Should The Lowly Room For Rent Sign Go Digital?

July 31, 2012 by Dave Haynes

Is an Apartment For Rent sign suddenly more impactful when it is digital, instead of printed on paper or plastic?

Big Hmmm.

A Toronto digital signage company that has been doing digital menuboards outside sit-down restaurants up here is now trying out a similar idea for the apartment rental market.

Flagship Properties has an agreement to install “Digital Marketingboxes” outside its apartment rental complexes to promote vacant units at that location and elsewhere in the portfolio.

“We’re always looking for new ways technology can increase the value of our properties, attract the right tenants and generate awareness for Flagship as we continue to grow our portfolio of rental properties and business,” said Shane Grosman, Founder and President of Flagship, in a press release.

Right now it is a pilot project. “We have gone away from the boring and tired wood rental signs and have gone with an LCD to display everything our prospective renters want to see from floor plans to property videos to social media all on one brilliant screen,” says Grosman.

“Applying our solution and technology to the apartment rental industry is an exciting opportunity for us,” says Olivier Centner, founder and CEO of StreetMeet Inc, the company behind Digital Marketingbox and the UNOapp that runs the platform. “Although this was not an industry we had originally considered, Flagship has helped us realize the excellent fit and potential opportunity to add value through our services.”

“We are still highly focused on our core verticals,” adds Centner, “but always looking for inline opportunities to expand our reach and market size in new verticals that add value to our business through solution development and greater market opportunity.”

I suppose we’ll see. The company has lots of experience dealing with all the grief presented by the Canuck climate and direct sunlight. But a digital screen sticking out of the lot in front of an apartment is an absolute magnet for 16-year-old boys looking to impress their pals with their   malevolent stupidity. These things will get trashed.

The bigger question is whether a digital sign really does the business, as opposed to an analog sign and a good, up to date, mobile-optimized web presence that lists suites in the portfolio, allows bookmarks and connects out to the property management offices. Maybe an LED element that goes on and off when and if rooms are available at that location?

If I am walking or driving by this location the message that should be really evident is 2 BR. Avail. Sept. 1 Free Pkg. Not a screen cluttered with all kinds of stuff, judging by the image (above) released with this story.

Hat tip, at least, for a new spin on using digital displays. Changing the content approach would be easy. Chaining an angry dog to the sign will help keep the thing alive.