Posts filed under 'Public Relations'
My friends at eHow are getting into the self-storage selection business. Check it out:
Americans move more frequently these days than in generations past, relocating for job opportunities and other reasons. Whether you own your home or rent, you may well need somewhere to temporarily store your less mobile belongings. Unless you have access to a permanent storage space, such as a large family attic or basement, you probably need a good self-storage facility. Once you’ve located some self-storage businesses, there are a few things to consider to pick the right one for you.
Here’s their take on choosing a self-storage facility. Do you agree?
March 3rd, 2010
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
There’s a great article in the News Observer on RV and boat storage — and the self-storage industry. This sort of third-party endorsement is priceless:
An increase in sales of boats and other recreational vehicles is rubbing against increasing restrictions on where cities, towns and homeowners associations will let people store them.
But the headache for many boat and RV owners from Cary to California has become big business for an emerging corner of the commercial real estate world: self-storage.
Kudos to this reporter for finding all the locals and including their perspectives in the article, or did he? It could be possible that the reporter contacted others who didn’t make it into the article because they didn’t offer anything worth quoting.
Don’t let that be you.
Understand your key messages, your value proposition, your industry, the statistics, the trends, etc., etc., etc. Contact us for a free PowerPoint presentation on PR tips, including how to get quoted in the media.
November 20th, 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
The green movement is sweeping the nation and portable storage is poised to play a key role in helping environmentally-friendly companies, like Santa Barbara Electric Bike Company, grow their businesses.Santa Barbara Electric Bicycle Company’s bikes are hitting the streets as a new mode of fun and reliable transportation. Stylish and quiet, electric bikes are also proving to be the efficient and sustainable answer to skyrocketing gas prices and increasing traffic congestion. The bikes work by augmenting rider power with a rechargeable, lightweight battery.
“Our goal is to reduce emissions and make Santa Barbara the greenest city in the nation. We want to get everybody riding a bike to work and portable storage containers are helping us make that goal a reality,” said Scott Shaw, owner of Santa Barbara Electric Bike Company. “For a small business with high growth potential, portable storage containers are definitely a necessity. It’s a cost-effective way for us to grow our business and to expand according to the demands. We need a secure location to store our products. Portable storage helps.”
Click here to read the rest of this story.
September 14th, 2007
Sustainable self storage units are coming. StorageMart Self Storage is looking to collect the best green building designs and ideas for its new Build it Green Design Challenge.
It is reported that construction and maintenance of buildings accounts for 40 percent of energy use and 30 percent of raw materials use, and that buildings are a major contributor to global warming. Self storage is already a low-impact construction class, but StorageMart wants it to be the greenest.
StorageMart is looking for designers and builders who want to make the planet more eco-friendly and make sustainable living more prevalent. StorageMart is asking people to submit their ideas on how to make the self storage industry a leader in sustainable, green design and green building to the StorageMart Build it Green Design Challenge.
Entries will be accepted in the following categories:
- Sustainable Construction Materials: Renewable materials, clean supplies and super-low emissions processes and green material innovations.
- Energy Positive: Ideas and proposals to create more energy than we use by such means as solar, wind, geothermal, rain driven, hydroelectric or techniques yet to be developed.
- Carbon Negative: Utilizing green roofs, walls and parking areas, carbon absorbing ponds and designs to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
- Wildlife/Natural Habitat-Friendly: Ideas to build self storage units and properties that help the industry promote and sustain the natural habitat of the surrounding environment.
- New Conveniences and Amenities: Improving the customer experience and adding design elements that help both the customer and environment.
- Smart Functions: Create and add new technologies and/or tools to make using and managing self storage properties easier and more efficient.
- Bottom Line Results: Cost analyses and return on investment guidelines to help the industry create profit by shifting to green building and design.
- Re-Used and Recycled Materials: Use old materials to do new things for self storage unit owners and customers.
- Gray Water Solutions: Re-use waste water to everyone’s benefit.
Ideas and designs should be posted online using the submitter’s Web site or a Web site of choice.
E-mails indicating intention to submit a design should be sent to tron @ phone-smart.net. A well written 200-400 word proposal summary of the design idea should be in the body of the e-mail. This should include the Web address where the proposal and design can be viewed in its entirety. If the submission is accepted, notification will be sent to the submitting party and the entry will be submitted to the panel of judges.
Tron, this is brilliant on all fronts. Congratulations for a winning self-storage publicity strategy that’s great for the industry and the world. Keep up the good work.
September 12th, 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
There’s an interesting editorial in The Boston Globe this week. The headline reads, “Don’t blame cost of self-storage as cause of homelessness.”
I like the headline. It’s provocative. I’d be robbing from the author to even summarize or comment on it. Click here to read Alex Lekas’ comments for yourself.
August 3rd, 2007
Today’s Internet threat environment is characterized by an increase in data theft, data leakage and the creation of targeted, malicious code for the purpose of stealing confidential information that can be used for financial gain, according to the latest Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec. The National Portable Storage Association, , a nonprofit membership association dedicated to the advancement of the portable storage industry, is helping the storage industry fight back with timely alerts about e-mail scams.Symantec reports high levels of coordinated attacks combining spam, malicious code, and online fraud. During the second half of 2006, spam made up 59 percent of all monitored e-mail traffic marking a steady increase over the first six months of 2006. Over the last six months of 2006, Symantec detected a total of 166,248 unique phishing messages, an average of 904 per day, marking a 6 percent increase over the first six months of 2006. Phishing messages attempt to get the recipient to disclose personal information that bad guys can use to steal their identities.
“Part of the solution to malicious spam lies in software products, but part of the solution also lies in vigilance,” said John Finnessy, CMP, Executive Director the NPSA. “The NPSA is keeping a close watch for e-mail scams that affect our membership and we have been successful in sounding the alarm and preventing the victimization of containerized storage vendors. The bottom line is this: don’t click on any links in an e-mail from a person or company you don’t know. You never know what’s malicious software could get installed on your site.”
Click here to read the rest of this release on FastPitch.
July 30th, 2007
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