At Apartment Geofencing, we love when our team gets out into the industry and comes back with real intel you can actually use.
This time, Kara Rafferty hit the road for Cadence Connect, and she returned with takeaways that every multifamily marketer should be thinking about as we head into 2026.
A huge thank-you to Janet Rosseth, Shelly Steitz, and the Cadence Marketing Solutions team for hosting such a high-impact event. The roundtable discussions, particularly those led by Zillow and Zipcode Creative, surfaced several trends that will influence how multifamily marketers approach marketing, branding, and demand generation next year.
Let’s break them down.
One of the clearest takeaways: Renters aren’t making decisions alone.
77% of recent renters involve at least one other person in their apartment-shopping journey.
This shift has real implications:
Your messaging must make sense not only to the primary prospect, but to their partner, parent, roommate, or friend who’s weighing in.
Clear, consistent, benefit-driven messaging is critical across every channel—especially digital ones that prospects reference multiple times.
Your video, photos, and ad creative must speak to both the emotional and practical sides of the choice.
You’re no longer marketing to a renter. You’re marketing to a decision-making unit and your content strategy has to reflect that.
Another standout stat: 61% of renters move within the same county.
Despite the narrative of big relocations, the multifamily reality is simple—most renters are staying close to home.
This makes local awareness foundational to your marketing strategy. Prospects are often familiar with the neighborhood, comparing you against a tight set of competitors, and making decisions based on hyperlocal brand impressions.
For marketing teams, that means:
Tactics that prioritize geographic relevance are only becoming more essential.
Being present where decisions happen is essential.
Local brand saturation (especially through geofencing and streaming TV) positions your community as the obvious choice.
Local is the strategy. Not just a layer.
A recurring theme in every conversation: Brand matters, and not just the corporate brand. A strong community-specific identity helps prospects understand what makes each property special, even within a portfolio.
Here's a few realistic lessons shared:
Rebrands don’t need to happen all at once.
Slowly phasing out legacy assets such as signage, collateral, or on-site visuals is reasonable and strategic when budgets are tight.
A community with a distinct, authentic identity stands out in a crowded market.
Across all three insights, a clear pattern emerges:
👉 Local strategy is becoming the backbone of multifamily marketing.
As decision-making becomes more collective, more local, and more brand-driven, the channels that win are the ones that show up precisely where prospects (and co-shoppers) are making choices.
That’s why Geofencing + Streaming TV continue to gain momentum:
They reach renters on the biggest screen in their home.
They influence the full decision-making unit, not just the primary searcher.
They create brand awareness long before a google search happens or before a tour is scheduled.
When local visibility shapes the shortlist, these channels become indispensable.
We’re grateful for the actionable conversations at Cadence Connect and for the leaders driving innovation in multifamily marketing. Huge shoutout again to Cadence Marketing Solutions, Zillow, and Zipcode Creative for moving the industry forward!
If you want help putting these insights into action for 2026, the Apartment Geofencing team is here to help you build smarter, more precise, more local marketing strategies.