CORT, the nation’s oldest and largest furniture rental company, needed a brand refresh driven by internal shifts and rising competition. The challenge was to reimagine the brand’s personas, segmenting the audience in a way that would enhance the impact of marketing content and resonate with lifestyle communication. The goal was to forge authentic connections with customers through engaging social media content, aligned with CORT's new brand position focused on the flexibility of furniture rental.

Three key resources were used: CORT’s social performance report, their 20-persona audience overview, and the brand foundation deck outlining their new positioning.

While these provided a solid start, they lacked depth for lifestyle-driven social content. To address this, audiences were grouped by demographic similarities, identifying overlaps with successful social media segments. Real-life examples of people who prefer not to own items, seeking flexibility and convenience from brands like Rent-the-Runway, were considered, and the brand narrative was expanded to align CORT’s messaging pillars with these lifestyles.

• Flexibility in furniture is key for customers in transitional life stages: rental furniture appeals to those who frequently move, travel, or prioritize career flexibility, providing convenience during transitional periods.

• Women are CORT’s most successful demographic on social channels, categorized into three groups: young professionals still renting, mid-career individuals starting to settle down or upgrade, and established women expanding their home assets.

• Men engaging with CORT are mainly 24-50-year-old bachelors focused on their careers.

In a team workshop, personas were developed by brainstorming real-life people who reflected the target audience, focusing on those needing flexible furniture solutions during life transitions. An easy-to-reference deck was created, illustrating how rental furniture fits seamlessly into these personas’ lives, guided by CORT’s brand narrative. This approach connected the new personas to the brand's past success, offering a more focused and vivid picture that could be used to create content with real people in mind. On social media, CORT positioned itself as the enabler of a comfortable, convenient, and stylish transition, sharing content that supports customers in moving forward with their lives.

In a monthly brainstorming session, creative focus was provided for each persona, aligning messages, social channels, and campaign stages to generate effective content ideas. 

The personas, brand messaging, and social goals were configured into a strategic framework the social team uses for focused content development every month. The personas became a strategic tool for the social and creative teams, influencing all marketing channels for CORT.