Austin, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/05/2015 --Austin, Texas-based marketing firm Catalyst is named 2015 Silver Award Winner in the W3 Awards' Real Estate category for its integrated campaign to rebrand and launch The Marq.
This year marks the 10th annual W3 Awards, which is overseen and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. The W3 Awards honors creative excellence on the web, and recognizes the people behind award- winning sites, marketing programs, social content, mobile site/apps and online video.
In its tenth year the W3 Awards received over 5,000 entries from Ad agencies, Public Relations Firms, Interactive Agencies, In-house creative professionals, Web Designers, Graphic Designers and Web Enthusiasts.
Catalyst performed a complete rebrand for The Marq, a 612-bed student housing property in Milwaukee, Wis., serving students primarily attending Marquette University. Upon engagement, the property faced challenges due to their reputation within the marketplace and the older construction of the building, neither of which appealed to students looking for a premier housing option. Having rebranded the property, Catalyst developed an integrated ad campaign leading up to a VIP brand reveal party to showcase the property's new look to students and school officials. In addition to showing off upcoming renovations at the property, the reveal party included live music, fine food, and exclusive prizes and giveaways as part of its red carpet extravaganza.
Catalyst, in conjunction with The Marq's on-site leasing team, has achieved great results for the 2015–2016 school year as ripples from this campaign continue to boost numbers. The property is currently ahead of last year by 23.64%. The effective rental rate increased 3.1%, from $674 for 2014-15 AY to $695 for 2015-16 AY, rising above the $690 pro forma effective rate for 2015-16 AY. Occupancy increased from 80.17% in Fall 2014 to 96.36% in Fall 2015 for a total gain of 16.2%.
"With this 3rd award for integrated marketing, we are once again able to highlight and validate the effectiveness of integrated marketing in the student housing industry," said Jamie Matusek, Vice President of Catalyst.
"We continue to seek ways to educate our clients so they understand the importance of ensuring that marketing tactics are executed in integrated campaign formats as often as possible because these are the type of results we consistently see from this approach. It's a win every time," she said.
The Marq's rebranding project included renaming, logo development, tagline authorship, interior design collaboration, property signage, a paper system, a website, sales collateral, VIP launch party pieces, social media imagery, emails, and direct mail sends.
