Zillow adds Apartment.com listings
Zillow, which just nine months ago added rental listings to its real estate search site has now added another 90,000 managed-rental listings to its database through a collaboration with Apartments.com, a Classified Ventures site.
The new listings include unit details, photos, floor plans and contact information for the property managers. Continue reading
‘Roommate of the Year’ wins with rap video
Classified advertising sites can be fun. Check out the winning video in Apartments.com’s Roommate of the Year contest.
Grand-prize winner Andrew Prestler of Kokomo, Ind., won free rent for a year and $10,000 for his rap-based submission, “Da Best Roommate.”
For Apartments.com, “The main goal was to raise brand awareness” and drive more exposure to the site’s advertisers, said Tammy Kotula, public relations and promotions manager. Continue reading
Apartments.com second annual roommate contest
Apartments.com kicks off its second annual Roommate of the Year video contest on April 26. The grand prize winner will get free rent for a year and $10,000. Four runner ups will get $500 each.
Finding the ideal roommate can be tough, but with 60 percent of renters living with roommates or seeking one, it’s an important topic. The Apartments.com roommate contest seeks out those who qualify as best roommate, to showcase them for others to emulate and search for.
“We have discovered renters believe being a good roommate is about more than just having someone to split the bills or share the chores with,” said Tammy Kotula, PR and promotions manager, Apartments.com, in the announcement. “The reasons people have for selecting and then staying with a roommate are as vast and varied as we saw in the video entries we received last year. This contest allows people to explore the deeper meanings of ‘roommate’ and express their vision in a fun and creative manner.”
Video entrants choose from several categories: loveable compulsive, designer touch, possession obsessed, purr-fect pet owner, environmentalist, or grab bag. For further information on the contest, see the Roommate of the Year site.
U.S. rental searches up in Q1, says Apartments.com
More U.S. residents conducted apartment searches in Q110 than the same time last year, according to recently-released numbers of Apartment.com. In the first quarter of this year 11 percent more visitors went to the site year over year, while phone and e-mails leads to apartment communities advertising on the site were up 20 percent. Mobile users were far more active in their rental searches as well, with Apartments.com mobile access up 240 percent over last year. The use of texting for access to apartment community information via the site doubled this quarter from Q109.
“Our site performance in Q1 is a glimmer of good news for the rental industry,” said Kevin Doyle, SVP and GM of Apartments.com, in the announcement. “Over the past quarter, we have seen a significant spike in traffic and a 17 percent increase in both phone and email leads. This tells us that renters are doing more than just browsing. They are ready to rent and engaging the apartment communities listed on Apartments.com. Given this activity leading into peak rental season, it’s more important than ever for apartment communities to increase exposure online where the majority of renters are conducting their apartment searches.”
While Apartments.com is not ready to say this trend will continue, it does mirror the projections made by the site in its December 2009 national survey (See CIR 11.06, March 25.)
Who’s the best roomie? Apartments.com will say
Competition is heating up for the 2009 Apartments.com Roommate of the Year Contest, as the event narrows down to the final five roomie contestants. With a grand prize of rent for the year (up to $12,000) and $10,000 in cash, and the social interaction of video and public votes, this annual competition is a viral-marketing best practice.
After receiving online video submissions from renters around the country, five talented roomates were chosen through a combination of votes cast by 20,000 U.S. adults and the Apartments.com judging panel. All videos were judged with equal weight on originality and creativity, overall “wow” factor, persuasive argument and style and production. Those vying for the title used word of mouth, flyers and social media to urge others to cast their votes.
“We received so many quality video entries and had such an overwhelming response from America during the public voting phase, it made for a very tough competition,” said Tammy Kotula, public relations and promotions manager, Apartments.com, in the latest announcement. “These five entries not only grabbed America’s attention, they also captured the essence of what it means to be ‘Roommate of the Year.’ We’re excited to have these talented individuals and their creative videos moving on to compete for the grand prize.”
The five finalists:
- The Lovable Compulsive Category - “1st Rate Rhythmic Roommate” byKeaton Davis of Hockessin, DE
- The Superhero Category, ”American Superhero” by Tina Quach of Berkeley, CA
- The Purr-fect Pet Category, “Jen + Harvey 4eva” by Jen Cady of Los Angeles
- The Coolest Crib Category, “No More Nightmares” by Martin Rosa of Canal Winchester, OH
- The Individualist Category, “Roommate of the Year Official Music Video” by Kevin Adams of Columbus, OH
The Roommate of the Year will be announced October 1. The other four finalists will each be awarded $500.
Apartments.com launches media library for rental prospects
Apartments.com is making it easier for apartment leasing professionals to follow up with rental prospects. The new tool is called MyMedia, and its main innovation is that it creates customized communications that can be e-mailed out including digital brochures, flyers, notices, forms, articles, newsletters and videos.
Apartments.com SVP and GM Kevin Doyle described it this way: “MyMedia does the heavy lifting by providing leasing offices with the marketing communications to quickly and professionally follow up with leads.”
Apartment professionals access their media from the MyMedia library which in turn is accessed from the existing Apartments.com Leads Dashboard.
Apartments.com says that the new tool can also be used to improve communication with existing renters.
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