For some time, the Daily Business News has periodically spotlighted a specific claim by an Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) member.
That member’s concern?
“The big companies have figured out how to get the smaller companies to pay for what they [the big MHI member companies] want,” stated the source to the Daily Business News.
From time to time, MHI then “goes about proving that to be true,” states the source. “MHI is the gift that keeps on giving, kinda like FEMA,” that source quipped.
Per MHI’s News and Updates on the date shown at the top left, “We ask that you help us spread the word about this campaign and the individuals and families living in manufactured homes across the country.”
There are only 4 companies mentioned in that video series, plus MHI. “The videos will also be featured on MHI’s and Next Step Network’s websites,” the MHI news item stated.
What About Other Member Companies Videos?
Will there be a similar level of promotion and exposure given to all other MHI members? If not, how is the MHI campaign fair to all others?
A marketer told the Daily Business News that while the videos “look pretty slick,” they are also “thinly veiled ads.” Another source pointed out that there were lip synch issues, and that improper terminology was being used too.
While a lip synch glitch is only embarrassing for a production company, the improper terminology goes to the heart of some of the problems that the industry has, as several industry professionals have noted.
“But the main problem is that it features only 4 members, and MHI itself,” said the first source. NextStep is known to have deep ties to Clayton, which is to say that the Berkshire Hathaway brand will likely get the lion share of the benefits, thanks to the dues of others.
Proof of Problems? More Fact Checks…
Just weeks after MHProNews did a fact check comparing outgoing MHI Chairman Tim William’s farewell statement to a prior report by MHI CEO Dick Jennison, the same MHI News and Updates underscored how MHI’s claims of progress in marketing the industry are at best exaggerated.
“September 2017, new manufactured home shipments increased 2.9% to 7,590 homes as compared to the 7,375 homes shipped in September 2016.” While that is technically accurate, what their ‘news item’ fails to note is that MHI’s much touted social media campaign isn’t having the results they’ve been bragging about.
If their campaign was effective, logically the growth rate of the industry would be going up.
Instead, the growth rate slipped from the prior growth rate. MH is lagging further behind the percentage of new single family, site built housing production rate. See a recent NAR report, linked below, plus related graphics.
A new report planned for Friday will spotlight a local controversy involving a prominent MHI member company.
Is it one more reason why the industry at large should be concerned that operations being promoted are also dogged by problematic news?
Do member companies want to be associated with the association and it’s ‘leaders’ that draw a regular dose of bad news from the mainstream media, public officials, and others?
Will MHI’s ‘campaign’ backfire against the industry and/or some member, as award-winning Marty Lavin, Titus Dare, and others have voice concerns about?
Are these reasons to move away from the problem plagued association?
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