NEWS

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 30, 2009) – An innovative apartment marketing strategy developed by Merrick Towle Communications, including outreach to neighborhood bloggers and a heavy focus on special events and social media, lead to a dramatic increase in visits to the leasing center and Web site and a record number of lease-signings in just three months for Allegro Apartments, a new luxury apartment building in Columbia Heights.

Since Allegro Apartments’ grand opening in late April, a total of 129 out of 297 units have been leased for a closing rate of 43 percent, which is exceptional for a new luxury apartment complex just getting underway in a challenging economy. Traffic to the apartment’s leasing center has continued at a strong pace, as have visitors to Allegro’s Web site where there is an average of 1,200 unique visitors each week, a 75 percent increase since prior to the opening.

Merrick Towle Communications executives point to a strategy aimed at Allegro Apartments’ target audience of young urban professionals who work hard and play equally hard and have a passion for nightlife and the D.C. area’s vibrant club scene. They are not easily reached via standard apartment marketing tactics such as print advertising in guidebooks, real estate sections and the classified ad pages.

Instead, Merrick Towle Communications used two events as strategic pillars for the strategy, encouraging the target audience to interact with members of the Allegro Apartments team while experiencing the brand’s club “vibe.” The first event, a pre-opening gala held in January at Town Danceboutique, featured entertainment by Broadway actress Natalie Joy Johnson and attracted hundreds of prospective residents. That event was followed by an April gala grand opening that drew more than 1,000 attendees, including many local VIPs, who toured the luxury apartment building and were entertained by the music of The Yellow Fever DJs.

Creative tactics such as the ones listed below extended the messages and images, reaching an audience far beyond those who attended the events:

• A partnership with On Tap leveraged the magazine’s relationships with the nightlife venues Allegro Apartments wanted to reach as well as the publication’s local and dedicated readers. Beyond the print edition, On Tap drove traffic to the Allegro Apartments Web site via social media tools, email blasts and the magazine’s Facebook fan page.
• A sponsorship with upscale vodka brand Grey Goose and launch of a contest at area clubs engaged prospective residents in creating a signature cocktail, the Velvet Allegro, served at the events and at select clubs into the summer. This tactic helped to get promotional materials into the bars and clubs the target audience frequents, and it sustained word of mouth buzz about the Allegro Apartments.
• A publicity campaign directed exclusively to the top community bloggers, who took pre-opening hard-hat tours and responded with multiple blog posts and photos. In all, the publicity campaign directed by Merrick Towle Communications partner Sawmill Marketing Public Relations resulted in coverage in more than 200 outlets and the search engine optimized press releases resulted in top Google rankings for key terms. In addition to the blogs, news and images appeared via photos placed on Flickr, videos posted on YouTube and messages delivered via Twitter and Facebook.

"The success of the entire Allegro Apartments campaign surpassed expectations and is very impressive against industry standards," says Jeremy N. Rubenstein, president of Metro Properties, developer of Allegro Apartments. "Our primary goal has always been to appeal to members of D.C.'s core communities and provide a lifestyle that they crave, while embracing the history and revitalization of a neighborhood as rich and vibrant as Columbia Heights. The Merrick Towle campaign did just that."

Harry Merrick IV, president of Merrick Towle Communications, said the success of the campaign began with developing a breakthrough creative strategy based on significant insights into the demographics and interests of the target audience. “Our research showed that the prospective residents simply weren’t going to be reached via traditional apartment marketing techniques, so we used our deep insights in the target market to come up with a strategy and tactical execution that would resonate with their lifestyle and interests. Looking at the results to date, the strategy is working.”

Allegro Apartments, located at 3460 14th Street N.W., was developed by Metro Properties, Inc. and is managed by Kettler. For more information and to arrange a private tour visit www.allegrospaces.com or call 1-202-588-5800.