The Challenge

Affordable housing is one of the main concerns of almost everyone. When USC Lusk Center for Real Estate turned to THO to handle the outreach for its annual USC Casden Forecast it was critical that we can numbers – the forecast focuses on rents in Southern California – and make the relevant. As a data-based information source, it is a major topic of conversation across investment, real estate and many other industries.

The Solution

THO reimagined the Casden Forecast’s media materials to sharpen their focus and apply the data and forecast models to the current affordable housing crisis in Southern California. The story became one of affordability, a major topic of conversation.

THO’s plan focused on meeting the following objectives:

• Media prep with the new media point person, an amazing economist but a newcomer to the world of interviewing;

• Identify and target reporters and editors who provide fair and objective coverage of the affordable housing shortage in Southern California; and

• Engage in an intensive media relations program to communicate with key targets in the weeks leading up to the Casden Forecast’s release.

Results

THO’s campaign resulted in nearly 35 media placements – which included 201M print and digital readership and 1M in broadcast viewers with national and local print and broadcast media, as well as real estate and other trade publications.

On day one of the forecast’s unveiling, the USC Lusk Center was supported by coverage in the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Orange County Register, and dozens of other high-profile print publications; every local television station, including KABC, KCBS, KTLA and KNBC; multiple 24-hour news radio stations and NPR affiliates; and, of course, dozens of real estate trade outlets.

Takeaways

Make sure your main spokesperson is ready. In this case, grooming the new media spokesperson – who was a phenomenal economist but had no experience with the media – was critical.

Any important news item that demands a thorough and thoughtful assessment is often the most compelling and impactful. Developing a strategic plan to ensure it reaches the marketplace in a way that supports the organization’s goals and drives progress is essential.

In this case, THO identified the high value of the Casden Forecast’s impact on renters and created a larger – and more national-centric – news story on how affordable housing dictates movement within the broader Southern California marketplace.