By Alex Hassel, Storage.com
Exactly three months after OpenTech Alliance announced its majority stake in the online and on-site self storage auction platform, Storage Treasures LLC, OpenTech is bringing StorageTreasures.com into the national spotlight. The self storage technology provider says it’s rolling out an aggressive television ad campaign in order to bring new and higher bidders to storage operators on the site.
Later this quarter, you’ll start seeing a one-minute commercial for Storage Treasures on A&E during hit shows like Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars. The commercial shares real stories about people who have made “big scores” in storage auctions, collecting items like expensive jewelry and even classic cars.
OpenTech President and CEO Robert A. Chiti hopes the ad can piggyback on the commercial success of Storage Wars. The idea is to make the auctions more profitable for storage owners. “We’re investing heavily in promoting and building our community of bidders,” he says. “As the leading brand, StorageTreasures.com is uniquely positioned to give its storage operators more exposure for their auctions to recoup as much debt owed as possible.”
StorageTreasures.com is a free, social site where users can find live on-site storage auctions or post auctions at any self storage facility across the U.S. and Canada. Members can also bid on participating facilities’ storage units online. More than 900,000 bidders use the site, which services more than 6,500 self storage facilities, including those owned by major industry leaders. Since StorageTreasures.com launched four years ago, online storage auctions have become an industry standard.
More than 20,000 auctions are posted on the site each month. When OpenTech absorbed Storage Treasures, it was contingent on signing a long-term management agreement for OpenTech to operate its related websites, hire all employees, and expand the brand to new markets. Moving forward with efforts like its national TV ad, OpenTech expects to double the amount of auctions posted on the StorageTreasures.com within two years, as well as attract even more bidders.
“This commercial will reach millions of people, some of whom never knew an online storage auction platform exists,” says OpenTech’s Product Manager Chelsea Horne. “We should definitely see a spike in new bidder registrations.”
“In addition to our commercials, we educate thousands of consumers through our training videos, blogs, and forums about the how to hunt for valuable items, buy them at auction prices, and sell them for a profit,” she says. “For many people, this process has become a successful long-term business.”
Alex Hassel is News Reporter for Storage.com. If you’d like to pitch Alex a self storage industry news story, email alex.hassel@storage.com or call 402-779-7328.
