The Lease-Up Playbook: Why Early Marketing Matters
Lessons learned from more than 50 lease-ups
Lease-ups don’t start at pre-leasing — they start years before.
The most successful ones bring marketing in early, ensuring branding, positioning, and demand generation are in place long before the first lease is signed. The ones that struggle? They treat marketing as an afterthought, missing the window to build awareness and momentum.
Early involvement makes all the difference.
Why Marketing Can’t Wait
Marketing is often brought in too late — after decisions about branding, product mix, and positioning have already been made. By that point, there’s little room to influence key elements that impact leasing success.
Instead, marketing should have early visibility into:
Project timelines and absorption targets – Aligning marketing efforts with delivery schedules.
Market conditions and the competitive landscape – Understanding renter demand and positioning accordingly.
Product decisions that impact leasing success – Ensuring unit mix, pricing, and amenities resonate with future residents.
Bringing marketing in two or more years before delivery allows teams to build a strategy, not just execute a plan.
A Lease-Up Roadmap Prevents Last-Minute Scrambles
While every lease-up is unique, a structured plan helps ensure nothing gets overlooked. A strategic lease-up roadmap should include:
Pre-leasing strategy – Determining when and how marketing efforts ramp up.
Lead nurturing – Engaging prospects long before they can sign a lease.
Site visibility – Leveraging signage, branding, and digital presence to generate awareness.
Campaign phases – Moving from brand awareness to interest to conversion.
Performance tracking and optimization – Continuously refining strategies based on real-time leasing trends.
Without this roadmap, teams often find themselves reacting instead of leading, which can slow leasing momentum and increase pressure on-site teams.
Marketing Helps Define the Product, Not Just Sell It
Some of the biggest lease-up challenges aren’t marketing problems — they’re product problems. When marketing isn’t involved early, decisions about amenities, unit mix, finishes, and pricing may be made without market insights, making it harder to differentiate and attract renters.
Early marketing involvement ensures:
The product is aligned with market demand.
Key differentiators are identified and reinforced in messaging.
Last-minute pricing and branding changes don’t dilute positioning.
Marketing doesn’t dictate development, but it provides the insights operators and developers need to position the property for long-term success.
Branding Should Start 12+ Months Before Opening
A strong brand isn’t built overnight. The property’s name, logo, and identity should be finalized at least a year before opening, allowing time to build recognition and trust.
Early branding efforts help:
Establish credibility and awareness before pre-leasing begins.
Create consistency across signage, digital marketing, and advertising.
Equip leasing teams with the tools to sell the vision long before move-ins begin.
When branding is developed too late, the leasing team is forced to sell an unknown entity—slowing early traction.
The Details Matter: Lead Management, Signage, and Activation
Beyond strategy, execution details play a critical role in lease-up success:
Lead management – CRM and waitlist strategies should be in place well before leasing begins.
Site activation – Signage and branding should create interest and engagement from day one.
Leasing space – If the office won’t be ready, a leasing trailer or pop-up space may be necessary.
Online presence – A landing page and social media presence should go live months before pre-leasing starts.
These elements may seem small, but they have a major impact on early interest and leasing momentum.
A Strong Lease-Up Starts Long Before Pre-Leasing
The most successful lease-ups don’t treat marketing as a final step; they make it part of the entire development process, and focus on building demand early so momentum carries beyond stabilization. If marketing is only considered when it’s time to lease, it’s already too late.
Want to ensure your next lease-up is set up for success? Start earlier than you think.