Apartment marketers are in the media business. Let’s face it; if you’re in the business of going after attention – you’re in the media business. We are all in the business of drawing attention to our respective communities so by default we’re in the media business. And you better understand the game.
Attention Economy
There is a great line that goes something like this – We are living in an attention economy. The premise being that consumers attention spans are diminishing at an ever accelerating pace. So true considering a recent study that suggests that a-spans are down from a mere 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds today. That leads me to believe that those who would compete for one’s attention better do it in a meaningful way. And native advertising is one of your keys.
Go Native
The best example I can give you for native advertising is what Levi’s is doing on Instagram. They post four pics of people just like you and me wearing Levi’s Jeans in amazing over-the-top outdoor spaces. The ad looks just like a pic that any of us would heart. And in that I see an apartment spin.
Your thinking about native apartment advertising Multifamily Maniac,
M
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but do companies in the apartment industry have the vision and commitment to run their business like a media business?
Ask yourself this – would people be inclined to want to see lifestyle pieces about apartments or is it too benign for most?
Boring
Agree.
I am convinced there is a way to make this type of content compelling. When I have time to reflect on content marketing – my gut keeps coming back to this concept. I haven’t worked it out in my head yet but when I do; it will roll off in the way of a post…stay tuned.
I generally think framing it as the “apartment lifestyle” is a bad idea — the connotation positions renters as second class. The focus should be on the freedom and flexibility and convenience and the access to a great location and all of the other reasons why people choose to rent.
Red Bull or GoPro are perfect examples: They don’t produce lifestyle pieces about energy drinks or portable cameras, but instead focus on enabling the thrill-seeking attitude of their customers.
It’s not about selling the “apartment lifestyle” … it’s about standing for something that resonates with a subset of your potential audience (and not trying to appeal to everyone), then selling *that* lifestyle. What is it that you stand for?
A different question is do they have the stomach for it, and is it worth it, and why do it when they can continue to Drink the flavorful ILS Juice
good point
I think not.
And, the more I study new media business model(s); the more I understand why; it’s not and will never be considered a/the core. The natural retort will always be – “we are in the apartment business first and foremost. We can’t get away from that.” We struggle with that very point in our shop. We’ve turned down some cool stuff because it’s not core to our business. Stuff I would have jumped at in a heart beat. Jumped at because I think it complements our business perfectly. Jumped at because I think we can leverage the relationships by bringing value to both sides.
Are you really in the apartment business, or the lifestyle-enabling business? The railroads decided they were in the rail business, and they missed the opportunity to become UPS. Kodak decided it was in the film business, and it missed the opportunity to become Flickr or Instagram. Just something to think about as you try to frame all of those opportunities that “aren’t core to the business.”
We would LOVE to hear more about what being in the Media Business “looks like” for an apartment operator Mike, if you are inclined to share,
Are we in the business of going after attention or are we in the business of being found/discovered? Marinate on that for me.
The industry has always been about being discovered. SHOULD the new Marketing be going after? Do day-to-day people really want to see that?
being found is a combination serendipitous discovery, planned discovery and attention.
So if attention spans are down (and are likely continuing that way), then why exhaust resources fighting for limited attention? I’m just questioning this idea of native advertising. Seems like a flavor of the month marketing plan. Not sure how that is delighting customers or potential customers.
I’m not going to buy Levi’s because of their Instagram page. The only reason I would even follow them on Instagram was because I already was a buyer of their product and I’m connected to that brand enough that I want their photos in my Instagram feed. So here lies another issue with Instagram. I can’t share photos natively. Now I can’t even pledge my love for their cool jeans photo other than “hearting” it. Most of my followers won’t see that, and their limited attention will likely gloss right over the fact that I did.
So what now? I’m not suggesting social media is a poor platform for communicating with customers, but the idea of “native advertising” doesn’t get me fired up either. Maybe it’s the word “advertising” that I’m getting hung up on.
To your point Duncan, I like your 3 prong idea here. The question is whether the “attention” prong is continuing to shrink enough that we need to focus on the discovery prongs more? Marketers have always focused on the “attention” prong as a priority. Maybe that’s a mistake?
Few business people can even define native advertising. And those outside of it are clueless it even exists. Yet media research group BIA/Kelsey predicts that by 2017, brands will spend $4.57 billion on social native ads.
$4.57 billion is a lot of money to just be flavor of the month marketing plan.
So the channel has just shifted to social platforms and those dollars spent in an attempt to grab attention in print, billboards, TV commercials, or banner ads are just moved into the new channel. Same stuff, different platform. Now social is ruined by crappy ads, and like we’ve done with the DVR we’ll find a way to skip past them because they are interrupting us. #fail
Mark, where is the marketer in you for goodness sakes, Red Bull has done an outstanding job at this, as has Chipolte with their Back to the Start farmland series, just to name a few,that stuff ROCKS.
Just because many or most marketers screw it up doesn’t make it bad, and when done right it soars. Red Bull Media is a stand alone profit center that happens to sell an energy drink. And while I am not comparing what we have done at Urbane to those brands, we get more checks from venders, advertisers and festival promotions than our marketing costs, I keep that fairly close to the vest, but if done on a larger scale, your apartment marketing becomes free.
I’m playing Devil’s advocate here. I felt Mike’s original point in this post was a bit broad. I’m skeptical as we’ve seen many failures in branded media efforts over that last few years, and many that could be considered snake oil. Surely it can be done well and done right, but I also see many brands continuing to do it wrong treating social as another push platform. These push efforts have kids moving to platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, etc. to avoid the interruptions. So by 2017 that spend might get to $4.5 billion, but is that just because marketers are just “selling” social as the fresh platform like marketers in the past sold TV, billboards, and internet banner ads? Marketers have to justify their jobs, right? There I go again being the Devil. 🙂
yes we need to focus on the discovery prongs more. And the trick is …. there is no trick. To provide supremely researched, well written, helpful, citable content – video, slides, and layered graphics. Then people will listen. That is repeatable. But making a video that will get everyone’s attention is not plannable or repeatable.
What’s to say that those people sporting Levi’s are doing it in a JC Hart apartment community. Maybe in their apartment. Maybe out by the pool. Maybe walking around a trail within the community. Maybe in the community room.
Flies by in a news feed and no one remembers or cares. I’m not in marketing to play “what if” games that don’t create real word of mouth.
Not if someone is ready to buy. Not if at that moment in time they are ready to participate/engage/partake.
I love “what ifs” – in my mind; its the way new ideas are breed/hatched/nurtured and brought to life. Trust me, I admire the doers much more than the idea guys but not everyone (yours truly) can focus long enough to make ideas into brass tack measurable cool stuff. And I get that you can’t build a business on what-ifs and in the same respect I don’t think you can make a business better without asking that very question.
Love your view of the world by the way – it’s mindful and practical, challenging and useful, logical and between the eyes. Or more briefly said – REAL. You rock – man.
M
Not if that person is ready to buy/engage/participate/partake.
I get the ‘what if’ point but is it fair to say that without the ‘what if’ there would be no innovation in the world.
Now I am certain that if Steve J never asked the ‘what if’ question and Apple never came to be; you’d be happy as a clam :-).
That aside, I love ‘what if’ people but I do admire the doers much more. Some of us (yours truly) can sit still or focus long enough to make a ‘what if’ come to fruition – it’s just not my lot in life.
I think that’s why I love tracking the Mark’s, Mike W’s, Eric’s, Jonathan’s, Melissa D’s, Jessica H’s, Ryan B’s Bill S’s, Duncan’s and LT’s of the multifamily world – they make cool stuff happen.
All that aside – I love your take on the world MJ. It’s REAL and in your face – in a good way.
M
Like the way you put that!
I think we should attempt to create experiences that – within reason – become catalyst for being found/discovered. Discovery should be the byproduct of meaningful attention getting experiences that we curate and execute…
absolutely!!!!
Ideally yes!
But this doesn’t make us media companies.
If apartment operators are going to be in the Media Business we need to learn to Entertain and Delight and we need to hire folks with new and different skillsets;
***Content Strategist
***Graphic Designer
***Copywriter
***Social Media Strategist
***Project Leader Content Marketing
***SEO Strategist
I agree with this in concept but I think we have to pick our clients strategically – at least to the extent that we can. My guiding principle at this point is every business within a two to five mile radius that serves my resident base. And, I identify them by auditing my current lease base.
I say all that without the benefit or reading the rest of the conversation below…stay tuned.
M
Much agree, the participating venders in this Partnership Marketing venture must be in the neighborhood and be in close alignment with our brand and core demographic. That said, just imagine for a minute how many great connections that can be made here, but the trick is being “Of Value” otherwise you discount your tribe.
Would you agree that there are two fundamental audiences in this scenario? B2C and B2B. And they interplay with one another?
That is to say, to the extent that you can help a local business (B2B) provide value to/for their ‘tribe’ (B2C) then they use the same equation to provide value back to you.
Yes, that being a thoughtful match-up,
Whoa! Stepped away from this post to focus on other things… – Will join in the conversation tonight. You guys rock! M
For the sake of this spirited discussion, lets add this to the mix, Lowering Marketing Costs, that IS the WHY of this discussion, or it should be. The fact that we want to Enhance the Prospects Experience makes it nice to talk about. What if the cost of apartment marketing as we know it is GROSSLY out of whack. What we believe that $200 per unit per year to market apartments (there thereabouts) is the right number, so we go and spend $60,000 to market a 300 unit apartment community, but the real cost, once you UNPLUG from all other outside Drug of Choice ILS’s the real cost to lease those 150 units each year is $20,000, NOT $60,000.
Before the Multifamily Naysayer Negative Nellie Talking Head Sharks attack this theory, forget that your number may be less than $200 or more than $200, the point being start wrapping your head around the idea what we are spending on Apartment Marketing is 2/3 or more too HIGH, mostly because of the manner in which we market. What is suggested in this thread is a new way, so diametrically different than how it is done now, absent the crutch of a third party monster disguised as a partner. The ILS is our biggest competitor, at some point we will collectively wake up to that fact.
I’m am fully convinced that there is a way apartment companies (big or small) can make their marketing arms a profit center. And I’m not talking about signing up third party management clients, buying ILS or print media and marking it up kind of profit either. I am talking full-fledged all in soup to nuts game on marketing partnerships that leverage the most meaningful results go for the gusto cool type Sh*%!