Throughout the years, gum has been marketed and sold the same way. Ads about fresh breath and oral health have been ingrained in our brains. However, because of the redundancy and the economy, gum sales have dropped significantly. As the result of this Wrigley decided to take a risk and step away from the redundant ads we’re used to seeing. Instead, they want to make us feel emotion and have that transfer into sales. Anne Marie Splitstone, senior gum category director at Wrigley, had this to say about the new direction: “We are trying to turn around and grow the gum category and we wanted to have a more broadly appealing benefit.”

Take a look at their new approach:

Click Here to View the Commercial

Of course, your apartment community isn’t going to run a national commercial campaign nor are you going to increase your occupancy by folding gum wrappers. However, there are a few key components our industry can take away from what Wrigley is trying to do.

All too often, we see leasing agents and management staffs who have lost the passion they once had for their property. Tours– your community’s commercials– are filled with a mundane rattling-off of facts: 24 hour gym, fancy clubhouse, hardwood floors, etc. This is no different than gum ads citing oral health benefits and hoping it increases sales. It’s boring. It’s not personal. It needs to change.

Your staff needs to focus on the emotional aspects of a prospect’s tour. After all, this is where they’re going to be living and there certainly should be an emotional facet to that. Of course you need to point out the gym and the walk-in closet, but follow that up with what CLASS calls a “benefit.” Make the prospect feel some kind of emotion whether it’s happiness, comfort, or a sense of relief.  If you’re showing the gym make your prospect feel motivated to exercise by pointing out the convenience of having a gym on site and being able to walk to it every day. When showing a walk-in closet make your prospect excited to go shopping and fill it up! By causing a prospect to assign an emotional value to something normally thought of as practical, it all but guarantees they will feel a strong connection to your property. The stronger the connection the more likely they will be to lease from you.