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developer at their comfort level. The
better the partnership, the better penetration
levels we get.
We have a program called “Community
Rewards.” It’s an incentive-based
program for the leasing or management
staff. The more penetration you drive for
voice, video and data, the more gifts you
can accumulate – high-definition televisions,
digital cameras, and so forth.
Some owners let the incentives go to individual
employees, others feel that’s too
competitive, and they make them available
to the team as a whole.
Eric Cevis, vice president for Verizon Enhanced Communities
in the house when they are away. We’ve
been working with an application development
company to develop a technology-enabled
concierge platform that will
benefit both property owners and their
residents. For instance, this platform
would allow property managers to automate
some functions, allowing residents
to complete a work order online alerting
them of a lightbulb outage in a common
area. Residents, on the other hand, could
– with this platform – request the front
desk to bring their car around at a certain
hour, or give certain people access
to their apartment while the resident is
at work or on vacation, as the visit will
be recorded on a videocam.
We’re always looking for ways to
help our customers understand the true
advantage they have with their bandwidth
while trying to increase the average
revenue per user.
Gaming has also continued to be a
focus for us – you have a “first-shooter
advantage” with FiOS because you’re getting
off a couple of shots before your opponent
does. My 18-year-old loves that!
And we’re looking into home networking.
In talking with our strategic
partners, they say people are asking for
things like, “How can I turn the air conditioning
on while I’m on my way home
from work, so the house is cool when I
get there How can I turn the lights on
and off while I’m away, so the house
doesn’t look empty And did I remember
to close the garage door before I left”
You should be able to do these things
with a PDA or a Verizon wireless device.
BBP: Are building owners interested
in these nontraditional applications
EC: They’re very excited to hear about
them. It makes them think of us as a strategic
partner that can bring more valueadded
services to benefit their communities
and draw in more residents. Some
of the biggest property owners and developers
in Virginia and New York City
have started test-bedding some of these
applications with us.
Innovations in Marketing
BBP: What have you been doing to
market FiOS in MDUs
EC: The first thing we had to do was educate
the property owners on the value of
fiber optics at their property. We spent a
lot of time driving awareness that FiOS
exists, that there’s a choice in the marketplace
now, and that we believe it’s a
differentiated choice.
Once a developer agrees to allow Verizon
to deploy FiOS on the property,
in some instances we may pay them for
the right to market the services on their
property. If a property gives us exclusive
marketing rights (which isn’t the same
as saying we’re the exclusive provider),
we’ll pay them a little more for those
rights. Our goal is to partner with the
Marketing Twists
In the leasing offices we like to provide
a FiOS TV demo account so residents
can experience FiOS TV in real
time. Once you see it, the picture quality
sells itself. Depending on the weather
and the jurisdiction, we host pool parties
or barbecues at the communities to
get residents to ‘test drive’ FiOS services.
Additionally, we try to alert residents
that FiOS is available by getting into the
property’s newsletters and on their community
Internet Web site. We’re constantly
looking for ways we can partner
with the property to drive awareness of
the FiOS product line and to educate
residents on the value of the service to
them.
We’ve got a nationally dispersed marketing
team with a person dedicated to
each building. When allowed, we use
door hangers, direct mailings, and unique
rebate offers to sell FiOS at a building
once it’s wired. Often we will even send a
welcome kit to new tenants moving into
the building with a rebate offer.
BBP: Do you have residents marketing
to each other
EC: Yes, we have a “Refer a Friend” program.
If you’re a FiOS customer you can
host a FiOS party in your apartment
and for each neighbor who signs up and
stays with the service for 30 days the referring
customer can earn $25.
Also, when possible we try to have
a more permanent presence on the
property. For instance, in Peter Cooper
Village/Stuyvesant Town in New York
City, Verizon has a retail store right next
to the leasing office where anyone – residents
and passers-by – can come in and
get more information about FiOS or
January/February 2009 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 43