Building a Better Multifamily Brand from the Ground Up
BY ASHLEY TYNDALL, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, CRITERION.B
How can you ensure your branding meets the demands of the multifamily housing marketplace?
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hy is multifamily branding so important? The term “brand” has evolved over the years, and in today’s highly competitive world, brand simply refers to the way the public perceives your entity. People have brands, businesses have brands, properties have brands — whether they’re carefully crafted or not. This can be factual perceptions (it’s an apartment building in downtown Chicago) or emotional ones (it’s vibrant, romantic or trustworthy). When applying this concept to the multifamily market, properties must aim to guide the perception of their brand so it isn’t determined solely by their audience. In such a dense multifamily market, strategic branding is more important than ever. Branding matters before a brick is ever laid. So how can you ensure your branding meets the demands of the market?
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1. Get on the same page
Without cohesion in all aspects of a multifamily development, a brand’s identity can be muddied. Before construction begins, developers and owners have determined the property’s identity, their target audience and their ideal brand perception. Since the brand has therefore been established well before development starts, all teams in the process should be on the same page. Architects and interior designers should fully understand how the building itself can support the identity, tone and ideal resident. Graphic designers on the project should be able to iterate the concept through print and online presence in a way that will stand the test of time. It’s important that from the beginning, the property is being built to support what the brand stands for. A strong multi-
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August 2022
family brand should connect from the exterior into the interiors and finishes, all the way to its online presence. For example, luxury high-rise LVL 29 in Plano, Texas’s Legacy West established its brand direction and personality well before the groundbreaking. LVL 29 was built to bring a new essence and standard to living, one that carries clear tones of sophistication and timelessness through sleek and modern elements.
2. Picture your persona
Before diving deep into the multifamily branding process, it’s important to have a clear persona that will drive the direction and style from construction to online conversions. A persona is a semi-fictionalized character based on the interests, lifestyle and personality of your ideal residents. Understanding Multifamily Brand — continued on page 28
