Update 1/22/18 – SmartStop announced the winners of its video-commercial contest. Los Angeles resident Joseph Binetti was awarded the $10,000 grand prize for his video, “The SmartStop Rap.” Second-place and $5,000 was presented to Sean Brown of Atlanta for “Stuff.” Three contestants were named runner-up and awarded $1,000: Dana Zikria of Danville, Ga., creator of “Little Rapper Boy”; Samuel Wolfe of Sammamish, Wash., for “Life Happens Outside the Box”; and Christopher Allison of Los Angeles for “Treasure.” All the winning videos can be viewed on the contest winner’s page.

The company received nearly 40 commercials, “each demonstrating its own unique cleverness and imagination," Schwartz said. The judging panel reviewed the 10 videos that received the highest number of likes on SmartStop’s various social media platforms, along with additional videos they felt were worthy of consideration based on the criteria.

“Each submission told an original story for SmartStop, and we thank all participants for their entry,” Schwartz said. “Ultimately, Joseph Binetti was chosen as the winner for his original commercial that incorporated exceptional creativity, artfulness and messaging to memorably convey the SmartStop Self Storage story."

11/16/17 – SmartStop Asset Management LLC, a diversified real estate company that manages 108 self-storage facilities in Canada and the United States under the SmartStop Self Storage brand, has launched a video-commercial contest in which participants will vie for a $10,000 grand prize. Cash prizes of $5,000 for second place and $1,000 for three third-place finishers will also be awarded, according to a press release. Any submissions could be used in connection with corporate advertising and marketing promotions. The deadline to enter is Jan. 2.

"We are excited to launch our new video contest and open the door to boundless creativity from artists and free-thinkers throughout the United States," said H. Michael Schwartz, CEO. "Our 2011 jingle contest attracted hundreds of creative, talented submissions, and we encourage every individual or group to submit their video.”

Video submissions should be no longer than 30 seconds and incorporate the SmartStop logo and tagline. They may be in the form of animation, jingles, stop-motion, live acting and other presentations.

The public will be able to vote for their favorite entries online until Jan. 2. SmartStop will consider public voting in narrowing selections and choosing the winners, the release stated. Prizes are scheduled to be awarded on Jan. 8.

SmartStop has approximately $1.3 billion of real estate under management. Its self-storage portfolio comprises about 7.9 million rentable square feet in 17 states and Ontario, Canada. It’s also the sponsor of Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc., Strategic Storage Trust II Inc. and Strategic Storage Trust IV Inc., all public non-traded REITs focused on self-storage assets.

Sources:
PR Newswire, SmartStop Self Storage Launches National Video Commercial Contest with Grand Prize of $10,000
PR Newswire, SmartStop Self Storage Announces Winners of National Video Commercial Contest with Grand Prize of $10,000
SmartStop Self Storage, SmartStop Commercial Video Contest