Combining The Elements: Element Communities Columbia
What we LEARNED
When we first got to work on this project, Element Communities was four separate properties, all within 1-2 miles of each other. After we whipped up some clever rebranding, including a new logo and website design, an impressive social media campaign, and a host of targeted digital advertising, the four properties have come together under one cohesive brand. Of course, there’s a science to our exceptional results.
Help us GROW?
Element Communities Columbia faced a unique challenge: combine four distinct communities into one harmonious entity. Our client turned to us with the vision of creating a unified identity that would create a full brand experience while maintaining their unique personalities and styles. Branding four buildings that were neither particularly close to one another nor similarly designed was going to be a challenge, but since when are we not down? They wanted the four elements to come together, so we did a little alchemy.
CONNECTing the Dots
Our approach was to envision a brand that connected the boundaries of the four communities. We needed to ensure that the Element Communities Columbia brand was consistent for the audience regardless of location. We began with a comprehensive rebranding effort, including four nuanced logos representing the basic tenets of a fulfilling student lifestyle: connect, grow, learn, and live. Inspired by these values, we set out to shape four distinct brands that could also form a compound together: one ultimate option for luxury student living.
A New Way to LIVE
Combining our strengths in nuanced branding and targeted social ads, we crafted a singular identity for Element Communities Columbia that bonded together the four communities: Adora, Braxton, Cleo, and Decker. Ultimately, we created a brand that resonated with students seeking a more luxurious way to live and built upon the core principles of connecting, growing, learning, and living. The chemistry between us and extraordinary results was undeniable.
Creative
Seeking to bond four different properties under one brand without homogenizing their identities, we performed a complete rebrand with a sizeable collection of marketing materials that helped bring each element of the umbrella brand to life. Our goal was to ensure the Element Communities Columbia brand was consistent for the audience throughout Adora, Braxton, Cleo, and Decker while positioning it as one ultimate option for luxury student living. Symbolizing the four tenets of fulfilling student life–grow, connect, live, and learn–each community was fully realized with its own unique character, contributing a sense of relatability to a diverse student audience.
Website
We provided a customized website consultation and theme website that seamlessly integrated the new Element Communities Columbia brand, ensuring an online presence that matched our vision. We strategized and delivered a custom UX that allowed for a sense of structure and guidance for the user while bringing the individual brand elements to life. As far as SEO goes, 5,608 sessions demonstrated a lot of chemistry with almost 4,000 users. Ultimately, we were able to communicate to users our cohesive brand identity while informing prospects about the different features and amenities at each of the four buildings.
PPC/Geofencing
Through chemical experimentation of budgets, campaigns, keywords, ad extensions, and audiences, we built a solid foundation for the brand that has sustained success. Using the account metrics to find keywords that were bringing in significant conversions, we allocated more of the budget for these, which boosted their result rankings, brought in more leads, and reinforced brand awareness. Overall, our mixture netted 107,670 impressions and over 1,000 clicks.
Digital Social Ads
While showcasing new branding of the communities, we allocated a majority of our budget toward the custom conversion and lead generation campaigns with language that would speak to the target audience more broadly. AgencyFIFTY3’s multifaceted approach to targeted digital social ads enhanced exposure and garnered quality traffic while collecting valuable website and Facebook leads. In the end, we had an impressive reach of almost 19,000, 900 clicks, and a CTR of 1.41%–proving there was a lot of chemistry between our branding and targeted social ads.
Since the rollout, Element Communities has seen
Conclusion
By the end of our “experiment,” AF3 alchemized a brand that breathed new life into four separate student communities while bonding them under one ultimate option for luxurious student living. Our ability to hypothesize and execute an umbrella brand, understand and apply nuance cohesively, and trigger chemistry with the target audience through targeted social ads is a testament to our own willingness to connect, grow, learn, and live.
