July 31, 2012

It’s that time of year again. College students everywhere are gearing up to head back to school for the fall semester. Back-to-school shopping creates a huge opportunity for retailers and other brands to tap into the student market, as evident by the amount of back-to-school ads and discounts students are bombarded with every year. But what are these consumers really looking for when they stock up for another year? SUMM teamed up with StudentUniverse and went right to the source, asking students about how they shop for back-to-school.

Not surprisingly, we found that students expect great sales and discounts this time of year, and the vast majority are savvy comparison shoppers. What did surprise us is how much effort they put into looking for the best deals, and the amount of independence they display when making purchases. They also had lots of opinions on which brands already offer good deals, and who could do better. Take a look at the below infographic and tell us where your brand falls.

(click image to enlarge)

July 6, 2012

July 4^th is one of those classic holidays that bring up memories and traditions everyone is familiar with – fireworks, hotdogs, red-white-and-blue everything, backyard games, pools, and beach days. This year as we sat around my friend’s pool taking down grill food and watching the Nathan’s hotdog eating contest (shout-out to Joey Chestnut for keeping his title) while the guys battled it out in some fierce wiffle ball games, we got to talking about our childhood memories from Independence Days gone by.  Someone mentioned sparklers and we all had the “I loved those!” excited reaction. People talked about the places they would go every year or the food they would always eat (apparently I was the only one who had cheese stuffed deer dogs. Northerners don’t know what they’re missing).

As we talked in more and more detail about the things we loved about the 4^th as kids, we started to bring up other childhood favorites. We got into toys, songs, foods, TV shows, and clothes. Every time someone mentioned some classic item from the 90s we would all get so excited. “Oh I had those!” “Yeah I remember playing that!” “Oh my gosh, I miss those!” The more we chatted the more I realized how powerful nostalgia can be as a marketing tool. We were all dying to get our hands on these crazy products simply because they related to memories from our past.

We ended up making a list of some of the best things from our childhood days. Here are just a few:

Lunchables
POGS
Snap bracelets
Tamagotchi Pets
LLBean backpacks (the ones with your initials embroidered on the front)
Heelys
Dunkaroos
Oregon Trail
Warheads
Bop It
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Nintendo64
NOW cds
Beanie Babies
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Boy Meets World
Fruit Roll Ups
Little Giants
The Sandlot
Sock ‘em Boppers
Bagel Bites
Gushers

 If you didn’t get embarrassingly excited over at least five of the items on this list then you, my friend, had a sorely deprived childhood. The Lunchables pizza that came with the chocolate and M&Ms was the best thing any kid could bring into the lunch room. The barter power that came with that chocolate covered crust was unbelievable! And why Bill Nye still hasn’t been awarded a Nobel Prize is beyond me. The man was a genius and had the catchiest science theme songs that will ever be recorded. To this day I can lose myself for hours in a heated N64 Mario Kart battle, and I still say jumping the wall in Mario Stadium is not cheating. It’s skill. And finally, popping all the lemon-flavored warheads from the bag into your mouth at once gave you so much street cred on the playground it was ridiculous, but it was a feat that few accomplished successfully.

I could sit here and reminisce all day, but the point is that this excited feeling we get when we are confronted with a nostalgic product actually has a lot of value for brands. We get attached to products that bring back memories of good times and are, consequently, more likely to gravitate toward those items. Many Millennials are still in the process of making those memories that will last a lifetime, and the brands who can be a part of that will benefit from it in the future. Twenty years down the road someone can look back on their college times and get that same yearning for a snack or a video game that current college students get for their childhood toys. A brand that takes the time to build those memories with current students has the chance to create a relationship that can last well into the next generation.

May 14, 2012

Picture you’re idea of a typical college learning environment. Do you see students scribbling notes while the professor lectures in front of a chalkboard? Are desks littered with paper, pens, and giant textbooks? Are students in the library quizzing themselves with flashcards and pouring over pages of hand-written notes? Well if this is how you envision college learning then you, my friend, are sadly mistaken.

The students wandering around today’s universities are part of the most plugged-in generation to ever step foot on a college campus. They live on social media, turn to Google to answer all of life’s important questions (type “how to” into the Google search bar and one of the top auto-complete options is “cure a hangover”), and are glued to their smart phones. It’s only natural their technology dependency would spread to the classroom as well.

Walking into a college lecture nowadays is like walking into the cockpit of the Starship Enterprise. Spiral notebooks have been replaced by laptops with note-taking software such as Microsoft OneNote or Evernote. Why take notes by hand when most students type at lightning speed, and the backspace button is so much more convenient than an eraser? Hey remember those things called overhead projectors with the clear slides? Well those have been banished to the dinosaur age to be replaced by touchscreen-controlled projectors and digital overheads that all link to the central classroom computer. In fact, in many schools the entire classroom, from the lights and projection screen to the wireless connectivity, can be controlled from a central workstation. No more coughing on chalk dust either – Smartboards in classrooms allow professors to write on a white board and have the notes digitally saved online for students to peruse later.

“Is this Econ 101?” “No that’s down the hall”

The classroom isn’t the only place students are merging college with their technology habit. They use online tools to track everything about their education including class assignments, grades, group collaboration, and course requirements. Online classes are also becoming increasingly popular, particularly among graduate students or those with full time jobs, since they can attend from virtually anywhere. In research done by Presta Electronics, it is estimated that by 2014 over 18 million students will take at least some of their classes online. The below infographic from Mashable summs up how students are using technology to further their education.

With all of this digital integration built into the higher education system now, it means that students are spending even more time with their electronic devices. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are being used more than ever by these tech-savvy co-eds, meaning sales of digital tools for learning are on the rise. E-textbook sales are growing, and software used for managing assignments or increasing group collaboration (like file sharing) is becoming more and more popular among this demographic.

So what does this mean for brands? With all the time students are spending online both in and out of the classroom, digital content is a great way to reach them. It also means that any services or tools a brand can offer to make a student’s classroom life easier would create a positive brand image among millennials, and bring your brand into an important aspect of student life. I know the general perception is that college is all beer-chugging, music-bumping, rage-til-you-drop parties and questionable life decisions, but surprisingly most students actually do learn a few things in their four years on campus (not saying that other stuff doesn’t happen too). Brands who find a way to engage with them on an educational level in addition to a social level will have a huge advantage in the student market.

March 29, 2012

Welcome to the Intern Diaries! Get a look inside the SUMM offices from the intern prospective, where I will be periodically filling you in on life at SUMM.

In the spirit of April Fool’s Day, I figured I would give you a glimpse of the lighter side of office life around here. We take our work seriously, but every now and then its fun to let loose a little. We all need a good laugh once in a while, right? Well this past Christmas my co-worker Courtney and I decided to take advantage of Paul’s two day absence due to illness (yes, cruel, we know) and have a little fun with his cubicle. Taking a move out of the Dwight and Jim playbook, we took it upon ourselves to get him in the Christmas spirit. $20 and three hours later, this was the result:

       

Naturally he was overcome with Christmas joy at the site and incredibly thankful for our hard work and dedication to the holiday season. In all seriousness, he was pretty impressed and left a bunch of it up until staring at the different patterns started to give him headaches.

As expected, there were threats of retaliation and warning jokes about taking sick days, but after several busy weeks no one gave the wrapping paper attack much thought anymore.  Like any serious prankster, Paul was calmly lying in wait for the day that Courtney and I were both out of the office (cue the evil villain laugh).

After returning from 3 days of the flu, I come in ready to catch up on work and pound away on my keyboard only to find I don’t have one. In fact I don’t have anything on my desk at all. My computer, phone, notebooks, files, pens, stapler, mug – everything; it’s all gone. What sits in front of me is a cubicle filled with pink package peanuts. I find that Courtney’s desk has suffered the same fate, and we go off in search of our belongings. Turns out they are locked in the storage closet, all plugged in and set up like a regular desk.

   

We spend the next hour hauling our stuff back across the office to our desks and setting it up, getting bemused looks that clearly read “haha suckers!” and smug little smirks from Paul. Then comes package peanut cleanup, which is probably the worst part since they crush into the carpet if you step on them and the static cling makes them stick to you when you try to throw them away. I almost have everything together when my monitor decides it doesn’t want to turn on after all that moving, and I have to go to the tech guys for help. Sigh.

So now we are at that point in any exchange of pranks where we can shake hands, walk away with dignity, and look back on these fond office memories. Yeah right! Who am I kidding? This means war!

This is where I need your help. Courtney and I need a revenge prank! Of course, there are a few stipulations:

1. I am the intern, so nothing that would get me fired.
2. Nothing too loud or disturbing. It wouldn’t be too funny if everyone else in the office hated me for it afterward.
3. Nothing with food products or gross smells – that’s just nasty.
4. No damage to his personal property. This goes along with the whole not-getting-me-fired thing.
5. Nothing that requires hacking into his computer. I just don’t have those skills. Unless of course I enlist the help of the IT guys… hmmmm.

Other than that I’d say hit me with your best office pranks! Leave suggestions in the comments and I’ll be sure to fill you in on what we end up doing.

PS – Paul, if you’re reading this and you steal any ideas from here that will be considered a breach of prank war etiquette and I will label you as a prank cheater, leaving you to the wrath of the internet followers who will surely be reading this blog with baited breath, waiting to see what we do to you.

July 25, 2011

A typical day for a college student is dynamic and filled with activity. Whether they are in class, studying, playing sports, or partying (sorry mom and dad, but it does happen), college students are usually busy with something. Unlike those in the workforce, the day-to-day schedule of a college student is always different. This means the time they have for relaxation or leisure is short, and not at the same time each day. College students don’t watch as much TV as you might think. For advertisers looking to reach students through television commercials, it is important to make sure that ads grab their attention in a positive way. There are several pitfalls of TV advertising that brands want to avoid if they are targeting the college market.

Annoying Songs

If there is one thing that tops the list of commercial pet peeves, it’s a terrible song. Putting too much singing in a commercial is a great way to make it cheesy, and doesn’t resonate with college students. A short, catchy jingle is one thing, but having an obnoxious song from a TV ad stunk in their heads while trying to pay attention in class or study in the library does nothing but drive students up the wall. The last thing a business wants is to have its audience associate the brand with an annoyance. If you are going to put a song in a commercial, lean towards the humorous side rather than cute or catchy. Students respond well with funny, not irritating.

 

Sex sells, but don’t over-do it

There’s no denying that students and youth pay attention to sexy ads, but brands need to be wary of going overboard. There can be a fine line between sexy and trashy, and ads that appear class-less will just turn students off or cause them to see the ads as a joke. A commercial that is too overtly sexy can also turn corny very quickly. Commercials for perfumes or body sprays can often be seen as humorous by students because they are trying too hard to be sexual, and being laughed at when you aren’t trying to be funny isn’t a good thing. Remember, sexiness can be about subtlety and still make a big impact.

Animals

Many brands try to grab attention by showing ads with animals, usually in a setting where they are talking or doing other human-like actions. These can be very hit or miss. For college students, talking animals can seem juvenile, causing the brand to miss its target. Ads with talking animals can also easily become corny. However, there are success stories with animal ads such as the Bud Light talking chameleons. What it really comes down to here is the quality of the commercial’s script, and if the ad is relevant to the brand.

Cheesy can work

There are cases in which having a cheesy commercial can work in a brand’s favor. Take the Snuggie®, for example. Their use of an infomercial-style commercial was so corny that students found it hilarious, and actually started purchasing Snuggies as a joke. There are also ads that are overly cheesy or corny on purpose. A great example of this is what Old Spice did with their commercials featuring “The Old Spice Guy” Isaiah Mustafa. They were so over-the-top corny that people knew it was a joke and found them incredibly funny, creating one of the biggest-ever viral sensations for a commercial.

So what do you think? Leave a comment telling us, through your experience as a marketer or commercial viewer, what types of ads simply don’t appeal to students and youth, and which ones really work?

July 8, 2011

Brands and marketers have a lot to gain by targeting college students. It’s a large market, with over 19 million students in the US (US Census Bureau), and according to StateUniversity.com a large portion of their income is discretionary (about 19%). They are also an influential market since they are often early adopters, spend a lot of time on social media, and have large networks of friends. Additionally, getting customer loyalty from college students means that you could have a consumer for life, since they are beginning to make a lot of purchases on their own. But it is important to remember that there is also a very large and influential market behind students, and that’s their parents. Finding the balance between appealing to students and their parents can pose a marketing challenge for some brands.

Providing the financial backing

According to the New York Times, the average college tuition is financed through 37% parent income and savings, and 10% parent borrowing. However, college costs reach much further than just tuition. Simply outfitting a dorm requires a good chunk of change. Some students work as a means of getting extra spending money, but for those who don’t a monthly allowance isn’t unusual. Because parents provide a lot of the funding for student activities, they can often feel that they should have a say in how it is spent. This means that brands who target students should keep in mind that while students are the main audience, their opinion is not always the only one involved in a purchase.

Covering student “needs”

While parents are proud to see their children grow up and leave the nest, sometimes they get hit with a classic case of having trouble letting go. We’ve all seen that mom who tears up as she hugs her baby boy goodbye after dropping him off at his freshman dorm. We all knew that kid in school who would take his laundry home once a month for mommy to do because she missed him so much, or the classic “daddy’s little girl” who would get hundreds slipped to her while Mom wasn’t looking. Even though students spend a lot of money on discretionary items, it is often still the parents who take care of the basic needs. It is important to remember that for items like computers, software, furniture, appliances, or even clothes and food, sometimes the parents are the ones doing the actual buying. So while the products still have to be geared toward students as the final user or purchase influencer, it does not hurt to be “parent-friendly”.

Back to school

The back to school season is a very important time for brands, as a lot of students start stocking up. Moving back into school means that cable services need to be set up, the refrigerator needs to be stocked, things like vacuums and cleaning supplies need to be purchased, and some bigger ticket items like appliances or electronics might need to be replaced. For many students who are scrambling through move-in day, it’s not uncommon for a good deal of these items to be purchased or funded by parents. Parent input can be very influential, especially if students are buying items for the first time. Admit it, when you first bought laundry detergent, you asked your mom which kind to get.

Navigating this balance between attracting business from students and their parents can be tricky. While the student is your actual consumer, sometimes the parent might be your customer. Contact us for help figuring out how to market your product or service through this complicated dynamic.

June 28, 2011

If you were to spend just a few hours with a group of college students, I guarantee that you are going to hear a complaint about having no money come up at least once – probably even more than once. The truth is college students only think they’re broke. I finished four years of undergraduate schooling and never once was I in danger of running out of money, but I always felt like I was living on pennies. Most college students are in the same boat – they spend a ton (one great reason to go after this demographic), so they feel like they’re broke. They are also aware of the fact that they are going to be spending the next 20 years paying for this education (cue the depressing music). If you put these factors together, what does it all mean? It means that college kids absolutely love free stuff! Which also means that businesses who engage in student marketing can have a powerful tool in free promotional items.

The attraction of free items

 

Every day, students are bombarded by advertising. Between TV and magazine ads, social media campaigns, flyers on campus bulletin boards, product placement in their favorite shows, and logos all over campus, it can be easy for a brand to get lost in the noise. But if there is one thing that will grab students’ attention it is the word “free”.

Will I take a sample of pretty much anything if it’s free? You bet I will. Have I stood in line for over 20 minutes to get a free t-shirt two sizes too big? Absolutely, I have. Did I care what it said? Not at all. Will I wear it simply because it was free? Yes sir, I will. College students run to free stuff like moths to a flame, and if your brand happens to be on whatever is being given out, suddenly you have a campus full of kids holding your logo.

Creating a memory

One of the hardest parts of selling a product is getting people to actually try it. Free samples are a great way to attract first-time customers. Students are an ideal market to try this on since they are at the beginning of their consumer life-cycle. They are also making most purchases totally on their own for the first time in their lives.

Giving free samples is also memorable. Looking back through my college experience, I can remember the times I got free things and the brands that gave them to me. I remember getting free ice cream from Lizzy’s, gum from Wrigley’s, energy drinks from Monster, doughnuts from Dunkin Donuts, a t-shirt from Nike, and even a pair of sneakers from Converse. Some of those happened as far as four years back, but I can still easily recall the experience and, more importantly, the brand name behind it. I still have the t-shirt and shoes and wear them often.

Positive brand image

Another benefit of product samples is that they make your brand look good. College consumers remember when brands do something for them and it creates a positive experience and brand image in their minds. This is really important with this market in particular because they can be highly brand loyal. Give them something free now, and you could have their business for years. College students are also very big influencers. They talk to their friends about the brands they like and drive mentions on social media, creating beneficial word of mouth for your brand.

Going viral

Another great way to attract students with the lure of free samples is through viral give-aways. According to a report by Alloy, students spend an average of one fifth of their day on the computer. Trust me, students have perfected the art of killing time on the internet. Whether they are in class, in their room, or even attempting to study in the library – they are online. As easy as it is to attract them with free stuff in person, its just as beneficial to reach out to them online, where they spend a large portion of their free time anyway. Setting up an online give-away or sweepstakes gives a brand access to college students all over the nation without having to physically go to them, and creates an opportunity for them to easily share your information via social media. You can also give away better, more attractive items and prizes online through a sweepstakes model, creating a bigger incentive for students to enter. Check out our SU Media Viral Marketing page for more information on how to initiate a conversation for a brand online.

So what do you think? Do you have a story or example of the power of free samples for students? Leave a comment and tell us your thoughts on product sampling.