This article first appeared in FE Magazine – Winter 2024.

Read the full magazine here.

By Tami Kenwell, President, Madhouse Advertising Inc.

Let’s face it: getting prospects to sign on the dotted lease line isn’t always easy. Sure, we all know we need to assess our market and the competition, figure out our ideal prospects, and determine how to wrap up our offering with a nice big bow. That’s Marketing 101. That’s why Madhouse uses a deliberately phased marketing campaign that goes beyond the basics to help our clients cross the finish line and get their new rental buildings quickly leased up.

Phase 1: Create a knockout brand.

You can’t sell without knowing what you stand for and who you want to sell to. When creating your brand, be relevant and relatable to your target audience. Reflect your core values, and don’t try to be something you’re not. Finally, be memorable. If nobody remembers you, you’re tossing marketing dollars into the wind. Madhouse can help elevate your existing brand or create a new, knockout brand that stands out in a crowded space.

Phase 2: Build awareness.

This phase isn’t always just about making prospects aware of your brand. Sometimes, you need first to sell people on the larger picture. One well-known developer transformed an underutilized area [Regent Park] into a mixed-income, mixed-use community with affordable housing rentals, condominiums, and public spaces by touting a “We’ve changed” message to first sell people on the neighbourhood. Once entrenched, the message of “Redefining urban living” then sold prospects on the brand. Supported by a dynamic digital strategy and online user experience that gave prospects a real-time feel for this great product, the campaign was a smash, leasing the majority of their 400-plus units while the entire city was under lockdown.

Phase 3: Trigger acquisition.

When you’re marketing purpose-built rentals that haven’t broken ground yet, you’re asking people to commit to something without bricks and mortar. This may be the toughest part of the marketing challenge because you need to pique interest and drive demand. Your reservation campaign should appeal to your prospect’s wish list by being intriguing [and appearing in the right places]. Madhouse uses tried-and-true communications strategies to get brands noticed and prospects joining our clients’ registration lists.

Phase 4: Create engagement.

Once your prospect is on the hook, you’ll need to keep them there until your property opens. For all you know, they may be on several reservation lists! So, to sustain interest, start making prospects feel like a part of your community. Build a website with a community portal so they can keep checking on progress, an email campaign with progress reports and updates from interior designers and landscapers, fun promotions to keep registrants interested, and newsletters that introduce building initiatives and staff members.

Phase 5: Convert prospects into residents.

Now it’s time to reel in interested prospects and get them to sign on the dotted line. Is your rental centre or model suite ready? Do you have wayfinding signage? Are rental agents trained and hired? Use your email campaign to invite prospects in to get a feel for the place. Make them feel special. They already like you if they’ve waited this long. It’s time to close the deal.

Phase 6: Retain your residents.

Any savvy marketer knows that the sale doesn’t end when the buyer [or renter, in this case] walks out the door. So, keep your residents engaged and strengthen that community feeling using your website, community portal, and newsletters. Ask for their feedback on how you can improve their building experience. Make sure property staff is accessible. Plan events for residents and staff to build community. Use a referral program to incentivize residents to bring in their friends and family. Remember, residents always have the option to move across the street, and it is way less expensive for you to keep them than to find a new customer.

The right marketing partner can help provide a market and competitor analysis, a strategic marketing plan to follow, and an impactful, stand-out brand with messages that target the right prospects. Want to know more about Building Crazy Good® brands and unforgettable lease-up campaigns? Talk to the Madhouse team and start crushing it together!

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