MHN Executive Council: How to Use Branding to Increase Resident Loyalty
Go beyond signage and show what it's like to live in your community.
Is your community branding limited to signage? There are many other ways to incorporate your branding at the property and in your marketing. Done well, this can lead to more recognition of the brand, and even to resident loyalty. The MHN Executive Council shares their best tips and suggestions.
Emotional Connection
Branding plays a powerful role in building long-term resident loyalty. Strong branding creates an emotional connection, shapes expectations and reinforces your community’s identity at every touchpoint, from the leasing experience to daily living. It helps deliver a consistent, trustworthy experience that residents connect with emotionally.
Lifestyle branding goes a step further by showcasing what it feels like to live in your community—not just the floorplans and features. It highlights the amenities, social atmosphere and neighborhood connections that matter to renters. It paints a picture of a lifestyle that fits who they are—or who they aspire to be. Our homes are extensions of ourselves, and branding helps people find a place that reflects that.
Well-branded communities don’t just look polished—they perform better. They attract more leads, more tours and more conversions. Digital platforms reward brand consistency with better ad performance and higher search visibility.
In the end, branding isn’t just about visuals. It’s about showing up consistently and authentically—everywhere. When residents see you as professional, reliable and aligned with their sense of self, it builds trust. That trust turns renters into long-term residents. —Susan McPeak, Corporate Ambassador, The REMM Group
Big Connection
It’s so rewarding to both the interior designer and the developer when residents experience a space the way it was intended. We feel fortunate to be on-site when it happens—interacting with and observing residents in spontaneous moments that indicate we hit the mark.
While we were on a photo shoot in the billiard and game room for Canvas, a Toll Brothers Campus Living project at ASU, a few new residents walked in and asked if they could play pool. They saw the activity and wanted in on it. We began chatting with them and asked how they happened upon choosing Canvas. Their response proved to us we had successfully executed the developer’s luxury-oriented brand while appealing to a younger demographic.
They unanimously said they knew the minute they walked into the building that they wanted to live there. One of them was familiar with Toll Brothers as her parents owned a Toll Brothers Home in Southern California where she was raised. “They just have a way with design,” she said. Smart developers for student housing know that once residents graduate, they become potential multifamily residents wherever they land, so making a big impression early on pays off down the road for everyone. —Mary Cook, President, Mary Cook Associates
Proud and Positive
People want to feel proud of where they live.
They’d like their family and friends to admire their residence. They want to feel good driving up to the building when they come home.
If a brand speaks to the residents, and is actually visible through intriguing art, custom finishes, cleanliness and particularly a cool factor that speaks to their personal desires, the residents will be proud, will speak positively about where they live, will take better care of the common areas and will be much more likely to remain for a longer period.
Naturally, I think the art is a huge key to that result, and that it can create branding, a true storyline and pride of “belonging” to the community. —Judy Brower Fancher, President, Brower, Miller & Cole, Inc.
Play the Long Game
I posed this question to Sarah Barr, Director of Hickok Cole Creative, our boutique brand studio who works closely with our architects and interior designers, as well as for third party owners, developers, and property managers. Here is what she offered:
Branding helps build an emotional connection with long-term residents. While a compelling identity and marketing campaign can attract prospects, it’s the long game that matters most. Resident experience is a core part of a community’s brand—and ultimately, what keeps people there. From a warm greeting and personal recognition to a champagne toast at lease renewal, every touchpoint reflects the brand promise. Whether it’s delivered through thoughtfulness, safety, cleanliness, programming, or a sense of cool, how you want residents to feel should be embedded in the brand strategy from the start. —Yolanda Cole, Co-Senior Principal, Hickok Cole
Establish Trust
Branding plays a nuanced but increasingly vital role in fostering long-term resident loyalty—especially in multifamily, where traditional brand loyalty has not historically been a major factor for renters.
While potential residents may not choose a community solely based on brand, brand consistency across touchpoints—visual identity, tone, messaging and service standards—helps establish trust and familiarity. This consistency reinforces a sense of reliability and professionalism, which can influence a resident’s decision to renew or recommend the community.
However, what matters even more than branding itself is the experience behind it. Residents form emotional connections not with logos or slogans, but with how they’re treated, how issues are resolved, and how their daily lives are supported. When communities consistently deliver positive, personalized and responsive experiences, those experiences become the living proof of the brand promise.
In essence, branding sets the expectation; resident experience fulfills it; consistency between the two builds loyalty. —Christine Gustafson, Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations, The Breeden Co.
Sense of Belonging
Branding plays a far deeper role in resident loyalty than most realize. Beyond a logo or tagline, it’s about consistency in delivering emotional value: making residents feel known, safe and proud to live where they do. At Cobu, we’ve seen that branding tied to a sense of belonging (not just utility) dramatically increases resident retention. One surprising insight: residents often perceive a branded community experience as more valuable and trustworthy than an unbranded one, especially when the experience feels personalized and “for people like me.” When done right, we see referral volume increase sometimes by over double. —Ben Pleat, CEO, Cobu
Interested in joining the MHN Executive Council and sharing your insights? Email Jessica Fiur.
