The Apartment Department

Chris Johnson & Anne Baum
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Monthly

Multifamily marketing does not stand still. Neither do we. The Apartment Department is a podcast for multifamily (apartment) marketers, operators and industry partners who want to think differently about how marketing drives performance.Through conversations with marketing leaders, suppliers, and operators who are 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.

  1. The Rise of Identity Economics in Multifamily

    3d ago

    The Rise of Identity Economics in Multifamily

    Send us Fan Mail What if renters aren't choosing communities based on amenities at all? In this episode, Lia Nichole Smith, Chief Brand Strategist at Spherexx, joins Anne Baum and Chris Johnson to explore the rise of identity economics and what it means for the future of multifamily. Lia argues that today's renters are increasingly making housing decisions based on identity, belonging, and community fit rather than simply comparing features and amenities. As consumers become more hyper-tribalized, the communities they choose become an extension of who they are and the lifestyle they want to live. The conversation explores why apartment marketing has fallen into a sea of sameness, why traditional buzzwords like "luxury" often fail to resonate, and how operators can use zero-party data to better understand what truly drives leasing and renewal decisions. In this episode: • What identity economics means for multifamily • Why renters are becoming more values-driven and community-focused • The problem with amenity-based differentiation • How zero-party data can reveal why residents choose, stay, or leave • Why "luxury" may be one of multifamily's most overused marketing terms • A new approach to demonstrating value at renewal • How authentic community partnerships can strengthen brand awareness If multifamily is going to stand out in an increasingly competitive market, Lia believes the answer isn't better marketing. It's building communities that people genuinely want to belong to. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    50 min
  2. The Future of Leasing Is Built on Renter Conversations with Andrea Taylor

    Jun 9

    The Future of Leasing Is Built on Renter Conversations with Andrea Taylor

    Send us Fan Mail Andrea Taylor, Founder and CEO of Livsee, joins Anne Baum and Chris Johnson to discuss how AI is reshaping multifamily leasing, pricing, and operations by turning renter conversations into a continuous source of intelligence. Andrea shares how operators are using AI-powered follow-up to re-engage lost leads, improve tour conversion, and uncover what prospects and residents actually care about. These signals are then feeding into decisions around pricing strategy, concessions, amenities, and retention. The conversation explores: • Why “dead leads” still contain valuable leasing intelligence • How renter conversations reveal patterns that impact occupancy and demand • The role of AI in follow-up, renewals, and leasing workflows • Why concessions and pricing decisions are becoming more data-driven • How operators are using conversation data to inform amenity and asset decisions • The ongoing challenge of attribution and understanding true renter intent • What voice AI and automation may (and may not) change in the leasing experience Along the way, the group discusses how renters are more informed than ever, how search behavior is shifting earlier in the decision process, and why the future of leasing will depend less on isolated touchpoints and more on understanding the full context of renter intent. This episode highlights a shift in multifamily from managing leads to learning from every conversation that happens along the renter journey. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    58 min
  3. How Apartment Search is Changing with Martin Canchola

    May 26

    How Apartment Search is Changing with Martin Canchola

    Send us Fan Mail This week, Anne and Chris sit down with Martin Canchola, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Apartment SEO and founder of Multifamily Builders Club, for a conversation about how apartment search is evolving and what multifamily marketers should actually be paying attention to right now. Martin explains why many of the SEO fundamentals marketers have heard about for years, like local listings, reputation management, FAQs, schema markup, and helpful content, are becoming critical again as platforms like Google, ChatGPT, YouTube, Reddit, and Bing reshape how renters discover apartments online. The conversation explores: Why Google Business Profile and Yelp still matterHow reviews and sentiment influence visibilityWhy video may become one of the biggest opportunities in multifamily marketingHow marketers can experiment with emerging tools without getting overwhelmedWhat operators should prioritize first as search behavior continues to changeMartin also shares the vision behind the Multifamily Builders Club and why curiosity, experimentation, and AI fluency are becoming increasingly valuable skills for multifamily marketers. This episode is packed with practical takeaways for anyone trying to understand where apartment search is headed and how to stay visible as the landscape evolves. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    48 min
  4. The New Rules of Multifamily Marketing with Brian Miller

    May 11

    The New Rules of Multifamily Marketing with Brian Miller

    Send us Fan Mail This week on The Apartment Department, Anne Baum and Chris Johnson sit down with Brian Miller, Director of Partner Experience and Engagement at Zillow Rentals, for a conversation about what marketing teams are really navigating right now. Drawing from conversations with operators and marketers across the country, Brian shares the patterns he’s seeing across the industry, including affordability pressure, rising concessions, operational complexity, and changing renter behavior. In this episode, they discuss: Why nearly 40% of rental listings nationally now include concessionsMarkets where concessions are appearing on more than 60% of listingsZillow data showing that nearly 1 in 13 for-sale shoppers also engage with rentalsHow renters are using technology and AI to evaluate communities differentlyWhy communities need their online presence to match the actual resident experienceThe operational reality behind managing apartment marketing todayHow marketers are pulling data from multiple systems just to understand market position and property performanceThe growing conversation around enterprise-wide AI strategy inside multifamily organizationsThe conversation also explores how marketing teams can better communicate what makes a community valuable, why generic messaging is becoming less effective, and how operators are thinking about flexibility, speed, and transparency for today’s renter. If you work in multifamily marketing, operations, or proptech, this episode offers a grounded conversation about the challenges teams are trying to solve right now and how the industry is adapting. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    46 min
  5. Performance Management in Multifamily: How to Build a Results-Driven Team

    Apr 28

    Performance Management in Multifamily: How to Build a Results-Driven Team

    Send us Fan Mail This week, Anne and Chris welcome back Jude Chiy, founder and CEO of Flamingo, for one of their most candid and wide-ranging conversations yet. Jude opens up about the early struggles that shaped his leadership style, including hiring mistakes that pushed him to completely rethink how he builds and manages a team, and how those hard lessons led him to build a company where every role, every feature, and every decision ties back to one metric: resident retention. Jude breaks down the performance management framework that runs Flamingo, including how he writes job descriptions around outcomes instead of tasks, why he doesn't care how long something takes as long as the result is achieved, and how giving employees a clear north star actually empowers them to push back and prioritize better. The conversation also gets into the evolution of Flamingo itself, from a wellness and fitness platform called Hello Healthy to a full resident retention suite, and what Jude learned from walking the streets of Chicago for four months talking to property managers and residents. Plus, why he believes consistent resident communication is one of the fastest ways to improve retention, what authentic resident-driven engagement looks like, and why brand may be the most important long-term advantage any multifamily operator can build. If you've ever struggled to get your team aligned and moving in the same direction, this episode is worth your time. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    44 min
  6. The Shift from Reactive Marketing to Performance Partner with Justin Godwin

    Apr 14

    The Shift from Reactive Marketing to Performance Partner with Justin Godwin

    Send us Fan Mail Marketing and operations are aligned around the same goal: stronger performance across the portfolio. In practice, that alignment often takes shape through reactive and responsive workflows. In this episode, Justin Godwin, Director of Marketing Strategy and Innovation at Cushman & Wakefield, breaks down what it actually takes to evolve that dynamic at scale. From restructuring a lean marketing team supporting hundreds of properties to redefining marketing as an extension of the leasing function, this conversation gets into the operational reality behind making marketing more proactive, not just responsive. We talk about how marketing teams operate in response to requests, what it takes to shift that dynamic, and how trust evolves when marketing starts showing up with data, recommendations, and a point of view instead of waiting for direction. The core shift is moving marketing from reactive execution to proactive performance support. This is a conversation about systems, communication, and what changes when marketing is structured to drive outcomes, not just respond to them. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    52 min
  7. From Photos to Performance: Building a Visual Content System That Drives Leasing

    Mar 31

    From Photos to Performance: Building a Visual Content System That Drives Leasing

    Send us Fan Mail What role does visual content actually play in apartment performance—and why are most operators still treating it like a one-off asset instead of a system? In this episode, Anne Baum and Chris Johnson sit down with Izzy Carunungan of LCP (Lights, Camera, Pixels) to unpack how photos, 3D tours, and unit-level media are evolving from marketing “nice-to-haves” into operational infrastructure. They explore how the rise of sight-unseen renting, inconsistent unit upgrades, and fragmented property data are forcing a new approach—one where visual content becomes standardized, scalable, and deeply integrated into the leasing journey. This conversation goes beyond content creation to examine: Why your website should function as a true source of truth for prospectsThe operational challenges behind maintaining accurate, unit-level visualsHow inconsistency in media impacts trust, conversion, and leasing velocityWhat it looks like to treat content as a system—not a campaignIf you’re thinking about centralization, standardization, or how to better connect marketing to operations, this episode offers a practical lens into where the industry is heading. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    48 min
  8. Stop Marketing in a Silo: Bridging Strategy and Site Teams

    Mar 3

    Stop Marketing in a Silo: Bridging Strategy and Site Teams

    Send us Fan Mail 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 is not about adding more to a site team’s plate. It is about creating alignment. When teams understand the why behind the work, collaboration improves and results compound. If you are thinking about performance as a shared responsibility, not a departmental function, this episode will challenge and inspire you. Flamingo - Resident Retention App 400K+ units use Flamingo’s Resident Retention Platform to stop Retention Leak & hit 63%+ retention.

    50 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Multifamily marketing does not stand still. Neither do we. The Apartment Department is a podcast for multifamily (apartment) marketers, operators and industry partners who want to think differently about how marketing drives performance.Through conversations with marketing leaders, suppliers, and operators who are 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.

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Johnson & Anne Baum
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Apartment Department
  • Show Website
    The Apartment Department

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