The Apartment Channel TV Expands to National Markets

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorJacksonville, Fla.—RAD Media LLC, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based full-service advertising agency, has announced a national expansion of The Apartment Channel TV, taking it to the top 30 markets in the country.The Apartment Channel TV posts videos of apartment communities on cable On Demand channels as well as its Website, apt-tv.com. The 30- or 60-second videos feature the community’s grounds, amenities and model apartments, with added voice over, music and graphics.“The point is to give the apartment seeker a good tour of the property and give him a feel of what the apartment looks like. People don’t have the time to run around looking, and magazines, still images and 360 tours don’t necessarily give the best view of what the apartment looks like,” Adam R. Janklow, CEO of RAD Media and general manager of The Apartment Channel TV, tells MHN. The locator service, which has been available in Central Fla. since March 2007 and which currently has videos for over 200 communities in the area, works on a pay-by-performance plan, charging apartment communities only for each confirmed lease that resulted from an Apartment Channel lead, in addition to a one-time production fee for the video.Each video listed on The Apartment Channel TV is also available on the Website, with each property having its own page. Apartment seekers can navigate through both the channel and the Website geographically.According to Janklow, The Apartment Channel TV currently averages over 35,000 views each month for its Fla. communities, with seven to 10 walk-ins—apartment seekers who view the video and find property information on their own—per property per month, six direct leads per property per week, and an average of two to five leases per property per month.In addition to the On Demand channel and the Website, the videos are posted on MySpace, YouTube and Facebook, so apartment seekers can download the content onto their computers and MP3 players. “We are basically using every possible tool out there to get the attention of apartment seekers,” Janklow states. He says that The Apartment Channel TV—whose target demographic is mostly women 25 years and older—will eventually offer Podcasts as well.“Our plans are always to ride the wave of technology,” notes Janklow. “We have the knowledge to keep the pulse of the industry, to know what people are looking for.”The nationwide expansion is currently limited to The Apartment Channel TV’s Website, but Janklow says that the local channels will be launched once there is enough content for the market.In spite of the state of the economy, Janklow says that The Apartment Channel TV’s numbers grew through the fourth quarter and continue to do so. In fact, the company is adding staff and expanding its office space.