Quinovic property manager ad campaign the 'actions of one franchise'

Property manager Quinovic's Te Aro franchise in Wellington posted this ad on its Facebook page this week drawing ire from other property management stakeholders. Photo / Supplied

An ad campaign by a property management company that was slammed as "particularly shameless" was the action of one independently owned franchise, not the whole company, a local Quinovic principal says.

It followed an advertisement by Quinovic's Te Aro franchise in Wellington.

The franchise posted an ad on its Facebook page, showing people clinking glasses underneath a tagline asking landlords if they were financing their tenant's social lives.

Next to the ad which has now been pulled, the franchise wrote it was expert "at maximising the return of your investment property".

A second ad stated, "Your tenants may hate us. You will love us!", while a third showed two people in a confrontation alongside the line: "Afraid to man up? We aren't."

The principal said the company did not operate in the manner suggested in the campaign and it worked "extremely hard to keep all our clients happy, both tenants and owners".

"If any offence has been taken then we sincerely apologise. The marketing campaign by Quinovic Te Aro was a local office rather than a national office initiative."

Quinovic is a nationwide specialist residential property management group that has been operating for over 30 years through 34 independently owned franchises.

Quinovic Te Aro undertook a marketing campaign which included advertisements on Facebook, the principal said.

"There were three separate advertisements each with a different tagline, image and message.

"Respondents who clicked on the advertisement were then taken to a survey page.

"At Quinovic, our focus is on property care and return. While we work for the owner who provide the property, we do treat our tenants as our customers."

Tenancy advocacy group Renters United described the ads as "particularly shameless".

"The adverts candidly show how Quinovic views tenants – as objects to be bullied and exploited," spokeswoman Kate Day said.

Quinovic chief operating officer Paul Chapman confirmed on Monday the ads had been pulled as they did not conform to the company's "brand standards".

"Quinovic Group office do not support the imagery and messaging in the ads, and we have censured the franchisee in the strongest possible way."