Serena Village is a thoughtfully designed rental townhome community in Fontana, CA, developed by BrightSky Residential. Despite offering spacious homes, family-friendly amenities, and a prime location just minutes from Rancho Cucamonga, the community faced a tough reality in late 2024: leasing momentum had slowed, conversions were lagging, and three-bedroom units – a core part of the offering – weren’t moving. BrightSky knew the product had more potential, but something wasn’t connecting. That’s when they engaged Red Propeller.

Diagnosing the Disconnect

Red Propeller began with an in-depth assessment, including a site visit, competitive analysis, marketing audit, and on-site team interviews. We reviewed everything from the property’s brand positioning and visual assets to digital performance metrics, lead source efficiency, and tour-to-lease conversion rates.

Our key takeaways:

• Interest was not the issue. Serena Village was generating a high volume of leads and tours, particularly through Paid Search and Display.
• But once prospects arrived, conversion rates dropped sharply. The tour-to-lease ratio sat at 16.6%, and the community was struggling with a high rate of unqualified applications.
• While the website offered a clean presentation of the property, it lacked the emotional storytelling and intuitive user experience that today’s renters expect, especially on mobile.
• There was no unifying brand narrative to differentiate Serena Village from nearby competitors or reflect the peaceful, family-oriented lifestyle that the homes were designed to support.
• Follow-up communications and digital touchpoints were underutilized, with little consistency in how leads were nurtured.

Strategic Shifts

Following our assessment, BrightSky invited Red Propeller to lead implementation of our recommendations, which focused on positioning, the customer journey, and the power of story. Together, we rolled out:

• A refreshed brand identity and story grounded in serenity, privacy, and connection – amplifying the sense of home Serena Village was built to offer;
• New photography, lifestyle video, and virtual tours to showcase the homes and highlight moments of daily life that would resonate with the target audience;
• Website improvements, including clearer navigation, more defined calls-to-action, mobile UX enhancements, and a stronger visual hierarchy to support leasing activity;
• Search and display ad updates featuring community-specific creative, improved keyword targeting, and tailored messaging for underperforming floorplans;
• Prospect communication enhancements, including a structured email and SMS strategy to re-engage high-intent leads and nurture leads over time;
• StorySelling training with the leasing team and an updated tour path, ensuring every prospect experienced Serena Village as a real community, not just a collection of features;
• Anti-fraud tools to improve leasing efficiency and protect the site team’s time; and
• Expanded local outreach, including referral program optimization and employer-focused engagement efforts to reach targeted audiences.

The Outcome

Following the rollout of the strategic updates, the results spoke for themselves:

• Website traffic grew by 125%
• Time on site/session durations jumped by 267%
• New lead volume increased by 47%
• Tour volume rose by 34%
• Applications surged by 63%
• Monthly leases doubled

Serena Village had the bones of a great community: modern homes, quality design, and a desirable location. What it needed was a more focused brand, a refined marketing and sales strategy, and sharper marketing tools, leading to a stronger connection with its ideal resident. Together with BrightSky and the on-site team, Red Propeller helped transform Serena Village into a community with a stronger presence – a place people could imagine themselves living, not just leasing.