Goodwill hawking: Morgan Management
As Americans watch their finances erode amid the onslaught of job and pay cuts, apartment companies are finding that a bit of goodwill goes a long way. In fact, sometimes, goodwill can be worth its weight in priceless publicity.
Several newspapers, for instance, wrote about Rochester, NY-based Morgan Communities' No Fear Lease, a warranty of sorts, which the company had printed on parchment paper, that gives new and renewing renters the option to break their leases if they lose their jobs, or to continue to rent at a 20 percent discount for up to three months while they search for new employment.
When Cleveland, Ohio-based Goldberg Companies' announced its Layoff Proof Lease, which allows newly unemployed residents to remain in their apartments rent-free for two months while they look for another job, the story was picked up by Fox News, CBS and CNN, as well as a number of local and national print publications.
And, when Phoenix-based Mark-Taylor Residential donated 12 rent-free apartments to homeless families in Phoenix for a full year, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams broadcast a story about that life-changing outreach program.
Media attention never hurts. And today, amidst the gloom and doom stories that dominate the headlines and help to pump up the fear level, any positive story is good news.
"We wanted to take some of that fear off the table and show goodwill in these tough times," said Morgan Management VP Kevin Morgan about the No Fear Lease rolled out
