by threshold | May 11, 2017 | All
Name: Mac Mischke
Title: Copywriter
Mac writes the messages that make our multifamily marketing campaigns memorable. Additionally, he is a part the creative team that generated dynamic apartment marketing ideas on a day to day basis.
Get to know Mac below!
What are 3 words you would use to describe Threshold?
Lively – Organized – Momentum
If you had an office nickname, what would it be?
“That guy who makes my words sounds better”
What is your favorite line from a movie?
Alright alright alriiight
If you were stuck on an island, what three things would you bring?
All the old Pokemon games, some sunscreen, and tons of La Croix.
What is the title of your autobiography?
Mac Mischke: What Went Wrong?
What is/would be your motto or slogan?
“A ship is safe in a harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
I would love to be able to fall asleep on command
What is your hidden talent?
I’m low key the fastest swimmer I’ve ever met.
If you were famous, what would it be for?
Hopefully for a bestselling novel. That’s my only shot.
Favorite Austin eats?
Chi’lantro. Specifically their honey butter chicken wings.
by threshold | May 4, 2017 | All
If you’re a property manager, or your work involves marketing to students, you’ve probably heard the phrase FOMO thrown around a lot in recent years. FOMO is an acronym for Fear of Missing Out. FOMO began as just another phrase born on social media, but it has become so commonly used that even respected outlets like Psychology Today have addressed the issue.
No app has the ability to strike FOMO into the hearts of young people quite like Snapchat. Now boasting more than 300 million monthly active users, Snapchat offers an attractive opportunity for managers hoping to implement new leasing marketing ideas at their next property event.
Using Snapchat for Leasing Events
Event promotion is in Snapchat’s DNA. Some features of the app were originally created for use at music festivals. The goal was to allow festival-goers to share their experiences with friends in the form of disappearing pictures and videos. However, the app is perfectly suited for promoting all kinds of events, which is why more and more apartment communities are using the app to raise awareness about their brands.
The app’s ability to allow people to share pictures and videos of themselves having fun at events makes it an ideal tool for leasing events and housing fairs. It’s not just about the pictures and videos though, Snapchat also lets brands add customized geofilters to certain locations and time frames.
Wait, What’s a Geofilter?
About a year ago, Snapchat began allowing brands to pay for customized geo-filters.
Simply put, a geo-filter is a graphic overlay. Customized geofilters can be overlaid on any picture or video than a Snapchat user takes when they’re in a certain geographic location within a designated time frame. Most properties that use geo-filters at their events choose to spice up their logo by adding some fun text or colors to it.
Sounds like it could help raise awareness, right? Here are some statistics that will help illustrate just how much awareness Snapchat filters can raise for your property.
These eye-popping statistics were compiled from Snapchat data and — since Snapchat recently went public — facts from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
158 million daily active users
301 million monthly active users
2.5 billion Snaps sent per day
30% of Millennial internet users open the Snapchat app regularly
30% of Snapchat users say they use the app because their parents don’t use it.
25-30 minutes—average amount of time spent using the app each day per user.
18 times — Number of times Snapchat’s daily users visit the app per day on average
These stats speak to the popularity of the Snapchat app, but your custom geofilter can live on outside Snapchat as well. Snapchat users often download or screenshot pictures to post them later. Imagine the impact your geofilter can have when it starts appearing on people’s Instagram posts and Facebook pictures as well! A professionally designed geofilter has the potential to be seen by thousands of potential residents.
Not only do Geofilters raise brand awareness by getting your logo out there, they also help your property’s reputation. When somebody sends a snap of themselves showing off your geofilter, it’s like they’re giving a personal endorsement to their friends. People trust endorsements from their friends more than any other kind of recommendation.
As the previously mentioned statistics show, the Snapchat audience is out there, just waiting for your branded geofilter. As properties plan their events for the summer and early fall with the goal of driving leases, demand for custom geofilters will be high. Threshold’s graphic designers can create Geofilters for your property’s next event, and while we’re at it, we’ll advise you on other apartment marketing ideas to raise awareness about your community.
by threshold | Apr 28, 2017 | All
Brittany is back in action this week, and she’s spilling the beans on some of our best outreach marketing ideas for apartment communities. We wouldn’t ordinarily release all these industry secrets, but all the nice weather in Austin has us in a giving mood.
Your property’s staff can take these tips for outreach marketing strategy and start implementing them right away. Our student housing clients are trying to fill vacancies for Fall 2017, and these tips could provide the final push they need. However, these outreach marketing ideas for apartments can be applied across the residential industry, so don’t feel left out if your property isn’t just for students.
Want more apartment marketing advice? Contact Threshold today. Until then, enjoy the Vlog!
by threshold | Apr 20, 2017 | All, Culture
Name: Emily Barker
Title: Graphic Designer
Emily takes apartment marketing ideas and turns them into apartment marketing masterpieces. She has been creating next-level multifamily marketing brochures, websites, and logos for Threshold for some time now, and we just want her to have her moment in the sun.
Get to know Emily below!
What are 3 words you would use to describe Threshold?
weird, friendly, evolving
If you had an office nickname, what would it be?
Office Daria
What is your favorite line from a movie?
Listen up, Fives. A Ten is speaking. — Jenna, 30 Rock
If you were stuck on an island, what three things would you bring?
coconut radio, a Kindle full of books, notebook & pens
What is the title of your autobiography?
Why Are These Fonts Not Syncing! The Emily Barker Story
What is/would be your motto or slogan?
You can’t have it all, but you can always have pizza.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Flight
What is your hidden talent?
I’m pretty good at using a Chinese Yo-yo
If you were famous, what would it be for?
Making delicious Kimchi
Favorite Austin eats?
Las Trankas for street tacos
by threshold | Apr 20, 2017 | All, Marketing
When you think of someone figuring out a name for your property, don’t imagine a creative-type at an advertising agency sitting up late at night, waiting for that perfect name to pop into their head. When Threshold names properties —be it a new or old community— our approach is never to just sit around spouting out names until we hear one that sounds cool.
That approach might work for startup tech companies, but naming ideas and marketing ideas for apartments emerge from a more nuanced approach. When property owners and developers come to us for a new naming project, they’re not only looking for a name. We certainly start with the name, but that name evolves into a color scheme, which evolves into a logo, which turns into tagline, messaging and whatever other apartment marketing collateral the property needs.
How a Name is Born
Before we can do any of that, our team needs to gather information about the property. The most important piece of information is the target market demographic. The property name must be geared precisely towards the target audience, because they’ll be seeing, saying and writing the name most often. Think about it; you wouldn’t assign a name to someone’s house without first considering who they are, what they like and where they work.
After we determine the characteristics of the community’s target resident, we consider the property’s other characteristics such as location, amenities, building style, and whether it will be considered a luxury apartment complex, a student housing community, or another kind of property. A name is only one or two words, but those words must be whittled down from a huge amount of information.
Of course, we don’t just collect information ourselves. We always sit down with property owners to talk about their vision for the property. At the end of the day, the client chooses from a list of names that Threshold provides. That’s why it’s so important to listen to the client’s ideas and incorporate them into the final naming considerations.
Be Unique. Don’t Be Weird.
Once we’ve compiled all the preliminary information, the creative naming process can begin. We look to bring out names that are unique, but not just for uniqueness sake. We’ll always consider the competition names, and avoid names that bear any similarity to other properties in the area. We want the name to stand out, but we also want it to make sense. Prospective residents should see the name and know exactly what their life will be like if they live there, or at least be intrigued by what their life might be like.
There’s no rule of thumb about whether your property name should be made up or be a real word. Each property is different, and each naming process requires a thorough investigation into which names will attract the most residents. There are rules about properties that are undergoing a rebrand, however. If your property is being rebranded, it’s probably for good reason. You don’t want to make the mistake of keeping certain parts of your old property name. A renaming effort requires total commitment to the new brand. That way, you’ll be able to attract people who are new to the market without any extra baggage that may have been associated with the previous property name.
Those are all the secret marketing ideas for apartments that we’re able to divulge today. When your property is ready for a new name, or if you’ve recently purchased a new property in need of an identity, Threshold has you covered with innovative apartment marketing ideas. We don’t do cookie-cutter and we don’t do boring —unless that’s what your target audience wants.
