AI Mode is Bananas: What is Powering the Next Evolution in Self-Storage Marketing
- Feb 5
- 3 min read
Adverank was created to solve one problem. Take the guesswork out of where to spend digital marketing dollars across your self storage portfolio in order to maximize move-ins and improve occupancy.
The original recipe for the algorithm powering our budget recommendations analyzed occupancy data, occupancy goals, ad spend, and market search demand.
Like having an assistant, Adverank emails with recommendations to shift budget up or down depending on this calculation.
Last fall, the assistant evolved and we named him Edward, your AI-powered advertising assistant! (maybe you’ve met a stuffed version of him at our event booths!) With this evolution came a powerful new brain and the capability to deliver even smarter spending recommendations.
Let’s take a look into what’s inside Edwards head…
Meet Edward: The Brain Behind “AI Mode”
If Edward had a job title, it wouldn’t be “AI.”
It would be something like:
Chief Occupancy-Obsessed Budget Brain
Edward doesn’t care about vanity metrics. He doesn’t panic over one slow day. And he definitely doesn’t believe more clicks automatically means better performance.
Edward wakes up every morning asking just three questions:
Where is this facility headed?
Is demand naturally helping or hurting occupancy?
Should we push harder… or pull back?
Everything AI Mode does, starts there.
Occupancy-First Budgeting
AI Mode flips the entire budgeting model on its head.
Instead of asking:
“How are my ads performing?”
Edward asks:
“How is the business performing and what role should ads play right now?”
That’s why AI mode budget recommendations are based on three real-world forces:
🧠 1. Occupancy Direction
Edward doesn’t just look at current occupancy. He forecasts where occupancy is going using historical data.
That forecast is then compared to the target occupancy you set.
Below target and trending down? → Spend increases
At or above target? → Spend stabilizes or decreases
This is the difference between reacting late… and acting early.
📦 2. Move-Ins vs Move-Outs
Clicks don’t tell you when customers are leaving. Move-outs do.
Edward watches the balance:
If move-outs start exceeding move-ins → ads budget recommendations get more aggressive
If move-ins outpace move-outs → ads budget recommendations are to ease back
Why overspend when demand is already winning?
📉 3. Demand Signals
Edward also tracks short-term demand using click trends.
He compares:
Today’s clicks
Versus the site’s recent 7-day average
No panic. No whiplash. Just measured adjustments when demand truly shifts.
Why AI Mode Needs 90 Days
Some tools react fast. Edward reacts smart.
AI Mode requires 90 days of data before activating for one simple reason: You can’t forecast trends without history.
That data allows Edward to:
Identify seasonality
Separate real signals from noise
Avoid knee-jerk budget swings
In other words :Edward doesn’t freak out over a slow Tuesday.
Edward’s Brain: Forecasting, Not Guessing
At the core of AI Mode is an occupancy forecasting model built specifically for time-based trends.
Edward looks at:
How past occupancy influences future occupancy
How patterns repeat (weekly, monthly, seasonal)
How momentum builds or slows over time
And when it compares that data to The Storage Market Index, Edward gets even smarter:
He compares your site’s performance against broader market trends
He understands when demand issues are local vs industry-wide
This is how Edward knows when to:
Push harder because your site needs help
Or stay calm because the market is temporarily soft
Conservative, Moderate, or Aggressive: Edward Takes Your Lead
Not every operator wants the same budget behavior.
That's why AI Mode lets you choose how sensitive your budget should be:
Conservative → Small, steady adjustments
Moderate → Balanced and responsive
Aggressive → Faster reactions when occupancy slips
Same intelligence. Different personalities.
Edward adapts to you, not the other way around.
The Result: Budgets That Feel… Alive
Operators using AI mode often say the same thing:
“It feels like the budget actually understands what’s happening.”
That’s because it does.
Instead of:
Set it and forget it
Or manually tweaking spend every few weeks
You get:
Daily adjustments backed by real data
Clear reasoning compared to past history, and the broader market
Budgets that rise only when needed and fall when they should
No wasted spend. No missed opportunities. No guessing.
Why This Is the Next Evolution in Self-Storage Marketing
Self-storage marketing is no longer about:
Spending more or less on a whim
Chasing cheap clicks and reacting to vanity metrics
Struggling with attribution reports in GA4
Looking at dashboards and spreadsheets to compare different systems
Reacting only when occupancy is way down
It’s about precision.
AI Mode represents a shift from:
“How much should I spend?”
To:
“What role should advertising play right now in reaching my occupancy goals?”
That’s the future. That’s the new data driven-marketing. That’s the evolution. And yes…
It’s bananas 🍌
