case studies: Mid-America Apartment Communities
Industry
Real Estate and Construction
Awards
Web Marketing Association's Hotel and Lodging Standard of Excellence of 2011
Interactive Media Best in Class Real Estate of 2011
Sitecore North American Best Real Estate Site of 2011
"Our new site significantly expands our ability to reach out to apartment seekers and help them find a new home. The apartment search and mapping features allow visitors to easily find a community that fits their needs and start the leasing process. The site also provides relevant resources for job seekers, current residents and investors."
Melintha Ogle, Director of Marketing for MAA
ROI
- 20% of applicants are leasing online
- 17% increase in the number or resident portal sign-ups
- 70% of residents have an active myMAA.com account
Client
Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA) is a leading performer in the apartment real estate industry with an award-winning portfolio of more than 47,000 apartment homes. Within the industry, MAA deals in acquisition, redevelopment, new development, property management and disposition.
Challenge
MAA's website was not serving as an effective marketing and acquisition channel. From a high-level, MAA was struggling with:
- Aesthetically out-dated look and feel
- Branding and structural disconnect between MAA's corporate site and 158 individual property sites
- Cumbersome user experience, with links to individual property sites 3+ clicks from the homepage
- Inability to update site content due to a complicated hosting arrangement
- No Content Management System
Solution
MAA asked NavigationArts to help design a website that unified their brand, boosted demand generation, improved search functionality, and greatly simplified their content management.
Project Results Included:
- Customization of a single Sitecore CMS to power the MAA corporate and 158 individual property sites
- A persona-based user experience that lets users self-identify and locate content specific to their needs
- A custom-built faceted search application that allows users to find real-time apartment availability information
- Integration with third-party applications, including a leasing engine and residential portal
- Interactive Google maps that geolocate MAA apartment communities within 30 metro areas
- An optimized user experience that contributes to MAA’s overarching goals of boosting lead generation and electronic leasing applications
- A fresh visual signal that balances the new MAA corporate brand with the unique culture and appeal of each of its communities
- Mobile and tablet-optimize sites with custom search application
For a more detailed look at our work with MAA, including technology highlights, download the full case study.