Congressionally approved federal funding brought $240,000,000 to Alaska providing Emergency Rental Assistance to those impacted by COVID-19. Managed by Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, it provided up to 12 months rent and/or utility payments to 66,454 vulnerable Alaska renters - recognized as one of the nation’s top distribution efforts.
BACKGROUND COVID-19 raised eviction risks and cut a devastating path across Alaska. While 84% of the citizenry live in 15 population hubs, roughly 25% live in remote communities. Radio, internet, and digital channels are lifelines for Alaska villages; most are not connected to the road system. There are 20 distinct dialects spoken statewide and more than 100 languages spoken in the Anchorage School District. Language barriers, cultural sensitivities, and remote locations where “outsider” trust is a factor, are constant marketing challenges.
STRATEGIES Alerting Alaska’s communities to Rent Relief required collaboration with trusted, local-knowledge entities to spread messaging across broad audiences and ethnicities. A strong digital campaign working in tandem with Word-of-Mouth marketing would be critical to build trust and timely distribution.
PLANNING Alaska has approximately 90,000 rental households. Community data guided integrated marketing efforts and allowed for real-time adjustments for social media, digital, direct mail, email, texts, and robocalls. Comparing the number of statewide applicants to the percentage of renters by area allowed targeted marketing to two critical audiences: 1. Renters: Remain safely housed 2. Landlords: Remain solvent Challenge:
Treasury provided no distribution guidelines; states had to determine individual methodologies. February 2021, AHFC devised a proactive integrated marketing communication strategy bringing together 14 regional housing authorities representing 148 tribal entities, five nonprofits, and the Municipality of Anchorage. This collaborative step was strategically critical: 1. Establishing inclusive, cooperative marketing efforts cognizant of regional needs 2. Extending AHFC’s marketing channels 3. Developing a system distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in pooled funds One system, one process, one protocol statewide.