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Description
Multifamily marketing does not stand still. Neither do we.
The Apartment Department is a podcast for operators, marketers, leasing professionals, and industry partners who want to think differently about how marketing drives performance.
Through conversations with operators, marketing leaders, and industry partners shaping the future of multifamily, we focus on what they are building, testing, and refining to strengthen marketing teams and drive measurable results.
Our goal is simple. We want you to leave each episode with a new perspective and at least one idea worth testing.
Hosted by Anne Baum and Chris Johnson, exploring how strategy, systems, and performance intersect in multifamily.
Produced by Carlos Marquez.
44 Episodes
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Marketing cannot operate in a silo. When strategy lives in one department and execution lives in another, performance breaks down. In this episode, Paul McClain, founder of AiinaT Brand Solutions, joins us to share how he helps bridge the gap between marketing strategy and site teams. From digital audits and attribution conversations to middle funnel exposure and renter behavior shifts, Paul breaks down what happens when marketing fluency extends beyond the corporate office. This conversation...
In this episode, Jillian Fickert of Buckingham Companies joins Anne Baum and Chris Johnson for a practical conversation about what it really takes to make marketing a trusted, strategic function inside a multifamily organization. They explore how marketing leaders can move beyond the “cost center” label by building credibility through transparency, shared language, and clear performance visibility. Jillian shares specific ways her team creates alignment across marketing, asset management, and...
In this episode of The Apartment Department, Anne and Chris sit down with D.D. Cobb, Regional Director at Apartments.com, to unpack how the apartment search has fundamentally changed. Today’s renters are making decisions long before they ever tour a property. Powered by AI, mobile-first search, and radically different expectations around transparency, the traditional prospect journey is being replaced by a digital-first experience where research happens early and intent forms fast. D.D. share...
In this episode Anne and Chris sit down with Kara Rafferty, National Director of Sales at Apartment Geo-Fencing, for a long-anticipated conversation on what collaboration in multifamily really looks like. Kara brings a wide-ranging perspective shaped by years on the vendor side of the industry, deep involvement with apartment associations, and a passion for building relationships that go beyond transactions. The conversation explores the shared responsibility between vendors and operators, th...
In this episode, Chris and Anne speak with Tamela Coval and Tami Siewruk, two of the creators of Multifamily NEXT, a series of hands-on workshops designed to integrate artificial intelligence into the apartment industry. The guests explain that their "hackathon-style" events are moving beyond abstract concepts to help property owners and executives achieve AI fluency and operational efficiency. They emphasize that while AI will not replace humans, it requires a human-in-the-loop approach to m...
In this episode, Chris and Anne speak with Ben Pleat, the co-founder and CEO of Cobu. A technology platform designed to help multifamily marketers and owners drive resident satisfaction and community engagement, which in turn boosts occupancy and retention rates. Pleat shares that the genesis of Cobu was inspired by his mother's feeling of isolation despite living in a luxury Manhattan apartment building, revealing the widespread issue of loneliness. The conversation thoroughly explores how C...
In this episode, we sit down with Brent Camp of Asset Living and Arthur Kosmider of LeFrak to explore how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping property management and rental housing. Their perspective is clear: AI isn’t here to replace people, it’s here to remove the repetitive, low-value tasks that drain time and energy from on-site teams. Brent and Arthur break down how automation is transforming everyday operations, from routine follow-ups and late-rent reminders to 24/7 resident support. ...
In this episode, Daniel Paulino, VP of Real Estate at Reputation.com discusses the growing importance of digital reputation, dubbed "digital curb appeal", for the multifamily housing industry, particularly how it affects property visibility in search engines and AI-driven recommendations. Daniel explains that a simple average star rating is no longer sufficient; Google’s algorithm uses nine different factors, including the volume, frequency, and uniqueness of responses to both positive and ne...
In this episode of The Apartment Department, co-host Chris Johnson sits down with Minna Song, CEO of EliseAI, to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming multifamily operations. For nearly a decade, EliseAI has helped properties automate leasing, maintenance, and resident communications—cutting lead-to-lease times from 30 days to just 14 and boosting renewal retention by 9%. Minna shares how EliseAI’s success is rooted in deep partnerships with their 700+ customers. Her team learns...
In this episode, Justin Jones, Shelly Steitz, and Anne Baum recap their experience at the Blueprint Conference including the vibe, their favorite takeaways for key technologies and AI, the opportunity for vendors and operators to co-build and co-collaborate, and some advice for first-timers in 2026. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.
In this episode, Chris and Anne talk with Marge Enrique about her extensive journey in transforming her company's approach to marketing data, emphasizing the importance of moving beyond simple last-touch attribution to a more comprehensive multi-touch model using tools like HyLy and Remarkably. Enrique details her strategies for data cleaning, source tracking, and building in-house attribution models, contrasting the performance of different marketing channels like Zillow, Apartment Ratings, ...
Have you ever wondered how the reputation and resident experience of your property actually impact marketing success and NOI? In this episode, Devin Shurtleff, CEO of Opiniion, shares their data around the ROI of reputation. In addition, the conversation highlights the critical role of resident satisfaction in multifamily marketing, emphasizing how positive online reviews and feedback directly impact key performance indicators like occupancy, retention, and net operating income. S...
In this episode Aimee Farmer, VP, Marketing at Middleburg Communities discusses how she is redefining the role of marketing through embracing data. The discussion covers the importance of tracking key metrics like booked appointment show rates and response times, emphasizing the impact of personal touch points in increasing conversions. We also examine the lengthening renter decision-making process, advocating for earlier "coming soon" campaigns and extended lead nurturing. The co...
In this episode Chris and Anne speak with Brooke Henderson, VP, US Strategic Partnerships at Yext to get an inside look at how conversational search is shifting how multifamily marketers should approach their online presence. Brooke takes us through the current search landscape and how multifamily marketers can update their SEO strategy to account for conversational search - the new trend that is being heavily driven by AI search engines. Listeners will walk away with an understan...
In this episode, Chris and Anne speak with Jami Thomas, VP of Sales at Zillow Rentals, where we cover a wide range of exciting topics including: The rumor that Zillow may be phasing out their PPL options for packages.Zillows recent partnerships with two AI powerhouses, EliseAI and Google Gemini.Best practices for creating effective Zillow listings.Utilizing your Zillow support team and data resources to maximize results.Zillow Rentals vision for the future.For any multifamily marketer or oper...
In this episode, Chris and Anne talk with Jon Simpson, about Swifty's Hyper-Effective Local Pages (HELP). AI-powered landing pages built for how renters search — by neighborhood, landmark, and location. Jon tells us the story of how they developed HELP and how this strategy helps their clients rank quickly in Google. And of course, no episode would be complete without predictions about the future of multifamily marketing.
In this episode, Chris and Anne sit down with Jacob Carter, founder of Nurture Boss, to discuss the how conversational AI + humans can revolutionize the leasing and resident experience by offering a customized, intuitive, responsive communication machine. In addition, they discuss the importance of AI tools using the PMS as the data source of truth and how operators can lead the charge on creating a more open system for sharing data across vendors.
In this episode Chris and Anne talk to Dorota Firek, CMO of Tour24, a state of the art self-guided touring technology, discusses how the future of apartment marketing and leasing includes meeting renters how they want to rent. Bonus: hear how Tour24 is approaching the self-guided tour by including the entire community in the tour process.
Paul Burke, Director of Marketing and Customer Experience at Oakwood Management Company in Columbus, OH talks to Anne and Chris about his focus on SEO, quality video content, his e-commerce experience and how an increase in organic impressions is a leading indicator clicks to come. We end the episode in a lively discussion about bold predictions after the recent merger of Rent. and Zillow and how it may impact marketers.
In this episode, Anne and Chris sit down with Grady Newman, founder of Resi, to dig into the messy side of multifamily marketing — from data silos and clunky platforms to the constant chase for better ROI. Grady shares how Resi got started, why centralization matters, and how smarter tech (plus a little human touch) can make marketers' lives way easier.
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