Recently Merrick Towle Communication’s campaign for the CityVista V Apartments came under some scrutiny from the neighborhood blog site “The Triangle.” The blog was referencing the campaign’s concession as seen in the ad below:
As was stated in the August 3rd post:
“I couldn’t ever imagine selecting the ‘generoCITY‘ program over two months free rent unless the dollar values made the spending program a winner by a large margin. If it is designed as an even value proposition, which it likely is, I don’t understand the usefulness. It seems purely like a marketing gimic to stand out – not that there is anything wrong with that.”
So is it a value proposition or a gimmick to stand out?
The strategy for this type of program comes from CMO Jamie Gorski. She believes that there are two ways to provide discounts to the consumer.
You can go straight for the “money off” approach of TWO MONTHS RENT FREE! This certainly grabs the attention of the target. But it discounts the value of the brand. (And certainly doesn’t stand out in an economy where everyone is offering money off…)
or
You can showcase a brand’s “added value features” and then discount them for the user.
- For V Apartments the generoCITY campaign highlighted all the great retail in the area and then gave a coupon to them. This gives added value to the consumer, highlights amenities of the project and doesn’t discount the value of the brand.
- MTC did the same thing for Ms. Gorski in Chicago a few years ago by highlighting all the hotel-services at a property and giving them to residents at a discount.
At the end of the day most people choose discounted rent. But at least they’ve been drawn in by the products added-value and not the premise of a de-valued product.
Click to see the full CityVista case study
