Austin, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/16/2015 --Austin, Texas-based marketing firm Catalyst wins 2015 Silver Davey Award for marketing effectiveness for The Marq.

This year marks the 11th annual Davey Awards, which is overseen and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. The Davey Awards is an international creative award focused exclusively on honoring outstanding creative work from the best small agencies worldwide.

In its eleventh year the Davey Awards received over 4,000 entries from ad agencies, public relations firms, interactive agencies, in-house creative professionals, graphic designers, design firms, and public relations firms. The Davey Awards celebrates the idea of David and Goliath, highlighting the work that small agencies do every day where strength comes from ideas, intelligence, and out-of-the-box thinking, not a "giant's" bankroll.

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 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 4th award for integrated marketing, we are once again able to highlight and prove 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.

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About Catalyst
Catalyst is the leader in student housing marketing and serves industries including commercial real estate, multi-family housing, finance, universities, senior housing, development firms, and others. The firm concentrates on the science of marketing by using data-driven strategies to generate tangible results for clients that grow their business. The Austin-based firm offers a wide range of marketing strategy, design, and public relations services.