After reading Dr. Randy Lippert’s fascinating book “Condo Conquest – Urban Governance, Law, and Condoization in New York City and Toronto”, I couldn’t help but come away thinking of the condo elevator as a sort of vertical sidewalk.

People who live in houses often see their neighbours in the driveway, raking leaves, shoveling snow, coming home with the groceries, or on the sidewalk, out for a stroll, walking the dog, etc. A little chitchat, comments about the weather, the latest neighbourhood gossip, and they go about their day.

For condo residents, the elevator serves as a vertical sidewalk, the place to meet and greet, glad-hand or grumble. It’s so much more than just a mode of transportation to go from one floor to another; it’s arguably the most vital community-building location in the entire building.

Most residents use the elevator at least twice a day (as they leave and then return) and it’s the one place that they are likely to bump into neighbours, so it truly is a critical communication environment (as one resident put it “if it isn’t posted in the elevator, then I don’t know about it!”) that can and should be nurtured and protected, not overrun and diminished with advertising.

Ads Don’t Build Community. They Bulldoze It.

Some condo boards/managers consider digital elevator screens and instantly think “how much can we make in ad revenue?!” They get all excited, thinking that the dollars will just come pouring in. As someone who comes from the ad business (I owned a broadcast distribution company for 20 years) I can tell you that thinking is erroneous, and here’s why:

• Advertising sales is a tough business; and DOOH (digital-out-of-home) screen purveyors are interested in one thing – ad sales, NOT condo communication. If they don’t get the sales, they won’t take care of the screens. Sound familiar?
• Shared ad revenue isn’t very lucrative (one very large 500+ unit condo tower recently reported just $400 annually).
• Advertising sales are based on CPM (cost per thousand impressions); if you don’t have thousands of people living in your condo, advertisers won’t be too interested; small businesses can advertise online for less, big ones will buy TV for less CPM (there are still a million people watching Survivor in Canada).
• The average Canadian sees over 4000 ads per day; on public transit, online, on TV, walking down the street etc. Residents don’t appreciate their home (and biggest investment) looking like a subway station.
• A happy, well-connected, more in-the-know, less complaint-ridden resident population is PRICELESS, and advertising runs counter to the goal of good communication.

In a nutshell, plastering advertising in your condo elevator causes residents to tune out. Managers and boards lose a crucial communication channel and your most valuable shared space gets reduced to… a messy, blinking sales pitch.

On the other hand, ad-free screens dedicated to condo communication will “earn” much more in the way of cost-cutting savings – 13% less on a water bill, $600 per prevented garbage chute jam, $800 per legal letter, less time wasted on repetitive tasks.

A Sidewalk Should Serve the People Who Walk On It

When the elevator hosts content that is ad-free and hyper-focused on your building, your reminders, your wins and your community, residents actually pay attention. They learn. They engage. They come together as a group of people moving towards a common goal, just like the word “condominium” means.

That’s when great things happen:

• Fewer leaks and floods
• Fewer garbage chute disasters
• Fewer complaints; more laughs
• Less valuable time spent on reactive issues
• A surplus in the operating budget

That’s what I call Building Condo-munity!

The Elevator Is Your Super Power

Boards want good communication in order to cut costs and problems. Managers want fewer emails and less fires to put out. Residents want to know what’s going on in their building without having to wait for the AGM, town halls or a sporadic newsletter.

The elevator, as your condo’s “sidewalk” is the one place every single message can actually land. Notices that don’t just report when the windows are going to get washed or the fire alarm test bells are going to ring, but a place where folks can learn about insurance to avoid nasty surprises, think about fire safety long before they (hopefully never) have to use it, and discover fun stuff they never knew.

For many people, the elevator serves as the first daily foray into our busy world. It has the power to communicate confidence, well-being, a daily smile and a positive attitude, all stepping stones to a better condo community.

So please, protect it.

Make it a community-first, start-the-day-off-right, welcome-home-it’s-nice-to-have-you back kind of a space that people enjoy, not endure.

Communication for condo-nation! Till next time…

One less legal letter? $900 One prevented chute jam? $600 One avoided false fire alarm? $1,500 An entire community, working together to cut costs and build community? PRICELESS.

If you’re looking to improve condo communication or want to explore how Digi-Notice can support your community, here are a few ways to get started:

• Download our free Communication Scorecard – See how your building’s current approach stacks up.
• Book a Call with Us – Let’s chat about your communication strategy!
• Learn about our “Done for You” service – We handle the content creation and scheduling.