where prospects might live).

WHAT MAKES GOOD BRANDING?

Branding’s more than a logo. It creates recognition within your neighborhood, it builds trust and loyalty with your customers, and it creates a sense of community with your residents—particularly when you lean into location and understand the audience you’re trying to attract and the vibe you’re trying to fit in with. You can bump up your branding even further when you marry it with architecture and interior design.

This is particularly true when you’re building a new construction or doing renovations, but you can also take cues from the existing design and patterns to help form a brand around something that’s recognizable. If your community has gorgeous Doric-style columns, see if you can incorporate a roundness to your fonts, and make your community stand out in a way that only you can.

NEW CONSTRUCTION VS. VALUE ADD

As we mentioned new construction properties above, branding is vital in the different phases of construction. Make sure you have outlined the brand before it all begins, because it should all work together, seamlessly. As far as your budget, tread carefully. It’s always a good idea to identify your property class and brand accordingly. Your C-class property doesn’t need everything the A-class property requires.

However, if you’re doing a value-add through renovations, you may be able to consider a bigger branding effort. Anytime you’re updating a property, that’s a great opportunity to dive in and rebrand or do a refresh of your brand. It may even be expected from some of your residents and in-the-know prospects. (Kind of like an “Under New Management” sign, or “Pardon our Dust” sign—this signifies that something better is coming.)

How Involved Should They Be?

GIVE THE VISION

When the owner or developer of a new community starts on their journey of construction or renovation—they have a vision. Of quality and appeal. Of full occupancy. And most of all: a vision of profits. To get there, branding will help. Most owners and developers have been in the market for some time, and they know what needs the community meets. They understand the market and how to angle the branding to differentiate the community from other competitors. By sharing the vision with your managers, and everyone who’s on the journey with you, you can create a brand that feels authentic instead of totally derived.

INVESTMENT

Investing in apartment branding is absolutely worth it and typically falls to ownership to foot the bill. It doesn’t cost $0 but when developed thoughtfully will provide great ROI even though it may be hard to track. How so?

Great branding sets you apart from your competitors.

Great branding helps gain trust and credibility with your prospective residents.

Great branding helps keep current residents through loyalty and culture-making.

Great branding can increase perceived value (making a higher price point seem reasonable).

When your branding’s on point, you can generate more signed leases and diminish turnover. As an owner or operator, that’s more than worth it. Ensure branding is in the budget this year and every year—because you’ll see if affect your bottom line either way. It might as well be in the good way. (Spend money, make money.)

When Should Owners and Developers Deal with Branding?

EARLY

At the beginning, owners and developers cast the vision, as we’ve said. It must start early in the process of the community, particularly if it’s a new construction, or if it’s a brand repositioning of an asset that they’re trying to revamp or get more leases in.

If a new construction—this branding should be dealt with before the groundbreaking event. (We’ve even broken down our branding by construction phase to make it easy for you.) If you don’t have time to read the full blog, here’s the general gist of it:

Construction drives timelines, so be prepared with your branding from the outset.
There are four phases:

Early Construction – This is when you come up with the foundational branding aspects and your apartment community’s name
Coming Soon – Get the marketing startup items in line with the branding!
Pre-Leasing – Business cards and other stationery should be ready to go now.
Now Open – Banners and signage should let everyone know they can move in!

OFTEN

Along with establishing your mission and vision, it’s good to do a little community brand check up every once in a while. Help your corporate-level operators all the way down to your on-site leasing agents know what to use and when to use it. Consistency is key because consistency fosters recognition in the larger community. Be clear about what is and isn’t your brand. Having your marketing team outline bad examples could be just as useful as good ones. The more specific, the less excuse there is for putting something out that’s off-brand.

Apartment Branding for Corporate-Level Operators and Marketers

Written by Stacey Feeney on November 25, 2023. Posted in All Articles, Branding, Marketing.

Apartment branding for corporate-level operators and marketers can have a huge impact. Much of the branding that’s used in the community comes from the top down, and it’s your responsibility to create and keep a positive brand reputation. And that’s not all, really. Picture this: You’ve invested in professional branding development with a creative agency (like Zipcode Creative) or your talented in-house design has crafted a killer apartment brand. But what’s next?

Well, you’re also responsible for ensuring the branding tools are being used correctly and consistently by the on-site managers and agents. Put that beautiful new apartment brand to work!

Why Should Corporate Care about Apartment Branding?

REPUTATION

We’ve already mentioned reputation. In order to see growth in your community, you’ll need to create a brand that your residents can identify with. Branding is necessary to create something recognizable. In working with owners and stakeholders, branding can create something that’s achievable—something that can be grasped, even if only in parts at a time (logo, colors, etc.)

INVESTOR-READY

Your branding, if used effectively, can help sell your community as a package to investors. Seeing professionalism through a full branding package gives the impression that you’re ready to roll, and will help the investors trust you, and put a little more faith in you.

LEASING

Alternately, whatever you’re doing for this apartment building is about getting leases and keeping leases. And before that? Marketing and generating leads. Creating benefits for the property management company is the impetus for all that you do. Branding can help you get closer to getting the place leased up.

Bottom line: Branding creates a vision you can share with anyone—whether they’ll live there, or want to make a profit with a successful business.

Helping Teams Get Set

NEW PROPERTY MARKETING SET UP

Your team needs a lot of help, particularly with setting up property marketing. This is true of both new constructions or of takeovers. Branding items, from business cards to stationery to brochures to digital versions of the logo are necessary so everyone can do their job and do it well.

ON-SITE WORK

It’s a bustling community—and branding guidelines for your on-site leasing agents and managers will keep up appearances like no other tool in your belt.

Take a pulse and go through our mini-checklist here:

Stationery
Brochures
Welcome packets
Event Invites
Announcements
Email blasts
Mailers
Signage

Struggling to keep brand consistency with your onsite teams? Check out our blog on implementing on-site branding guidelines here.

Chain of Command in Brand Consistency

TOP TO BOTTOM

If regionals are the deputies of brand “policing” (well, consistency) then you’re the chief of police! You have to, from the corporate marketing level, control as much as you can. All the outputs that require design should be ready to go, with the tools you provide. The bottom—or, the on-site management team, should be getting their marching orders from you. Make it easy for you and for them by using the brand assets and guidelines to allow them to DIY the things they’re responsible for, like social media, or last-minute flyers.

You’re at the top. And from the top down, there has to be clear, consistent branding for your community.

AT THE CORPORATE MARKETING LEVEL

Everything that goes out design-wise should have your go-ahead. Onsite, use brand assets, DIY as necessary, and make it easy for everyone on your team. The tools come from the top, and the brand look and feel should be aligned all the way down.

When you make it easier on everyone with solid, beautiful branding, you’ll be surprised at how well everyone falls in line. Easy color palette, easy fonts, consistency and clarity add up to brand development and recognition—something that will set you apart among other apartment communities.