Earlier this year, we announced that we're adopting a brand new resident portal for all communities. The new resident portal, called Essex Rentcafé, will roll out to all communities in stages throughout Q1 and Q2 of 2016.

In mid-February, several communities in the NorCal region began a pilot for the portal. One major goal is for residents to use the new features of the portal, so to engage residents the pilot communities hosted special resident events.

Launch parties to encourage resident registration
The teams at the pilot communities, Lawrence Station, Mission Peaks I & II, Solstice, 1000 Kiely, Bristol Commons and City View, kicked off the portal rollout with fun resident launch parties. The launch parties were designed to educate residents about the new portal and encourage registration.
 

Lawrence Station’s Barista
Lawrence Station hosted 150 residents for breakfast, complete with homemade waffles and even a barista making drinks-to-order! The benefit of the event was twofold: the residents had a great time, and many registered at the event.

City View’s Food Truck Fangate
At City View’s party, more than 150 residents attended, and many registered for the new portal on the spot! Their strategy to engage residents was quite brilliant:

City View hosted a food truck event, and, in order for residents to receive a food truck ticket, they had to do one of the following:

• Register for Essex Rentcafé in advance of the party
• Register with a leasing associate during the party
• Chat with a leasing associate, who would give a quick demo of Essex Rentcafé so they could learn about the cool features

Of the turnout, Area Manager and CM of City View, Nicole Conrad, notes, “The party kicked off in the afternoon, and the office was non-stop buzzing up until the evening, even with the pouring rain!” She adds, “We’ve already received positive feedback on how easy the portal is to use!”

Engaging residents at events
Want to learn more about their successful blueprint? Here are the end-to-end details:

1. Timing. The party was hosted shortly after the portal launch
2. Bulletin Board Announcements. Using the Bulletin Board feature in Essex Rentcafé, the team posted an announcement about the launch party
3. Flyers around the community. About a week before the event, the team posted event flyers around the community. This included placing an event flyer at each apartment door.
4. eBlast Reminder. Morning of the event, the team sent an eBlast to remind residents to register and to attend the event. To personalize the message, the team posed around a computer with the Rentcafé home page as a way to remind residents that they're available to offer registration support.
5. Fangate. In order to score a food truck ticket, residents had to learn more about the new portal. While portal registration wasn't required to join the party, this essential step ensured resident awareness and also had great conversion rates.