SEAN TINER

I recently attended the Apartment Innovation and Marketing Conference (AIM) alongside our Essex team and industry partners. AI and customer experience were major themes throughout the event, and it was exciting to see how quickly the multifamily industry continues to evolve. Beyond the sessions themselves, the most valuable part was connecting with colleagues, partners, and leaders who are all focused on improving the renter journey and shaping the future of digital marketing.

I recently launched, LeaseItFast.com , to share marketing tips and strategies for real estate and multi-family marketing professionals. Check our the site , when you have a moment. 

This week, Imaginary Foundation , a t-shirt company, and Starbucks offered one-day promotions to entice customers to visit either physical or online locations and purchase products. Both companies leveraged social media and email to connect with their target audience and engage potential prospects. Case Study 1: Imaginary Foundation Imaginary Foundation had their one day sale coincide with The 40th Anniversary of Apollo's Moon Landing. On June 22, 2009, the apparel company sent an email about the 1/2 off t-shirt sale. (Imaginary Foundation Apollo Anniversary Promotion Email) Lessons Learned: Imaginary Foundation What Worked: The campaign appealed to the rational and emotional benefits of a prospective customer. From an emotional perspective, the email was sent on the day of the anniversary, which gave only 24 hours for the email recipient to make a purchasing decision. Customers needed to quickly respond and purchase a-shirt. From a rational perspective, a prospective customer s...

(Sean Tiner ) (Sean Tiner ) (Christian) (Sean Tiner ) (Sean Tiner ) (Rodney Rumford , Co-Founder of Tweet Photo) (Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable ) (Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable ) (Sean Tiner ) (Mirna Bard, Nureach Global) (Marta Donayre , GrantsWiz ) (Marta Donayre , GrantsWiz ) (Bob Fine, Cool Blue Company LLC ) (Becky Carroll, Customers Rock!) (Angie Swartz , Twitter Talk Radio) Today, I spoke at the Cool Twitter Conference in San Diego , CA. I lectured on "Using Twitter to Engage Constituents." Although, I used nonprofit case studies to convey successful Twitter engagement and fundraising examples, the marketing theories from my presentation are applicable to corporations, brands, and individuals that desire to use Twitter as part of their integrated marketing communications plan. At the event, I really enjoyed exchanging social media ideas with various marketing professionals. I will post tips and tricks from the conference soon.

( Kiva Alert's "Kiva Tweets") Today, Twitter is still the buzz of the social media world. From Starbucks to the American Red Cross, brands and nonprofits are constantly encouraging their customers, supporters, and constituents to follow their organizations on the micro-blogging service. Although a large number of Twitter followers can increase a website's traffic for the short-term, how does a brand engage a target audience through Twitter for the long-term? Several brands, companies and nonprofits are exploring strategies for long-term engagement, however Kiva has recently found a possibly solution. Kiva Alerts , a microsite created to promote Kiva Microfunds, a 501 (c) 3 organization that "allows people to lend money via the Internet to microfinance institutions around the world which in turn lend money to small business" (Kiva.com), implements a peer-to-peer Twitter marketing strategy. Kiva Alerts allows visitors to "donate" their Twitter accou...

"I WANT to be #1 on Google!" - Today's Website Owner In an era of creating content to be optimized for search engines, it's important to focus on developing an inbound link strategy that will help propagate your website to the top of Google's search results. Yes, having a credible website link to your website is a starting point, but it's only half the battle. Lets say, for the sake of Cinco De Mayo, you open a Mexican restaurant in your neighborhood. You name the restaurant, El Tiburón , and create a website to market your food to the community. Now, is your website going to magically appear in local search engine results for "local Mexican food"? No. Strategically, you invite some food local critics for free appetizers and margaritas with the goal of having them write a favorable review on their website, blog or social media site. You impress them with enchiladas and tacos that would motivate Frida Kahlo to paint a masterpiece. Olé ! Now, yo...

Small Marketing Budget? Lofty expectations? No problem. Although the global recession is evaporating marketing budgets across various industries, it does not have to affect creativity and results. Recently, The Australian tourism board posted the Island Reef Job , a 6-month job living in North-Eastern Australia and blogging about the Great Barrier Reef. The evangelist job only requires 12 hours of work each month and pays 100,000 USD . Swimming? Snorkeling? Feeding Fish? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, consider this short-term job more of a marketing opportunity for Australia. According to the website, the Island Reef Job received over 34,000 1-minute YouTube video applications. Imagine having over 30,000 individuals post a video on YouTube that passionately describes your organization, company or brand. ...And then sharing the content with their friends to increase their chances of winning the contest, promotion or job application. According to TargetCast , the average price...

Over a month ago on Facebook I was tagged in a friend's note called "25." The note stated 25 random facts about my friend. Additionally, she tagged 25 friends in the note and encouraged each of them to write 25 facts facts about themselves and repeat the process. Since I was tagged in the first "25" note, I have read several more"25" notes in my friend's Facebook profiles. Thanks to the interview illusion theory , I feel that I know more about the writer. As I know more about a friend, I feel I have a closer understanding of that person and will be more comfortable the next time we spend time together. As the network effect encourages more friends to write "25" notes, I keep imagining the marketing potential if this "25" campaign had been started by a brand. In January, Burger King launched a Facebook marketing campaign called "The Whopper Sacrifice," a Facebook application that awarded a coupon for a free hamburger i...

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. " - Leonardo DaVinci Ever wonder what it would be like to spend an entire day in bed? Well, Oren Lavie's latest music video, Her Morning Elegance , creatively turns this curiosity into a reality. The music video uses simple still frame animation to narrate a surreal story about wonderment and self-discovery. Her Morning Elegance illustrates that big budgets do not need to be spent on extravagant marketing campaigns in order to engage an audience. As poor economic conditions continually affect marketing budgets across various industries, don't think that you need to break the piggy bank to uniquely market your brand or product. Sometimes the most effective and engaging campaigns convey the highest caliber of "ultimate sophistication."

Traditionally beer companies rely upon bikini clad hotties to promote products to the male audience. At the start of this millennium Budweiser won international praise by introducing the Wass Up marketing concept, which moved Budweiser's marketing beyond the traditional T & A approach. In fact, the Wass UP marketing campaign was so memorable that a political spoof of the campaign was released last year and named one of Time Magazine' s Top Ten Campaign Moments of 2008. Continuing the momentum of thinking beyond the bikini, Heineken recently launched the Walk in Fridge commercial. The advertisement opens a bottle of creativity that intoxicates viewers with humor. When you are creating your next marketing promotion, consider making a satirical statement about a common household product or device. It may allow your brand to walk into the marketing results that it deserves.

The fun continues with this new Guitar Hero commercial featuring Heidi Klum.

(2008 Tessa Tape Advertisement: George Bush) "Are you going to ask that question with shades on? For the viewers there’s no sun." George W. Bush, addressing a blind reporter during a press conference. (2008 Tessa Tape Advertisement: Hugo Chavez) "I am not a populist. I am a democrat." Hugo Chávez, rebutting criticism of the press. Earlier this year, Tesa, a multinational industry and crafts company, created controversial advertisements that featured global leaders with the company's tape over their mouths. The advertisements highlight how juxtaposing a simple campaign tagline, "The world needs a tape like this," with a shocking visual can create waves of awareness for a product or service. With billions of websites and over 250 million social networking profiles and blogs, it is difficult to create advertisements that stand out and capture a viewer's attention. Frequently, it is rewarding to create shockvertisments that highlight a product's...

(Thrill the World, San Francisco) Trick or Thrill? Earlier this year, Michael Jackson released Thriller 25 , a 25th Anniversary reissue of the world's best selling album Thriller . Maybe Jackson needed to increase album sales to refinance Neverland Ranch, but this week his album inspired Thrill The World , the world's largest reenactment of the Thriller dance. A few days ago, over 4,000 fans from ten different countries participated in Thrill the World , which broke the existing Guinness World Record for the most simultaneous participants of Thriller . From discussions on national radio shows to Thriller dance videos featured on ESPN , Thrill the World c reated substantial free PR for Jackson and the commemorative album. The abundance of free press highlights the importance of adding planned shock to future marketing campaigns. News outlets are constantly searching for timely stories that are unique and unprecedented. Thrill the World' s timely occurrence during the week...

Is Twitter a viable social media? Today, Simon Dumenco of Ad Age Magazine critiques Twitter , a micro blogging site. In "Twitter, R.I.P.? Or Is There Gold Buried in Them Thar Tweets? ," Dumenco criticizes the website for not having a revenue plan and accuses journalists of tweeting inappropriate media events. According to Dumenco, "lot of media people have been drinking the Twitter Kool-Aid. ... I'm seeing a lot of really smart writers and thinkers devoting way too much time to Twittering -- and to me it's akin to convincing yourself that constant gum chewing is as good as preparing, or consuming, a gourmet meal. Either way, though, I continue to maintain that Twitter is, for the most part, an unnecessary distraction in an already information-overloaded age." Dumenco highlights a Rocky Mountain News journalist's coverage of a child's funeral on Twitter as the main defense to his argument. With over 3 million unique visitors to Twitter last mo...

( gh4 Commercial) The weekend is over, but that doesn't mean we have to stop rockin' out. Few people can skateboard like Tony Hawk, hit a baseball like Alex Rodriguez, swim like Michael Pelps or dunk like Kobe Bryant, but everyone can rock out to Guitar Hero 4 . Instead of highlighting each athlete's talent, Guitar Hero 4' s latest commercial juxtaposes celebrity likability with Tom Cruise's classic dance scene from Risky Business . The film's short 30 second length conveys the point without getting redundant. Since the commercial was posted on YouTube last Friday, it has already received over 750,000 views. The short length keeps the audience engaged and encourages repeat views.  When you're creating your next marketing material, have fun and don't be afraid to raise the imaginative volume. You can highlight the obvious or you can creatively engage the viewer and market like a rock star.

How do you engage loyal consumers? Do you make them feel exclusive and part of an unique group? When they are engaged, how do you reward them? Instead of imitating other marketers and sending a FaceBook or MySpace invitation to promote a Halloween party, Fing , a San Diego independent band, is rewarding their target audience with an exclusive Halloween concert. Throughout this week, fans who click a banner link on their MySpace Page will have the opportunity to RSVP for an exclusive Halloween party. Only select guests who register on the promoted site will be sent the location of Fing's Black Friday Party , which promoters promise to be at a "five-star venue." As social media users become numb to the saturation of application, group, party and friend invitations, it's important to leverage massclusivity to promote your brand. Target audiences want to feel rewarded for their decision to interact with your company. They want to feel exclusive. They want a unique e...

"The most common trouble with advertising is that it tries too hard to impress people." -James Randolph Adams One aspect of social media is that it competes with the cacophony of daily marketing messages. On an average day, a person will see 3,000 advertising messages. This exposure does not include other integrated forms of marketing, including word-of-mouth, public relations, product placement and endorsements. Due to the high volume of marketing messages, consumers are numb to traditional advertising techniques and the ability for a brand to differentiate itself is a challenge. What's the rule-of-thumb here? Is it better to be louder? Are reggae fans more included to see a concert tour titled "Not Stoned Enough," instead of "Slightly Stoopid's 2008 Fall Tour"? Would Perez Hilton average a million daily page views without highlighting controversy? Are we more enticed to watch political campaigns that challenge leadership qualities? As we move fo...