1851

With nearly 2,500 stores across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico, <a href="http://www.rentacenter.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-rent-a-centers-digital-marketing-has-redefined-what-it-means-to-be-a-brick-and-mortar-business-2710076" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Rent-A-Center</a> &nbsp;has high expectations set by its customers, shareholders and franchisees alike. &nbsp;Brick-and-mortar Rent-A-Center is anything but a traditional business when it comes to marketing strategy and the results are showing in store performance

Founded in 1986, <a href="https://www.rentacenter.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-rent-a-centers-digital-marketing-has-redefined-what-it-means-to-be-a-brick-and-mortar-business-2710076" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Rent-A-Center</a> is a rent-to-own retail brand that meets customers where they are. Rent-A-Center is a brick-and-mortar business, and it&rsquo;s critical that franchisees and clients know that the brand is more digitally savvy than its competitors. &nbsp;Historically and still today a local business built on relationships with customers, Rent-A-Center recognized that its credit constrained customers increasingly responded to digital interactions at the same pace as every other consumer group.

Over the past five years, Tim Pitt, Vice President of Marketing for Rent-A-Center, has helped digital marketing for Rent-A-Center evolve. Moving from the era of minimal technological interaction to today&rsquo;s ever-increasing emphasis on mobile-first applications, the brand has incorporated more content across social media and through digital surveys. Pitt expressed that the company can merge its &lsquo;offline&rsquo; data with digital media to target both the ideal and the most responsive consumer audiences.

&ldquo;We are redefining our platform,&rdquo; Pitt expressed. &ldquo;We survey our customers at six different points throughout their journey with Rent-A-Center. We ask customers to score us at key points and make adjustments based on feedback. We&rsquo;ve learned that digital communication is our most efficient and resourceful tool since we can turn the feedback into data and learn from it.&rdquo;

Pulling first-party Customer Relationship Management (CRM) data is an easy way for Rent-A-Center to learn what works and what doesn&rsquo;t. An increased digital presence through social media and increased email frequency are two ways Rent-A-Center has kept its brand accessible and personalized.

Pitt stated, &ldquo;Our recent web results from various digital leads are astronomical. We&rsquo;ve been able to grow web traffic by double-digit increases over the past two years. That alone shows that our team and organization are rallying behind what we do. Not everyone wants to go into the store, so we will meet them where they are.&rdquo;

Along with social media and emails as marketing tools, Pitt stated that Rent-A-Center is keeping pace with the use of video media marketing. The brand looks to provide more and more of its media in this format. Pitt said that, even with this bolstered digital presence, the company will still maintain the old adage of &lsquo;content is king, but context is queen.&rsquo;

&ldquo;Just video alone isn&rsquo;t good enough,&rdquo; expressed Pitt. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s knowing when to serve a video and when not to. Just because it&rsquo;s hitting the target for one aspect of marketing doesn&rsquo;t mean it will for other components. We want people to know they aren&rsquo;t just buying two minutes of our time; they&rsquo;re buying the quality and expertise Rent-A-Center has to share.&rdquo; 

With bright, engaging designs and interactive platforms, Rent-A-Center&rsquo;s marketing is not only about engagement&mdash;as Pitt explained, it&rsquo;s about moving the business forward. To do so, Rent-A-Center has focused its marketing strategy on catching people where they are and has tapped into advertising, social media, online video, paid search, digital radio and multichannel marketing to direct the customer journey.

Whether it&rsquo;s from an ad, social media or otherwise, the company is seeing a significant increase in consumer foot traffic as a result of digital targeting. Through surveys and first-party CRM data, the marketing team has been able to target marketing campaigns to consumers. Since digital content has become increasingly accessible, thanks to the rise of tablets and smartphones, Pitt noted that a large part of Rent-A-Center&rsquo;s client base engages with the brand via mobile use. 

While digital leads mean a lot, Pitt emphasized that they don&rsquo;t mean anything unless there is a strong follow-through.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;re counting both &lsquo;bricks and clicks&rsquo;,&rdquo; said Pitt. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s important that our store manager relationships and local business level relationships are in tune, not just the digital relationships we build with customers. That local connection is imperative to creating and sustaining brand awareness.&rdquo;

To build stronger relationships with clients, the brand delivers on both in-person and digital connections. Rent-A-Center has included over 30 different touchpoints across the purchasing journey, allowing the brand to connect with clients at turning points such as following through to buy a couch or just welcoming someone to the family.

&ldquo;When there&rsquo;s a perfect fit between supply and demand, we are capable of providing efficiency, quality and speed to our customers,&rdquo; said Pitt. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll continue to build out the brand; set our expectations high and aim to exceed them whenever and wherever we can.&rdquo;

<div>&nbsp;</div>

How Rent-A-Center’s Digital Marketing Has Redefined What it means to be a Brick-and-Mortar Business

1851 Franchise

The iconic rent-to-own company is keeping pace with the digital age by redefining how the brand interacts with its customers.


This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

how-rent-a-centers-digital-marketing-has-redefined-what-it-means-to-be-a-brick-and-mortar-business

Comfort Keepers

Comfort Keepers - Midyear Press Release 2025 - 1851 Franchise

Comfort Keepers® Hits Mid-Year Stride With Strong Franchise Growth and Rising Demand for In-Home Care

comfort-keepers-franchise-midyear-momentum-2025

petbar

petbar - Garrett Dewan - Why I'm Investing - 1851 Franchise

Why Garrett Dewan Is Choosing To Reinvest in petbar

petbar-franchise-austin-garrett-dewan-multi-unit

Paris Baguette

NJBIZ: Paris Baguette Ramps Up Expansion With New Franchises, Facility and 2030 Growth Target

njbiz-paris-baguette-ramps-up-expansion-with-new-franchises-facility-and-2030-growth-target

Busy Bee Jumpers

Top 10 Reasons To Buy a Busy Bee Jumpers Franchise in 2025

top-10-reasons-to-buy-a-busy-bee-jumpers-franchise-in-2025

Home Halo

home-halo-former-athletes-frachisees-image

Why Former College Athletes Can Make Winning Home Halo Franchise Owners

former-college-athletes-home-halo-franchise

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner Steps Down - Breaking News - 1851 Franchise

Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner Steps Down Amid Challenges, Leaving Franchisees Facing Uncertainty

wendys-ceo-transition-kirk-tanner-franchisee-uncertainty

"Come in, We're OPEN" sign against abstract background

Small Business Optimism Dips, Raising Concerns for Franchise Owners

small-business-optimism-dips-raising-concerns-for-franchise-owners

Photo of Roof Scientist truck and trailer

Roof Scientist Expands Into Northern Indianapolis as Entrepreneur Dale Speckman Launches New Business in Fishers

roof-scientist-expands-into-northern-indianapolis

Image of Donald Trump pointing with red stripes in the background

August 1 Tariff Deadline Is Said to Have ‘No Extensions’: What This Could Mean for Franchises

august-1-tariff-deadline-franchise-impact

What June’s Jobs Report Means for the Franchise Industry

what-junes-jobs-report-means-for-the-franchise-industry

Unlocking Superpowers: How KidStrong Is Building the Next Generation of Confident Kids — and Thriving Franchise Owners

kidstrong-franchise-confident-kids

Image of a kid growing up, developing with kidstrong, high fiving and smiling. 

How KidStrong has Become the Franchise Disrupting Child Development by Partnering with Purpose-Driven Franchise Owners 

kidstrong-franchise-opportunity-child-development

Picture of kids for franchise business Kidstrong which focuses on child development and fitness

KidStrong Is Pediatrician-Recommended for Raising Confident, Capable Kids and Families Can't Get Enough

kidstrong-child-development-program

Bringing Robots to Main Street: How Elad Inbar’s RobotLAB Franchise Is Powering the Local AI Revolution

bringing-robots-to-main-street-how-elad-inbars-robotlab-franchise-is-powering-the-local-ai-revolution

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How To Create a Strong Incentive

how-to-build-strong-incentives-to-attract-prospective-franchisees

From Prescriptions to Pastries: Kari Khandelwal Creates a Comforting Community Bakery 

From Prescriptions to Pastries: Kari Khandelwal Creates a Comforting Community Bakery in Overland Park, Kansas

paris-baguette-franchise-overland-park-khandelwal

Kansas Couple Revitalizes Local Childcare With Children’s Lighthouse

From Corporate Careers to Community Roots: Kansas Couple Revitalizes Local Childcare With Children’s Lighthouse

kansas-couple-opens-childrens-lighthouse-gardner-olathe

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores - Agg - 1851 Franchise

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores

hooters-franchise-model-company-owned-closures

Hely and Hiral Patel Bring Their Longtime Dream to Life With The Brass Tap

brass-tap-franchise-pasadena-maryland-hely-hiral-patel

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Ricki Oberoi and Layne's Chicken Fingers logo

How Rent-A-Center’s Digital Marketing Has Redefined What it means to be a Brick-and-Mortar Business

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS