Streaming TV Emerges as New Apartment Advertising Channel

Now playing on a streaming media commercial break near residents: Geotargeted apartment ads.

Streaming TV is a new opportunity for multifamily marketers to promote their properties on the “big screen” and drive branding and awareness at affordable budgets.

The streaming environment has been growing significantly this year, opening up property-level inventory on hundreds of channels, including Hulu and HBO Max and eventually Netflix and Disney+, according to panelists at the Apartment Innovation and Marketing (AIM) Conference in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Matthew Kilmurry, founder, CEO at ApartmentGeofencing.com, moderated a panel that included Michelle Alicea, VP of Marketing and Public Relations at Kairoi Residential, Alexis Tsonos, Vice President of Marketing at Van Metre Companies, Jaclyn Hosking, director of Acquisition Marketing at Bozzuto and Christiana Coffman, senior marketing manager at Thrive Communities.

The latest data show 81% of households have connected TV devices and a majority surveyed revealed that consumers are willing to watch online ads if it means the subscription cost is cheaper than ad-free models.

Apartment marketers are able to present geo-targeted ads about their communities to those who live in prescribed areas.

“We can get the right message in front of the right people,” Coffman said. “It’s kind of creepy and magical, but that’s how advertising works now [when it comes to segmenting an audience for your ad.]”

The most common streaming channel averages 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour.

Technology enables a more precise audience delivery, unlike what was common recently when ads could be targeted within a 15-mile radius.

When generating these ads via artificial intelligence (AI), Alicea said they can be adjusted within minutes to create a modified version of the original. The AI tools also deliver them in a higher-quality, computer-generated natural voice that is more pleasing than what you get with TikTok ads.

Kilmurry said the ads are shown to be most effective in the first six or seven days before viewers develop “creative fatigue,” wanting to see them produced differently.

Alicea said highlighting the community’s value proposition is the key to an effective advertisement, which is generally 15 to 30 seconds long.

Kilmurry said these ads cost roughly $1 for five views on Hulu and $1 for about 20 views on other streaming channels.

Hosking said densely populated urban markets are best for showing these ads.