Merrick Towle Communications Campaign Focusing on Sponsorships, Events and Bloggers...

Merrick Towle Communications Campaign Focusing on Sponsorships, Events and
Bloggers Quickly Drives Record Numbers for Allegro Apartments

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- An innovative apartment marketing strategy
developed by Merrick Towle Communications, including outreach to neighborhood
bloggers and a heavy focus on special events and social media, lead to a
dramatic increase in visits to the leasing center and Web site and a record
number of lease-signings in just three months for Allegro Apartments, a new
luxury apartment building in Columbia Heights.

Since Allegro Apartments' grand opening in late April, a total of 129 out of
297 units have been leased for a closing rate of 43 percent, which is
exceptional for a new luxury apartment complex just getting underway in a
challenging economy. Traffic to the apartment's leasing center has continued
at a strong pace, as have visitors to Allegro's Web site where there is an
average of 1,200 unique visitors each week, a 75 percent increase since prior
to the opening.

Merrick Towle Communications executives point to a strategy aimed at Allegro
Apartments target audience of urban professionals who work hard and play
equally hard and have a passion for nightlife and the D.C. area's vibrant club
scene. They are not easily reached via standard apartment marketing tactics
such as print advertising in guidebooks, real estate sections and the
classified ad pages.

Instead, Merrick Towle Communications used two events as strategic pillars for
the strategy, encouraging the target audience to interact with members of the
Allegro Apartments team while experiencing the brand's club 'vibe.' The first
event, a pre-opening gala held in January at Town Danceboutique, featured
entertainment by Broadway actress Natalie Joy Johnson and attracted hundreds
of prospective residents. That event was followed by an April gala grand
opening that drew more than 1,000 attendees, including many local VIPs, who
toured the luxury apartment building and were entertained by the music of The
Yellow Fever DJs.

Creative tactics such as the ones listed below extended the messages and
images, reaching an audience far beyond those who attended the events:

-- A partnership with On Tap leveraged the magazine's relationships
with the nightlife venues Allegro Apartments wanted to reach as well
as
the publication's local and dedicated readers. Beyond the print
edition, On Tap drove traffic to the Allegro Apartments Web site via
social media tools, email blasts and the magazine's Facebook fan
page.
-- A sponsorship with upscale vodka brand Grey Goose and launch of a
contest at area clubs engaged prospective residents in creating a
signature cocktail, the Velvet Allegro, served at the events and at
select clubs into the summer. This tactic helped to get promotional
materials into the bars and clubs the target audience frequents, and
it
sustained word of mouth buzz about the Allegro Apartments.

-- A publicity campaign directed exclusively to the top community
bloggers,
who took pre-opening hard-hat tours and responded with multiple blog
posts and photos. In all, the publicity campaign directed by Merrick
Towle Communications partner Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
resulted
in coverage in more than 200 outlets and the search engine optimized
press releases resulted in top Google rankings for key terms. In
addition to the blogs, news and images appeared via photos placed on
Flickr, videos posted on YouTube and messages delivered via Twitter
and
Facebook.

"The success of the entire Allegro Apartments campaign surpassed expectations
and is very impressive against industry standards," says Jeremy N. Rubenstein,
president of Metro Properties, developer of Allegro Apartments. "Our primary
goal has always been to appeal to members of D.C.'s core communities and
provide a lifestyle that they crave, while embracing the history and
revitalization of a neighborhood as rich and vibrant as Columbia Heights. The
Merrick Towle campaign did just that."

Harry Merrick IV, president of Merrick Towle Communications, said the success
of the campaign began with developing a breakthrough creative strategy based
on significant insights into the demographics and interests of the target
audience. "Our research showed that the prospective residents simply weren't
going to be reached via traditional apartment marketing techniques, so we used
our deep insights in the target market to come up with a strategy and tactical
execution that would resonate with their lifestyle and interests. Looking at
the results to date, the strategy is working."

Allegro Apartments, located at 3460 14(th) Street N.W., was developed by Metro
Properties, Inc. and is managed by Kettler. For more information and to
arrange a private tour visit www.allegrospaces.com or call 1-202-588-5800.

About Merrick Towle Communications
Merrick Towle Communications, founded in 1985, is the largest independent
advertising agency in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., region. MTC provides
a broad range of award-winning traditional and digital communications services
and expertise to a national and regional client base in industry segments such
as commercial and residential real estate development, property management,
energy and engineering. For more information, visit
http://www.merricktowle.com/

SOURCE Merrick Towle Communications

Susan Anthony of Sawmill Marketing Public Relations, +1-410-592-3003,
susan.anthony@sawmillmarketing.com