Posts filed under 'Media Relations'
Surrounded by storage units, hundreds of people gathered recently to raise money for local fire victims, the Oroville Mercury-Register reports.That’s because Oroville RV/Boat & Self Storage hosted a benefit barbecue, which drew in guests ready to eat ribs, hear local bands, have their faces painted and view classic cars.
Cars lined the street in both directions and nearly 100 people were already in line for ribs, just past the event’s 5 p.m. start.
Bravo to this specialty storage center. This is one way to win a community’s heart - and if the local paper gets informed all the better. So many companies do good, but don’t tell anyone they are doing good, so only relative few know.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…when you do good, let the world know!
Click here to read the rest of the story.
August 2nd, 2008
I hate to see these stories, but here’s another. According to the Associated Press, federal authorities have seized thousands of Ecstasy tablets from a San Gabriel Valley self-storage unit. The tablets are reportedly worth more than $2 million. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the Friday raid was part of an investigation into several Ecstasy-smuggling rings in the area east of Los Angeles.The Associated Press reports the probe has resulted in 11 arrests in recent weeks, including a Chinese national suspected of heading the largest smuggling organization. Seven of the defendants face federal charges, while the other four are prosecuted by local authorities.
Here again we have a major drug operation using self-storage as its base. We have to ask ourselves - what can be done to stop the madness. From our ‘Self Storage Promotions’ perspective, too, we have to ask how do we handle this mini-crisis that will see continued reference to this case as it makes its way through trial.
The industry has come a long way in overcoming its ‘dirty little warehouse’ reputation. We are still fighting the drug den reputation in some circles. In times like these, it’s important to reassure your customers that you keep a close eye on activities. It may also be time to consult an attorney about doing inspections on suspicious units.
Moreover, the industry needs to rally together to overcome this problem, both with clear actions to prevent it and clear communication that tells the world about those actions. We can fight the good fight and perhaps reduce the number of these types of incidents, but if we don’t tell the world about our efforts then, well, they won’t know.
October 30th, 2007
So what do you do with a gifted piece of land? Do research; then do more research, and finally, whittle down all your possibilities to one final conclusion. That’s what three siblings did when their parents gave them nearly two acres of land along Rodeo Road, writes Cindy Bellinger of The New Mexican.
Bellinger goes on to tell the stories of three siblings who launched a self-storage facility in her neck of the woods. I only wish I had the free time to call them up and ask: Did you send out a press release? Was it happenstance? Does the newspaper have a beat reporter for self-storage?
This is a great story and my heart is to see every single self-storage facility get a write up like this one in their local paper. Press releases make that easier. We tell the story you want told rather than hoping a reporter will take notice and tell the right story. Congratulations to the Ortiz family and your new venture.
Click here to read the story in The New Mexican.
September 19th, 2007
A Florida construction crew with a backhoe accidentally cut into an underground tank near a hospital on Aug. 27. Just three days later, a construction crew at the Minnesota Zoo punctured a gas line while they were working on a new zoo exhibit. Although both mistakes were handled efficiently and nobody was hurt, Dean Brown, president of American Steel Buildings, points out how choosing the right construction crew can make a difference.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” Brown said. “But the difference between an experienced crew and an inexperienced construction crew could be the difference in what mistakes are made and how they’re handled. In erecting a self storage building, you may not have to worry about hitting a gas line, but there are other issues. Choosing the right crew can help eliminate the possibility of costly and harmful mistakes.”
You know what I like about this story? Brown is savvy enough to understand his need for publicity and crafted a brilliant campaign. I applaud him and his colleagues. Click here to read the rest of this release for yourself.
September 6th, 2007
New information released this week by the Alexandria, Virginia-based Self Storage Association (SSA) indicates that the number of primary self storage facilities in the United States has nearly doubled since the year 2000. At the end of 2006, 51,500 primary self storage facilities dotted the country, with 23,075 of those facilities added between 2000 and 2006. This represents 81 percent growth in the number of facilities during this period.
“The U.S. self storage industry continues to expand at a pace in step with growing residential and commercial demand,“ says Michael T. Scanlon, Jr., President and CEO of the Self Storage Association. “However, dollars that heretofore had been allocated toward ground-up development of new facilities are now being channeled toward expansion and renovation of existing facilities, conversions to self storage from other uses, as well as an increase in the number of acquisitions being undertaken, Nearly one-in-ten American households now rents a self storage unit and nationally commercial business now accounts for about 30 percent of total self storage rental space.”
The industry’s most recent research confirms whatmembers have been saying – that the rising costs for land, tighter capital markets and the added costs associated with a longer entitlements process, have all had a negative effect on ground-up development.
The question is what will the industry do about it? A strong and strategic community relations program doesn’t hurt — in fact it can pay major dividends. Self-storage operators looking to do new projects should communicate the benefits of their plans to community stakeholders. If you can get the community on your side, it will be easier to get the politicians to follow suit.
September 4th, 2007
Hillary Kramer discusses Public Storage stock. “The past six months have been brutal for Public Storage Inc. (NYSE: PSA), which has seen its stock price lose about 35%; it’s now trading below where it was 12 months ago. The company’s net income in 2006 was well below what it was in 2005, after a few years of steady growth, and the first two quarters of 2007 haven’t been much better. Net income in the second quarter was down nearly 25% from the second quarter of 2006, and for the first six months it is down nearly 50% from the first half of 2006. No wonder investors have been worried.”
Would you invest in Public Storage? Is there an advantage to being an industry powerhouse? Or are market conditions changing? What’s your take? Does Public Storage need a new strategy?
Click here to read the rest of Hillary’s views.
August 13th, 2007
OB Companies/Simply Self Storage is putting INSOMNIAC kiosks in several shopping malls across the country. The kiosks have been specially designed in conjunction with Simply Self Storage and will feature eye-catching signage to draw consumers to the self-service kiosk.
Simply Self Storage’s first INSOMNIAC kiosk was installed this month at its brand new state-of-the-art facility featuring three stories of heated and cooled units at University Mall in Pensacola, Florida. The second kiosk will be installed in August inside Castleton Square mall in Indianapolis, Indiana where Simply Self Storage is just finishing up completion of its newest facility. Both self-storage facilities are located adjacent to the malls and are joint ventures with Simon Property Group, an S&P 500 company and the largest publicly-traded U.S. real estate company.
“We believe shop owners and mall visitors alike will enjoy the self-service convenience of being able to rent storage units using INSOMNIAC,” said Kerry Richard, Vice President of Operations for OB Companies/Simply Self Storage. “We see locating INSOMNIAC kiosks inside malls as a key ingredient to our success in capturing new customers for our mall storage properties. We’ve been really impressed with INSOMNIAC and the OpenTech team and look forward to using the kiosk at other properties in our ever-expanding portfolio.”
This is a brilliant marketing strategy. The kiosks are a winner, but putting them in malls is really thinking outside the box. This is the kind of thinking that will take the self-storage industry’s reputation to the next level.
July 27th, 2007
“Transformers” is one of the most anticipated movies of the summer – and the DreamWorks-Paramount Pictures film has plenty in common with portable storage.The Transformers movie is based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures. As its name suggests, Transformers are robots that have the ability to transform themselves from one object to another. In the Michael Bay film, for example, a yellow Camero transforms itself into a guardian robot to protect Sam, the story’s teenaged protagonist. Another Transformer morphs from a cell phone to a Decepticon, an evil robot clan with hopes of taking over the world. Transformers, in essence, can transform into electronics, vehicles, animals and other objects.
If you are still wondering what that has to do with portable storage, the answer is simple: Portable storage units can transform from a large steel box to many other practical commercial, educational, government and industrial uses. In other words, portable storage isn’t just for storage anymore. Indeed, portable storage can be transformed into classrooms, air conditioned office space, makeshift pharmacies, informational kiosks and much more.
“The classic Transformers story line is just as relevant today as it was when the toys were first introduced decades ago,” said John Finnessy, CMP, Executive Director the National Portable Storage Association, or NPSA, a nonprofit membership association dedicated to the advancement of the portable storage industry. “Much the same, portable storage is just as relevant today as it was when it was introduced 50 years ago. Actually, portable storage is even more relevant because it’s evolved beyond containerized shipping to offer many innovative uses that save users time and money and make doing business more convenient.”
Click here to read the rest of this release.
July 14th, 2007
The sale of the Delta Self Storage portfolio in California demonstrates the Marcus & Millichap advantage: a national investor database and broker network that guarantees success. The portfolio sold for a combined $27.2 million, or $62.10 per net rentable square foot, with the cooperation of Marcus & Millichap brokers and financial experts in Florida, Seattle and Sacramento. The total net rentable square footage of the portfolio is a whopping 438,175.
The agents involved were Michael A. Mele, a Senior Investment Associate at Marcus & Millichap’s The Mele Group and Scott Rutherford, an Investment Associate at The Mele Group, Joel Deis, an agent in the Seattle office of Marcus & Millichap, Christopher Secreto, a Director and Financial Expert for Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation in Seattle, Michael Morgan, an agent in the Seattle office of Marcus & Millichap and Bobby Loeffler, Director of the National Self Storage Group at Marcus & Millichap in Sacramento.
Click here to read the rest of this release.
July 13th, 2007
Demand has slowly been increasing for climate-controlled self storage, according to Dean Brown, president of American Steel Buildings. More and more self storage locations are catering to affluent consumers and businesses with items that require controlled temperatures, according to an article in Construction Digital.
“We’ve had more and more of our clients asking about climate-controlled self storage,” Brown, who supplies steel buildings for self storage businesses, told Construction Digital. “It used to be about 10 percent of our clients asking about climate-controlled units. Now we’re seeing about 30 percent of our clients asking about it.”
It’s great to see other industries focusing more on self-storage. It’s even better that the stories aren’t about a steel crisis. There are many opportunities in vertical trade magazines to get your name in print. It’s just a matter of having a good story and a relevant target.
Click here to read the rest of the story on Construction Digital.
July 12th, 2007
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