Question

Topic: Strategy

Ideas To Market Free Rent For A Year Contest?

Posted by Anonymous on 6/23/2009 at 11:39 AM ET 125 Points
I am at a road block and need major help! I am a marketing director for a property management company. We are going to do a 2-month promotion where every single person who signs a 12-month lease within that timeframe will be entered in a random drawing where they could win their 12-month lease, FREE! In addition to the free rent drawing, we are also going to give away a free apartment to a charity (maybe a family who has lost their home in a fire, etc.) Involving a charity also helps us get free press, which isn't a bad thing :) My dilemma is I have no idea how to market this awesome promotion! Should I call it something catchy like, "Win a FREE pad for a Year!" And have image of a frog on a lily pad? Or should I keep it less hokey? This is a great promotion and we should be able to get tons of exposure by doing it but I don't have a CLUE how to market it! Help!!
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  • Posted on 6/23/2009 at 12:10 PM Member
    Why not just say " Win Free Rent for a Year"? The value is obvious, the offer is powerful, and the benefits are clear.

    And yeah, the frog idea is a bit hokey.

    Jodi
  • Posted by Elizabeth S on 6/23/2009 at 1:00 PM Member
    "Win free rent for a year" is immediately clear, whereas the frog idea might take someone a second to understand. On the other hand, if you were the Frog Apartments, it would help people remember which complex was offering the deal.

    As someone who has done a lot of apartment-hunting in recent years, "free rent for a year" would be enough to catch my attention.
  • Posted on 6/23/2009 at 2:58 PM Accepted
    The most important thing is to be relevant. How to promote yourself effectively is completely dependent on the audience you are trying to reach.

    Do you have a large population of college students or 20 somethings that live in your development? If so, you could try using a few of the social media sites. Advertise the promotion over the local radio stations (if you combine efforts with the charity you can do this through free PSA's) and also mention what social media sites you participate in. You could send out updates as apartments become available through twitter (use a twitter name like "FreeRentPromo" for the updates), start a Facebook page and use it to post the details of the promotion as well as pictures of your apartments and all sorts of valuable information that people moving into a new apartment will need. This could include things like information on utilities in your area, a check list of things to do when moving, etc. You could also send a press release to the radio and newspaper at local colleges.

    If your audience is older, you should send a press release to your local paper along with those in the surrounding areas. You can also participate in any community events that allow you to have a booth where you can hand out brochures and other promotional materials. Utilize free PSA's in combination with your charity for this audience as well.

    Don't forget to send out fliers to all of your current residents who's leases are going to be up for renewal!

    Good Luck!
    Rebecca
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