webinar
RPA
RPA
Today’s Changing Media Landscape Opens New Opportunities for Multifamily Advertising
What do renter media habits mean for the future of digital advertising? In a new webinar, the agency behind the iconic Apartments.com Brad Bellflower commercials outlined the major shifts in the media landscape that multifamily advertisers need to know. They also highlighted the innovative ways Apartments.com is taking advantage of these new trends to drive renters to communities’ listings.
Who is today’s renter?
Compared to the general population, renters are more likely to be:
- Young. Renters skew younger than non-renters. Two-thirds of renters are ages 18 to 44, and the median renter age is 36. “It’s critical to connect with younger audiences,” said Christine Bernal, Media Supervisor at RPA, “as Gen Z represents both current and future renters.”
- Ethnically diverse. Although white Americans constitute the majority of renters, Hispanic and black renters over-index, which means that individuals in these groups are much more likely to be renters.
What do these demographic trends mean for renters’ media habits? Three key features stand out:
- Streaming. Over 80 percent of Gen Z watches TV via streaming services.
- Short-form videos. Short-form videos come out top, preferred by 57 percent of Gen Z and 42 percent of millennials for learning about products.
- Lack of brand loyalty. Nearly three in four Gen Zers plan to cycle their streaming subscriptions to save money. This practice, which involves subscribing to one platform at a time, before switching to another subscription to watch its offerings, reflects financial- and content-driven considerations coming ahead of brand loyalty.
The growth of streaming creates new opportunities
The popularity of streaming video has been on the rise, surpassing traditional live TV viewership in recent years. This trend, reflected in the viewing habits of both the 18–34 and 35–49 age groups, has driven greater fragmentation in the media. Renters are watching a broader variety of content across a growing number of channels.
“This means that for Apartments.com, we’re buying more media partners than ever before,” Bernal said, “to reach renters at scale.”
The dominance of streaming has also created the opportunity for dynamic pause ad units. These ads, which are triggered by a user pausing a video, target renters watching via smart TVs.
Another new opportunity is the development of ad-supported tiers in streaming platforms, driven by consumers’ demand for low-cost options. This has created a way to target renters who were previously unreachable.
And, looking to combat subscription churn, streaming providers have increasingly turned to live programming and bundling.
The role of sports viewership
Sports is an especially popular choice for live programming. Most Americans watch sports live, said Abe Diaz, VP, Group Media Director at RPA.
Football, the most popular sport to watch, has seen record-high viewership among new groups, such as young women inspired by Taylor Swift. With 202 million views, Super Bowl LVIII shattered viewership records and secured its spot as the most-watched program of all time.
Podcasts attract more engaged listeners
Audio-based digital channels like streaming music and podcasts have been growing among younger audiences, the group most likely to be renters. Listeners can spend up to seven hours a week on their favorite podcast apps.
But today’s podcast listeners offer advertisers an important advantage, Diaz said.
“If you think of just listening to the radio or streaming your favorite playlist, you can be listening to the song and tune out a little bit,” Diaz said. “Maybe you tune back in at the next song, but you didn’t really miss much, right? But with a podcast, you really have to actively engage with what the host is saying.”
This difference means that Apartments.com podcast ads, for example, are more likely to reach renters who are actively paying attention.
AI offers more personalized advertising
Artificial intelligence offers another glimpse into the future of advertising. Though this technology, which has been used for years to generate search results, isn’t new to the world of advertising, Bernal said, new developments offer better opportunities for targeting.
“We’re seeing more cutting-edge solutions like dynamic creative optimization,” Bernal said.
This advertising approach customizes messaging to the individual to improve effectiveness.
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