Apartment Blog

Mobile marketing is on the leading edge of making life easier for apartment renters on the go. Now, more than ever, marketers understand the need to integrate mobile into their multi-channel branding, customer acquisition and customer retention plans. Mobile marketing is most effective when your listings have a presence on mobile Web sites, mobile applications (i.e. iPhone® and GPhone applications), and through text messaging. Don’t limit your marketing potential! An effective mobile marketing strategy should start with a strong mobile Web site. Renters can view your listings any time, any place from the ForRent.com mobile site. In addition to receiving more than 845,000 pageviews in the last 90 days, the ForRent.com mobile site has also received more than 865,000 clicks. Be sure to reach renters through online video as well. More than 80.7% of mobile users coming to the ForRent.com mobile Web site can view video.

iPhone apps are popular; our app has been downloaded more than 40,000 times. One out of six ForRent.com mobile consumers utilize ForRent.com applications. However, the iPhone only captures 25% of the mobile phone market share. ¹   In addition, 16% of ForRent.com mobile users are using our apps and 83.7% are using our mobile Web site. Usage of mobile Web sites greatly outpaces usage of HTML sites on smartphones¹. The most popular apps are used for entertainment purposes, such as games. Apple® does not provide detailed metrics for application use. Find out the iTunes App Store Categories and the Top-Sellers here.

Over the past 90 days, more than 35,000 text messages have been sent to property managers regarding ForRent.com properties. For Rent Media Solutions^TM offers the ultimate Mobile Marketing Solution for your advertising needs by providing multiple ways for apartment seekers on the go to search for an apartment.

Find out which mobile devices and manufacturers apartment renters are using to find your listings on ForRent.com’s mobile Web site here.

ForRent.com mobile users view your listings on the mobile site through these cell phone manufacturers:

• Apple 48.3%
• RIM ( BlackBerry®) 20.5%
• T-Mobile® 8.6%
• Samsung 5.3%
• Palm 4.9
• LG 3.6
• Other 8.5%

* Apple mobile device usage increased 27.9% from June to July.

* RIM mobile device usage increased 81.7% from June to July.

* T-Mobile mobile device usage increased 80.25% from June to July. 

The following are the top mobile devices by the top three manufacturers ForRent.com mobile consumers are using to view your listings:

Apple

• Apple iPhone 38.9%
• Apple iPod® Touch 9.4%

RIM

• BlackBerry 8330 7.8%
• BlackBerry 8320 3.6%
• BlackBerry Storm 2.7%
• BlackBerry Pearl 1.2%

T-Mobile

• T-Mobile G1^TM 8.1%
• T-Mobile Dash 0.5%

The ForRent.com mobile site adjusts to the dimensions of our users’ screens, reformatting for easy viewing and use. Most consumers are viewing your listings on the following screen sizes:

• 320 x 480: 48.7% of mobile views
• 320 x 240: 17.4% of mobile views
• 480 x 320: 8.7% of mobile views
• 320 x 320: 4.3% of mobile views
• 240 x 260: 3.2% of mobile views
• Other: 17.6% of mobile views

ForRent.com mobile users view your listings through these cell phone operating systems:

• MacOS X: 48.3% 
• RIM: 20.7% 
• Unknown:16.5%
• Linux: 8.5%
• Windows: 5.9%
• Symbian: 0.1% 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                            Contact:                                                                                                                             Meredith Mobley
Marketing Communications Coordinator
meredith.mobley@forrent.com
Phone: 757-351-7366
Fax: 757-961-4827     

ForRent.com launches free GPhone application

ForRent.com offers most comprehensive line of mobile products in multi-housing industry

NORFOLK, Va.-(June 29, 2009)-ForRent.com, anchor Web site of For Rent Media Solutions^TM, a leading apartment resource for searching apartments nationwide, and a division of Dominion Enterprises, has launched a ForRent.com T-Mobile G1^TM (GPhone) application. The new application is the latest addition to For Rent’s comprehensive line of mobile marketing products for apartment seekers, including the ForRent.com text messaging product, mobile Web site and iPhone^TM application.

With ForRent.com’s free GPhone application, apartment seekers can browse through thousands of apartment listings nationwide. Users can also view apartment descriptions, videos, pictures, and floor plans, save their results, and contact the property. Consumers can use touchable map pins to click on a pin representing a property and go directly to the property’s page. From the map, apartment seekers can zoom in and out to get a clearer view of the property and its proximity to surrounding apartment communities.

The GPhone runs on the new Google Android operating system and applications are distributed in the Android Market, which opened to the public on October 22. Applications are only accessible through the GPhone phone, but can be previewed at the Android Market Web site.

“Mobile marketing is quickly spreading as a leading method of communication used to engage consumers,” says Terry Slattery, president of For Rent Media Solutions. “According to comScore Media Metrix, consumers downloaded 83 percent more mobile applications in March 2009 than in March 2008. We understand how much mobile Web impacts our consumers’ daily lives and will continue to explore opportunities with other mobile devices in the future.”

While the number of consumers downloading mobile applications continues to grow, comScore shows that, overwhelmingly, the preferred mode for accessing local content on a mobile device is through a mobile browser. In March 2008, 15.4 million mobile Web users accessed information via a mobile browser. By March 2009, that number jumped to 20.7 million. These numbers support the success seen by the ForRent.com mobile site. According to Omniture SiteCatalyst, an online business optimization company, the ForRent.com mobile site received more than 256,000 page views in May 2009.

The GPhone application adds to the already existing suite of mobile products offered to apartment seekers and solidifies ForRent.com as a leader in mobile marketing. Other mobile products include text messaging, launched in June 2007, the mobile Web site, launched in June 2008, and the iPhone application launched earlier this year.

About For Rent Media Solutions^TM

Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products, outstanding customer service, and tangible results.  For Rent Media Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free customizable apartment search from more than 30,000 apartment listings nationwide.  For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine^®, as well as ForRent.com^TM-The Magazine, and publishes 99 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55^TM Housing & Resource Guide, and Apartamentos Para Rentar^®. For Rent Media Solutions operates four additional Web sites: ForRent.com^®, SeniorOutlook.com^TM, CorporateHousing.com^®, and ParaRentar.com^TM.  For Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, enthusiast and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, and employment industries. The company’s businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, Web site design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 45 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 16.7 million unique visitors, and more than 450 magazines with a weekly circulation of 4.3 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 5,400 employees in more than 200 offices nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.dominionenterprises.com/.

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Mobile phone usage is increasing in popularity and in time will become the primary center of activity for whatever you do when you shop, learn, entertain, or communicate. Just like the Web, mobile phones are allowing users to create, consume, combine and share media at their convenience. On April 24, 2009 Apple announced that customers have downloaded one billion applications from the iTunes® App Store.

Following the likes of Facebook, The Weather Channel^®, Twitter and the “Today Show,” ForRent.com has launched a new iPhone™ and iPod^® touch application. The FREE feature offers many of the same functions found on ForRent.com and brings apartment seekers the convenience of searching for apartments in the palm of their hands. comScore recently published a mobile report which disclosed mobile media usage habits of iPhone users compared to Smartphone users and general mobile users.  Key highlights from the report include the following: accessed news/ info via browser 80% vs. 20% all mobile users, accessed email 76% vs. 13%, social networking 55% vs. 13% and web search 55% vs. 12%. Of the iPhone users 75% are male and mostly aged 18-44. According to Facebook, each month 25 million of its users access Facebook.com via a mobile device. That’s 4 million a day.

The ForRent.com iPhone application allows apartment seekers on the go to search for apartments any time, any place. And unlike our competitors, our app includes video and a mapping feature. Consumers can use touchable map pins to click on a pin representing a property and go directly to the property’s page, zoom in and out and view the proximity to surrounding apartment communities. Using this application, apartment shoppers can browse through thousands of listings nationwide to view descriptions, videos, floor plans with pricing, virtual tours, GPS mapping and contact information.

By providing immediate access to your community information, the ForRent.com iPhone app will drive even more traffic to your listing, ultimately generating more qualified LEADS™. Since the April 7 launch, the ForRent.com app has been downloaded more than 5,800 times from the Apple iTunes App Store.

The new application offers ease of access for iPhone and iPod touch^® users

NORFOLK, Va.-(April 22, 2009)- ForRent.com, anchor Web site of For Rent Media Solutions^TM, a division of Dominion Enterprises, has launched a new iPhone^® and iPod touch^® application. The free feature offers many of the same functions found on ForRent.com and brings apartment seekers the convenience of searching for apartments in the palm of their hands.

iPhone and iPod touch users can download the application from the iTunes^® Application Store via their phone or the Apple site. Once they reach the site, doing a search for the term “ForRent.com,” will take the user directly to the application.

“The ForRent.com application gives apartment seekers the opportunity to view surrounding properties from the map feature, watch an online Community Theater^® video of the property, and view floor plans-three elements not found in any other apartment search application,” said Brock MacLean, senior vice president of national sales and development, For Rent Media Solutions.

The ForRent.com application lets apartment seekers browse through thousands of apartment listings nationwide. It also allows users to view descriptions, videos, pictures, and floor plans, save their results and contact the property. Consumers can use touchable map pins to click on a pin representing a property and go directly to the property’s page. From the map, apartment seekers can zoom in and out to get a clearer view of the property and its proximity to surrounding apartment communities.

“Businesses understand the marketing power behind having an application on the popular iPhone and iPod touch,” notes Terry Slattery, president, For Rent Media Solutions. “Facebook alone has found that each month, 25 million of its users access Facebook.com via a mobile device. That’s  4 million a day. Since the April 7 launch of the ForRent.com application, it has been downloaded more than 2,500 times-a testament to the need to have instant access to information.”

According to research done by comScore Media Metrics, among an audience of 63.2 million people who accessed news and information on their mobile devices in January 2009, 22.4 million (35 percent) did so daily, more than double the size of the audience last year.

About For Rent Media Solutions^TM

Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products, outstanding customer service, and tangible results.  For Rent Media Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free customizable apartment search from more than 50,000 apartment listings nationwide.  For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine^®, as well as ForRent.com^TM-The Magazine, and publishes 98 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55^TM Housing & Resource Guide, and Apartamentos Para Rentar^®. For Rent Media Solutions operates four additional Web sites: ForRent.com^®, SeniorOutlook.com^TM, CorporateHousing.com^®, and ParaRentar.com^TM.  For Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, enthusiast and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, and employment industries. The company’s businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, Web site design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 45 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 16.7 million unique visitors, and more than 450 magazines with a weekly circulation of 4.3 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 5,400 employees in more than 200 offices nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.dominionenterprises.com/.