Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/647244
MARCH 2016 14 THE JOURNAL How To Convert The Media Into Industry Fans From Industry Foes BY FRANK ROLFE COMMUNITY CONSULTANT I was very happy to see the announcement that Al Jazeera News is closing their doors in April. They had produced two nasty segments on our $60 rent raise in Austin, and had ig- nored all the facts in the case to the point of ridiculousness. Their liberal bias was enormous, and their appetite for sensationalism was sick- ening. Apparently, the American public was not impressed, and the Al Jazeera audience never exceeded about 30,000 viewers – which would not even fill a football stadium. So one down, but way too many to go. If we have to wait for every negative network to go bankrupt, this might take a while. So how can we turn all these nasty media sources into industry fans? Get the support of credible data to ratify our position The media is impressed by academic sources and scientific data. The announcement that Duke University's Economics Department is going to write further papers on the industry is a great start. But we need to be tracking a huge amount of internal data to offer credible statis- tics. Instead of saying "we think that our prices are low" we need to prove that point, and show the chart of rents on a historical perspective. We need to be compiling industry data far be- yond floors shipped. We need to be a virtual census bureau. The differential between apart- ment rents and lot rents is a particular source of advantage, and we need to drive a freight train through that opportunity. Show them how we are the solution, not the problem The media has this misconception that we take advantage of lower income households. The first question the Al Jazeera reporter asked me as "so do you feel bad taking advantage of the poor?" They put us into the same category as payday lenders and pawn shops. I think the best thing we can do is to demonstrate the fact that our customers love us. That's how we turned the negative New York Times writer into an industry hero. We let him live in one of our communities for a week, and he found that not one single customer was unhappy with our product or lifestyle. We have compiled 50 tes- timonials from our tenants. I urge everyone to amass testimonials, and we can send those to the media as a type of petition: if we sent 10,000 testimonials to every media group in the U.S., they would definitely take note and it might sway their opinion. Could we "March on Washington" with a 10,000 person petition asking the government to help our sector of housing? Sure we could – and it would be a great P.R. opportunity that nobody would ex- pect. Hound any negative article with an internet blitz We can't control every article, but we can drown out those that we don't agree with. We should start an avalanche of rebuttal articles to any negative mention. The internet gives you the ability to offer many counter opinions to any search for any article. We need to take advan- tage of that, and offer 10 positive thoughts for every negative one. The media is like a bully in this regard and, before the internet, they could hit you as much as they wanted and there was not a thing you could do about it, as you had no audience and they did. The internet has lev- elled the playing field, and you can hit them as hard as they hit you if you expend the effort. It's like the old saying that "God made man, and Samuel Colt made them equal" – with the internet now as the peacemaker. Campaign to get air time on conservative news networks While the majority of news channels are lib- eral by nature, there are also conservative groups such as Fox News that might be inter- ested in hearing how you can provide affordable housing without taxpayer assistance. Remember that there are more Section 8 apartments than total manufactured homes in the U.S. Conser- vative networks might find this an interesting fact, and also delight in taking the opposing viewpoint of their liberal adversaries. Let's start working that angle. Ride the wings of American anger over the liberal agenda If you hadn't noticed, the U.S. public is un- happy with the state of the nation. There is a backlash against the status quo. Look at the posts underneath those articles that are critical of our style of affordable housing. On the arti- cles that claimed we had unfairly raised our rents, the average post said "how can you com- plain over a rent that's $1,000 per month less than my apartment? Quit crying, you're mak- ing a fool out of yourself." If we stick with a consistent strategy of pointing out the liberal agenda that mocks our industry and business in general, and support what makes us unique and attractive to our customer base, we will win over an American audience that has grown mis- trustful of the media and is ready for change. Conclusion I think that we have the perfect opportunity for a grassroots movement to sway the popular opinion on our industry. The liberal media has been weakened by a new American audience that has grown suspicious of its motives and honesty. Meanwhile, our advantage over apartments continues to build, and we have never been more on our game. If we can make sensible moves on data gathering and analysis, and combine that with more displays of cus- tomer affection, we can defeat those who talk badly of us. I'm hoping that this election year ushers in more than just a new President – I'm hoping it brings a new attitude about the man- ufactured home community business. Frank Rolfe has been a manufactured home community owner for almost two decades, and currently ranks as part of the 6th largest community owner in the United States, with more than 17,000 lots in 22 states in the Great Plains and Midwest. His books and courses on community acquisitions and management are the top-selling ones in the industry. To learn more about Frank's views on the manufactured home community industry visit www.MobileHomeUniversity.com. T J