DJC Marketing — Lease-Up Marketing

Delayed lease-up is
delayed revenue.

That is where we come in. We build campaigns that move developments from launch to full occupancy — reaching income-qualified applicants by design, not by volume, with the insider knowledge to back it up.

Affordable Housing Lease-Up Marketing Agency — Full-Cycle Campaigns for Developers & Property Managers

400+
Inquiries in the first
48 hours — 9410 Hough
36.2%
Applicant qualification rate
vs. 15–30% industry avg
+13.7pts
Above industry
benchmark
>20%
Re-apply rate from
applicant follow-up

What We Do

DJC Marketing runs the full lease-up marketing cycle for affordable housing developments — from the moment you're ready to announce to the day you hit stabilization.

We are not a general marketing agency. We know how affordable housing is financed, what income-qualifying means, how lottery and waitlist processes work, and what regulators and investors need to see. That specificity is what makes our campaigns convert.

We handle every piece of the marketing operation so your property management team can focus on operations — not outreach.

What's Included

01 — Pre-Leasing & Strategy
Build momentum before day one.

Before a single ad runs, we build your campaign strategy around your unit mix, income tiers, target applicant profile, and timeline. We create a pre-leasing plan that builds interest and a waitlist before doors open — so you launch with momentum, not from zero.

02 — Digital Campaign Management
Listings, paid ads, and organic — fully managed.

Apartment listings on Apartments.com, Zillow, Craigslist, and AffordableHousing.com. Targeted Facebook and Instagram paid ads. Google Display. Organic social. Every ad is geo-targeted, income-aware, and optimized weekly based on performance data.

03 — Traditional Media
Physical presence where it counts.

Billboards, construction-site banners, radio spots, newspaper ads, and community publication placements. We handle placement, production, and vendor coordination — you don't manage any of it.

04 — Community Outreach
Trust built on the ground, not just online.

Partnerships with local churches, community organizations, workforce agencies, and social services. We attend job fairs, host information sessions, and build the ground-level trust that turns awareness into completed applications.

05 — Applicant Communication
Every inquiry handled, nothing dropped.

We manage all inbound inquiry volume — answering questions, distributing applications, tracking submissions, and keeping prospective residents informed. Your property management team stays in the loop without being buried in calls.

"We understand how these deals are structured — and we market accordingly."

What You Get

At the start of every engagement, you receive a written campaign strategy outlining your target applicant profile, channel mix, budget allocation, and timeline milestones. Throughout the campaign, you receive:

Affordable housing development — DJC Marketing lease-up

Packages

Every engagement is scoped to your development — unit count, income tiers, market, and timeline. The examples below reflect how we've structured past campaigns.

Scope Example
Digital-First Campaign

Apartment listings on major platforms, targeted paid social ads (Facebook/Instagram), and organic social content. Includes campaign setup, weekly optimization, applicant inquiry management, and bi-weekly reporting. Typical fit: developments with strong in-person property management support.

Scope Example
Multi-Channel Campaign

Digital-first scope plus traditional media — billboards, construction-site banners, radio spots, newspaper ads, and community publication placements. We manage all vendor relationships and production. Typical fit: developments that need broad awareness across digital and physical channels simultaneously.

Scope Example
Full-Scale Campaign + Community

Multi-channel scope plus active community outreach — information sessions, partnerships with local organizations, job fair presence, and resident engagement events. We become an extension of your team on the ground. Typical fit: developments in communities where trust and local visibility are essential to leasing success.

Add-Ons

Application Support

Our application success manager personally contacts applicants whose submissions were initially rejected — helping them correct errors, gather missing documents, and resubmit. This keeps your pipeline full of qualified candidates who otherwise fall off. At 9410 Hough, this single add-on drove a greater than 20% re-apply rate.

Model Unit Staging & Photography

We design, source, deliver, stage, and photograph a tour-ready model unit from scratch — handling every vendor and every detail. Professional photography is included. After lease-up, furniture can be donated to an affiliated nonprofit and distributed to incoming residents, giving the owner a charitable contribution benefit while supporting the community.

Case Study

9410 Hough — Cleveland, OH
Property Type
Affordable Housing
Unit Count
116 Units
Campaign Length
6 Months
Results
400+Inquiries in the first 48 hours of launch
36.2%Applicant qualification rate — vs. 15–30% industry avg
+13.7 ptsAbove industry benchmark for qualified applicants
>20%Re-apply rate driven by application support
What We Did
Paid social ads — Facebook & Instagram
Apartment listings — Apartments.com, Zillow, AffordableHousing.com
Billboard & radio placements
Community outreach & information sessions
Model unit staging & professional photography
Application support & re-review program
9410 Hough affordable housing development exterior — Cleveland OH 9410 Hough staged model unit bedroom 9410 Hough staged model unit living room 9410 Hough staged unit interior detail
How We Work

A structured approach that builds momentum and sustains it.

Phase 1 — Preparation & Pre-Launch

We spend the first month preparing listings, building creative assets, lining up media placements, and staging the model unit. We soft-launch to gauge early interest before the full push begins.

Phase 2 — Full-Scale Push & Follow-Up

Full campaign across all selected channels. Applicant support kicks in — tracking, follow-up outreach, document support. We monitor qualification rates and adjust targeting to maintain velocity through stabilization.

The Team

Every engagement is led by Dakotah — backed by a full team.

You're not getting handed off. Dakotah Jennifer leads every lease-up engagement as Founder & Project Lead, supported by specialists across digital, communications, and coordination.

Dakotah Jennifer, Founder & Project Lead at DJC Marketing
Dakotah Jennifer
Founder & Project Lead
Jarea Fang, Marketing Coordinator at DJC Marketing
Jarea Fang
Marketing Coordinator
Brittni Hardie, Communications Manager at DJC Marketing
Brittni Hardie
Communications Manager
Ready to Fill Your Building?

Tell us about your development.
We'll build a custom strategy to bring in tenants.

Every quote is custom. Every strategy is built around your property, your timeline, and your market. Let's talk.

Get a Custom Quote