Topic: Personifying your apartment buildings?

This is going to be somewhat random, but I thought it might be interesting to discuss. In movies, a really good setting becomes so important to the movie that it almost becomes another character. The best example I can think of off the top of my head is Hogwartz in Harry Potter. The castle plays such a key role in the movie, that it feels like a living entity in a certain way, and you miss it if it's not there. Another common setting that gets personified are boats. We always call them "she", name them, and in movies, you often have the captain treat it lovingly, sometimes even talking to it as if the boat was alive.

And it got me thinking about our apartment buildings. We always want our residents to fall in love with our community, but in the end, it is just bricks and sticks. But what if someone personified their apartment building? What if they named "her" and gave her a personality? What if every time a maintenance tech went out to fix something, it wasn't a leaky faucet - instead, "she" was feeling a little under the weather and had a runny nose. Don't worry, she'll be feeling all better soon. As he walks out of the apartment, he says to the resident, "You take care of her, ok?" as he glances around the room, giving a big smile and lovingly patting the wall.

All of this would be very subtle - it's not like you would paint a giant face on the side of the building or anything. It only serves to help the resident connect with the community in a different way, and it would definitely be memorable! I know to some people that may sound kind of bizarre, but I often think that is a good thing! I always believe that if a certain percentage LOVE your property, while another group just don't appreciate it at all, it's much better than being luke warm to everybody.

Thoughts?

That would be very intresting to experience in an apartment community..... most people feel that way about their cars!

Brent, I actually love this idea!! I have always said that properties have different personalities and that is why doing the generic property management thing doesn't always work. I would love to see some adventuresome developer actually build 'theme based' apartments. I would pay big bucks to live at Hogwartz'!! :P

Thanks Gerry, and I think that's what a lot of companies don't get. Yes, they personally may think that building a Hogwartz-themed community is pure lunacy, but if data shows they can find enough residents that love the idea, those residents will NEVER leave and will, like you say, pay "big bucks"!