What’s In a Name? Subliminal Messages?

When I was in 7^th grade, I met a girl named Eileen.  She told me her last name was Dover.  Although I never considered myself gullible, I totally believed her.  I even talked to friends about how ridiculous it was that her parents would name her Eileen Dover.  (Get it?  I-leaned-over?  Ha ha ha.)  Well, you can imagine I felt pretty ridiculous when the yearbook came out and it turned out her last name was actually Kim.  In my defense, she sounded completely serious about her last name being Dover!

I also went to elementary school with a boy who had rather questionable initials.  His name was Anthony Steven Swanson* – I’ll let you figure that one out on your own.  And I swear, this time it was completely true.  Even his mother had those same initials.

OK one more: my best friend in 5^th and 6^th grade had the last name Butts.  She and her siblings were teased so much about it they ended up legally changing their last name to Brokaw.

So what do all these random stories have to do with anything apartment related?  My point is that names stick and can have a huge effect on what other people think of and say about you.  I mean, all of my anecdotes are over 10 years old, but I still remember them like it was yesterday.  The same applies to names of companies.  In a world where young people try to turn anything into something dirty, is this really a good name for your company, Rick Steves?

Yes, that does say “Rick Steves’ Europe: Through the Back Door”.

No, I wouldn’t be surprised if he came up with that one when he was in Amsterdam, if you catch my drift.

And you all may or may not remember this gem of an apartment building found on FAIL Blog:

HAH!  “Crapi”…crappy.  Maybe it’s my own immaturity, but it just doesn’t get old.

You know, maybe this is the best new apartment marketing strategy for getting the attention of Gen Y.  Everyone seems so concerned about how to attract this demographic, when I can pretty much guarantee you an apartment building called “Through the Back Door” would fill up with college students in no time.  Especially if you put a washer/dryer in each unit.

What subliminal messages is your apartment community name sending?  Let us know at blog@beyondwineandcheese.com!

*I have changed the name to protect this person’s identity, but I promise, the initials have not been altered.

Time Waits for No Renter

In fourth grade I learned an important lesson from the book The Phantom Tollbooth: wasting time is a sin, but killing time is murder.  Now, since they personified time as a dog, to a 10 year old this lesson really hit home.

The culture of American business is very sensitive about not wasting time – after all, time is money.  That’s why a sense of urgency really rings true with people, especially in the apartment industry.  So when you’re posting an ad on craigslist, what better headline to use than one that makes people feel as though they should act now:

Oh no!  What’s going to happen to the apartment if I don’t get it today??  Will they burn it down?  Or maybe it will just spontaneously combust?!  This is practically a threat!  Next thing you know you’ll find a horse head in your bed.

Now, I know I said time is money, but even if you can’t rent out the place today, you don’t have to get rid of it tomorrow – consider it a sunk cost!  I’m sure someone will rent it eventually…

Of course, it is very clear that the manager is sensitive to the amount of time he/she spends on things since he/she couldn’t even be bothered to add the other “o” on “to”.  Grammar is priceless, people.

Is your apartment community putting on the pressure with prospective renters?  Let us know at blog@beyondwineandcheese.com!

Hi-Five FAIL

It seems as though sometimes the simplest things are the funniest.  This morning I was reading through the newspaper distributed by my college, and even though I have the highest respect for the all-student staff, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at an article in which the author was clearly trying very hard to incorporate dry humor.  By the time he threw in a joke about “one less place for students to get mugged on campus,” I had just about had it – not only because that is a real danger for college students, but because it was SUCH an awkward side comment that just did not belong in the article.  This is why I turn to sources such as the FAIL Blog for laughs – they don’t have to try too hard.  When I saw a post from The Apartment Expert, Lisa Trosien (author of the Apartment Marketing Blog), on Facebook of an Apartment Fail, I decided it was time for us to take a step back and let FAIL Blog do all the work for today’s post.

see more Epic Fails

Now, it’s pretty obvious this was supposed to say “Free WI-FI Internet”, but every time I read it I can’t help thinking “Free HI-FIVE Internet.”  I figure the hi-five would be this apartment’s version of a Facebook Poke.  Well, at least it’s a sign that they can easily take down and replace.  I think the next fail might be a little bit harder to fix:

see more Epic Fails

I mean, I’m all for truth in advertising, but don’t you want to give yourself a fighting chance when seeking out residents???

Finally, I would like to point out that this next fail perfectly illustrates my main message from Friday’s post:

see more Epic Fails

It’s important to monitor ApartmentRatings.com!  I mean, even with an approval rating of 73%, if people are under the impression that the building burned to the ground, well GOOD LUCK.

Have you seen an apartment marketing fail recently?  Don’t just send it in to FAIL Blog, email a picture to blog@beyondwineandcheese.com!