This past week was one of the best of the year for tennis. And you didn’t have to look very far to find some pretty incredible marketing, too.

It was championship week at the US Open … and when tennis comes to the bright lights of New York, it’s the perfect setting for marketers to take their game to the next level and get their brands in front of customers in new and unique ways.

Cadillac has been the title sponsor of the US Open for the last few years. This year, they didn’t just want people to see the latest cars — they also wanted to create new ways for potential customers to see the 125-year-old brand with fresh eyes.

So they enlisted a celebrity designer to help them introduce a different kind of rubber-treaded transportation — custom sneakers.

Cadillac partnered with the Shoe Surgeon to create kicks that take inspiration (and materials) from their top vehicles like the Escalade.

The shoes were on display at the Open (along with the cars), and customers will be able to buy them through a dedicated website, too.

Of course, Cadillac isn’t the first brand to create and sell products in tangential categories to help promote their brand.

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Another famous example is Westin’s Heavenly Bed — the hotel brand has sold over 500,000 since they launched the product to the public in 1999. (Now, it’s even available at Pottery Barn.)

But this isn’t just about creating new products — it’s about creating marketing that doesn’t feel like marketing.

The Barbie movie is probably the best recent example. Their marketing was everywhere last summer … and most of it didn’t feel like marketing.

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What do Cadillac sneakers, the Heavenly Bed, and Barbie have to do with multifamily?

At any given time, only a tiny fraction of your audience is actually in the market for a new apartment.

But you still need to consistently build your brand in memorable ways.

That way, when those customers are ready to look for their next home, they’ll remember seeing your name and naturally gravitate to your properties.

So how can you keep your name out there and market to the masses in new creative (maybe even exciting) ways?

Time to brainstorm.

Here are some ways that apartment marketers can create memorable, engaging experiences around town while subtly promoting your brand and the benefits of your properties:

The Farmers Market Living Room

• Concept: Sponsor a local farmers market, but instead of just setting up a regular booth with brochures or swag, set up a fully staged living room vignette and an iced coffee machine with branded cups to give people the opportunity to sit down, relax, and enjoy a drink. Then, when they get up to leave, they carry your brand with them around the market.

Pop-Up Movie Nights

• Concept: Partner with local parks or rooftop venues to host pop-up outdoor movie nights. Create a cozy “home theater” feeling with plush seating, blankets, and free popcorn or drinks. The setup would mimic your community‘s lounge areas, complete with subtle branding and postcards that highlight the community’s amenities like your outdoor gathering spaces.

Wellness Workshops in Local Parks

• Concept: Host yoga, meditation, or fitness classes in local parks. After the session, participants could relax in a lounge area styled to reflect the apartment’s wellness amenities (e.g., state-of-the-art fitness centers, meditation rooms, etc.). This appeals to more health-conscious individuals and subtly promotes the lifestyle and wellness amenities offered by your apartment community.

Pickleball Tournaments

• Concept: Sponsor a series of tournaments for your local park. Provide plenty of shade and beverages, along with promo materials that invite players to come see and test out the courts at your community. If you have multiple properties in the area with pickleball courts, host a multi-location tournament at your properties, and open it up to the public to get more traffic flowing through your communities. Give away subtly branded performance t-shirts to the players — make it a design people would actually want to wear in public.

Art Installations and Interactive Murals

• Concept: Commission local artists to create interactive murals or art installations in trendy areas of the city. These could be photo-worthy spots that encourage selfies and social media sharing. Each installation could include elements that evoke the lifestyle and vibe you promote at your communities, subtly reinforcing the brand while also supporting local art.

Themed Food Truck Gatherings

• Concept: Partner with popular food trucks to create a “food truck progressive dinner” at your community or in your neighborhood. Each gathering could have a theme (imagine “International Street Food” or “Comfort Food Classics”) that aligns with different features of the apartment community (e.g., multicultural resident events, proximity to great restaurants, or gourmet kitchens). If it’s at your community, steer people to comfortable places to sit and enjoy their food, while also showcasing your community’s gathering spaces.

“Staycation” Giveaways

• Concept: Offer a contest where winners receive a weekend “staycation” in your guest suite. The experience could include a fully furnished luxury apartment, a stocked fridge with local treats, and tickets to local events. This gives potential residents a chance to live in the space and explore the neighborhood as if they were already residents. (I love this idea as a contest prize for a brand new lease-up!)

Branded Bike Tours

• Concept: Is your location one of your biggest selling points? Awesome, lean into that — partner with a great local tour guide and organize guided bike tours around the area, highlighting scenic routes, popular dining spots, and attractions near the apartment community. The tour could end at your property with a small reception in your lounge or rooftop space, giving participants a taste of the lifestyle and proximity to key locations.

“Taste of the Neighborhood” Event

• Concept: Collaborate with local restaurants, coffee shops, and boutiques to create a “Taste of the Neighborhood” event at your property. Attendees can sample dishes and drinks while exploring the apartment’s demo kitchen or pool deck. This event could highlight the convenience of the apartment’s location and the vibrant local scene.

Interactive Home Design Workshops

• Concept: Partner with local designers or home decor stores to offer workshops on home organization, interior design, or DIY decor. These workshops could be held in the store, in one of your models or even in a vacant apartment, allowing attendees to directly visualize how they could personalize their new apartment.

A few more ideas to explore:

• Sneakerhead pop-up showcase
• Front porch concerts featuring local musicians
• Sponsored softball or volleyball teams (Great for properties with no on-site amenities)
• Retro gaming lounge (Nostalgia is in.)
• Pop culture trivia nights or watch parties

These are just a few ideas — I’m sure you can get creative and come up with even better ones.

Be careful not to commit “random acts of marketing” here. Be strategic.

No matter what you do, look for subtle (or maybe not so subtle) ways to tie your marketing back to a benefit or key selling point that renters will enjoy when they live at your community.

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Is Cadillac actually getting into the shoe business? Probably not.

But this collab is a great way to help a new generation of potential customers see their brand in a completely different (and newsworthy) way.

Do I expect you to create custom sneakers? Of course not. (I mean, you could … but it’s obvious that any apartment operator should be offering branded lounge slippers, anyway.)

Just like what Cadillac is doing, your goal is to create notable experiences that help prospective renters create a stronger connection to your brand and see your community in a whole new way.

Push yourself to explore those creative ways to get your brand in front of new audiences of potential renters in your area.

More memorable marketing might not win you a handcrafted Tiffany trophy, but it will help you cruise past your competition like you’re rollin’ in a brand-new Cadillac.

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Need help with a fresh new approach to your apartment marketing? 30 Lines is here to help – reach out anytime!