Establishing Client as Industry’s Voice

Reach a Wider Audience with Targeted Public Relations

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Case Study: USC Lusk Center for Real Estate

Positioning a collegiate real estate research center as the premier voice in its industry.

Overview

The University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate comprises many of the world’s foremost real estate economists and educators. Its mission is to advance real estate knowledge, inform business practice, and address timely issues that affect the real estate industry, the urban economy, and public policy. Among the center’s frequent research offerings is the Casden Multifamily Forecast, which measures average rents and apartment vacancies across Southern California.

While multifamily markets inch toward normalcy with modest rent increases in urban areas, suburban rents will continue to increase at high rates as vacancies remain scarce.

The 2021 University of Southern California Casden Economics Forecast projects triple-digit dollar rent increases over the next two years for apartment dwellers in each of the region’s five markets with the highest rates of increase occurring in suburban submarkets. The annual forecast predicts that by the end of the third quarter of 2023, rents will increase over their current levels by $252 in Los Angeles County, $410 in Orange County, $348 in San Diego County, $310 in Ventura County, and $241 in the Inland Empire, which includes San Bernardino and Riverside counties. These numbers represent rates of increase that tend to get higher the farther one travels from Los Angeles and San Diego. As a result of changes to renter behavior during COVID-19, many submarkets outside of the metros are experiencing vacancy rates at historically low levels.

The Challenge

THO identified that the forecast, originally targeted to industry experts, was simply not reaching the right audience. THO decided to establish the actual forecast itself as a thought leader and information source for not only real estate professionals, but also the larger Southern California population.

The Solution

THO reimagined the Casden Forecast’s media materials to sharpen their focus and apply the data and forecast models to the current affordable housing crisis in Southern California. During this particular year, THO identified that each of the regions analyzed – Los Angeles County, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego County and the Inland Empire – could expect triple-digit increases in monthly apartment rents over the following two years. The real story became one of affordability – a true departure from the days when media coverage focused on the data’s impact on developers and practitioners.

THO’s plan focused on meeting the following objectives:

Work closely with Casden Multifamily Forecast authors to identify news angles specifically related to affordable housing.

Identify and target reporters and editors who provide fair and objective coverage of the affordable housing shortage in Southern California.

Engage in an intensive media relations program to communicate with key targets in the weeks leading up to the Casden Forecast’s release.

Results

USC Lusk Center for Real Estate’s “Casden Multifamily Forecast,” a national, state-of-the-market and industry trends predictor, set the tone for THO helping the research center generate more than 100 placements in key CRE and national media in less than two weeks.

Author
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Leeza Hoyt

Founder and President at The Hoyt Organization

With over 25 years of experience, Leeza’s campaigns have garnered over 150 awards from top public relations organizations nationwide. Additionally, THO serves as the Los Angeles area partner of the Public Relations Global Network, granting clients access to over 50 global markets. The agency was also named to one of the top 200 firms in the country by Forbes magazine in 2021, and she has been named by Globest.com as a Woman of Influence and a Woman to Watch, among other designations.