College newspaper advertising continues to be one of the most effective methods to reach college students.  A recent survey found that 82% of the respondents regularly read their campus paper.  The study also found that students positively respond to college newspaper ads with nearly 80% reacting to an ad or editorial.  The college newspaper industry continues to grow as a media outlet in readership and in advertising dollars with more and more marketers recognizing the inherent value.  

Coupons and promotional codes generate the best response with a higher percentage of college women taking advantage of coupons and discounts.  Another option to consider is college newspaper inserts which can be a great college marketing medium to promote an upcoming event or online promotion.  

Campus Solutions provide our clients with opportunities to reach 11.5 million college students in over 2,000 college newspapers.  College newspaper advertising is a great media outlet to target the college student demographic and we encourage companies to take advantage of our college newspaper placement services- whether via college newspapers or college newspaper inserts.  For more information, please feel free to visit Campus Solutions Inc.’s website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or reach Bryan Carbone directly at Bryan.  

Today marks the first day of summer for NYC public schools, ushering in a new class of college freshmen.  Campus Solutions wanted to share some strategies that we provide our clients that allow brands to reach college students off-campus during the summer months:

• Cinema advertising: Cinema advertising is the full-color marketing that happens on the big screen during the 30 minutes before each movie plays in a theater.
• Beach promotions: Beach promotions are a great opportunity to sample product to college-age students.  Campus Solutions requires no more than 30 days lead time for a beach product sampling and street team summer event.
• Nightclub and bar promotions: Bars and nightclub promotions target a younger audience and can support a brand’s youthful image.
• Hair and nail salon sampling: Focusing on upscale and high-volume hair and nail salons, the goal here is to reach women with staggered frequency.  Campus Solutions has developed a nationwide network of salons for our clients interested in sampling products to women on-the-go.
• Athletic centers & gyms: An athletic center sampling strategy reaches both active men and women.  Product sampling and branding opportunities are available at the entrances of these facilities.

A college street team promotion is a great way to get a product into the hands of college students utilizing hand-to-hand contact.  College street team members are typically dressed in the brand’s attire acting as the company’s college brand ambassadors.  These brand ambassadors are provided a script to follow by the company and are knowledgeable about the product or service.  Some college marketing firms and brands may have their staff attend a conference to discuss the finer points of the promotion.  College street teams are mobile from the time they arrive until the time they finish the event.  Members will be distributing product to students throughout campus and a college street team promotion may be male-specific, female-specific, target college athletes or mass marketed to students.

Customized branded vehicles may be used to add visibility the day of the event.  Campus Solutions also suggests promoting through some form of college media before the promotion arrives on campus.  Many college street team promotions that are performed by professional marketing teams utilize cargo vans to transport the product.  One advantage to a cargo van is that it holds at least two skids/pallets.  One disadvantage is its capacity to hold only two street team members per vehicle, requiring at least a second vehicle for additional staff.  Since each campus typically requires no less than a thousand samples, larger vehicles are needed to transport the product.  Warehousing the product and storage costs are an additional cost in any street team promotion but most marketing companies build these costs into the program.

Campus Solutions ensures that each campus promotion will be executed by experienced Campus Solutions’s staff members familiar with the campus as well as student staff.  Our clients are rest assured that a promotion’s success is not dependent on students’ success or lack of success during the event but by college marketing specialists.  In addition to any college street team event, Campus Solutions provides an experienced photographer on site, recording the highlights on each campus.

A street team approach to college marketing continues to be an effective way of getting a product into the hands of the college consumer.  For more information, please visit our website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or email Bryan Carbone directly at Bryan.

Here’s an image showing a college street team and branded promotional vehicle:

Campus Solutions Inc., one of only a few firms specializing in college event marketing, has established a new college media outlet that allows brands to reach students and Go Green on campus.  Campus Solutions is working with corporations to implement a number of Go Green projects on colleges and universities that either limit unnecessary waste; conserve our natural resources; provide corporate-sponsored tree planting initiatives or encourage campus beautification projects.  Each of these strategies delivers unparalleled brand awareness, generates brand appreciation amongst the prized college student demographic and allows brands to demonstrate their greenness.

Unnecessary waste of paper, plastic, aluminum, and cell phones occurs on campus everyday.  Campus Solutions and our higher education partners are providing exclusive go green on campus opportunities on recycling receptacles that will be displayed throughout campus. The amount of paper that is never recycled is staggering, so is the waste from the packaging material during back to school or beverage containers throughout the year.  

Your brand’s message will be visible throughout the campus, within the residence halls and associated with the school’s proactive measures to help reduce and recycle our natural resources.  A Go Green on campus recycling strategy will be tailored specific to your brand and can be either regional or national in scope.  For more information, please visit our website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or email Bryan Carbone directly at Bryan.

College campuses are not only focused on going green but green implementation has become the newest form of college rivalry.  Strong support among college administration, students and faculty have lead to extensive green changes and environmental activism on nearly every college and university.   

Campus Solutions has developed a number of strategies for brands to go green on campus and reach college students.  Some concepts include energy efficiency, green transportation, campus recycling bins and tree-planting.  For more information, please feel to visit our website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or you may reach Bryan Carbone directy at Bryan.

In other news, here’s an article from The Mercury News that we found interesting.  For the past 566 days, protesters have been staging a tree sit at UC-Berkeley campus to prevent the removal of 44 trees which are earmarked for removal for the construction of the new campus recreation center.  

In parts of Florida, one of the regions of the country where home prices have been hit the hardest, real estate agencies are developing new approaches to attract younger clients.  With the substantial surplus of homes on the market, first-time homeowners are an extremely appealing consumer group as they are not tied to the sale of an existing home.  This trend in real estate is convincing companies to develop new strategies when targeting this younger consumer.  

If Florida continues to be an indicator as to where real estate is heading, expect real estate agencies on a national level to follow.  Campus Solutions will be working with real estate agencies and home builders to develop effective strategies to reach college graduates and those on the cusp of graduation.  

Here’s a link from Tampabays.10.com that we found interesting.  For more information, please feel free to visit Campus Solutions Inc. at www.campussolutionsinc.com or reach Bryan Carbone directly at bryan. 

A bill on New York Governor David Paterson’s desk is expected to pass banning smoking in all residence halls and campus buildings on each public and private NY college and university. This reconfirms New York’s stance on smoking as this is an extension to a previous law passed within the year for SUNY schools and some private campuses. 

As a college marketing company, we feel that this is a terrific opportunity for brands to develop a creative promotion on campuses throughout New York.  The statewide promotion would be an effective strategy since New York is spread out over such a large area.

What a great opportunity for campus administration to promote their support to reduce the 54,000 second-hand smoking deaths in this country per year.  College administration can gain insight on what Maria College in Albany began this past semester when they voluntarily banned smoking on its college. 

Some concepts Campus Solutions is suggesting and encouraging companies to take advantage of our extensive New York college and university network:

• A mint or candy sampling promotion in replace of the cigarette   
• Postering and on-campus media with a creative message about the law  
• Nicorette or other stop smoking gums and patches sampling 
• A college bar media campaign- branded messages on coasters, napkins and throughout the bar  
• College newspaper ads throughout New York
• Students are frustrated about the long walk to go off-campus to have their smoke- companies could promote at locations within walking distance to campus

Some concepts Campus Solutions might suggest to campus administration to promote the new law:

• Ashtrays can be branded throughout campus with a positive message pertaining to this being a smoke-free campus
• Signage with your new message both inside and outside of residence halls and previous smoking destinations
• Promoting New York State’s unrivaled quit smoking programs
• Transforming previous smoking hot spots on campus to garden and seating areas that promote the absence of second-hand smoke

For more information, please feel free to visit our website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or contact Bryan Carbone directly at Bryan.

With the steady increase in demand for media channels to target specific niches, fraternity promotions can be an excellent media buy for brands interested in reaching the college male audience.  College fraternity men are typically very social, athletic (often a member of an IM team) and a consumer with discretionary income.  Campus Solutions has developed a network that also allows a multicultural college marketing campaign by establishing a relationship with the national multicultural Greek fraternities and councils.

Here’s a picture of one of our client’s fraternity sampling promotions in spring ‘08:

The following describes a quick breakdown on fraternity sampling:

Sampling initiatives: Campus fraternities are ideal venues for a brand to sample a new product or a great way to reintroduce an existing product using a fresh approach.  These influential consumers will receive your product in person as well as a coupon for a future purchase and a way to track ROI.  In addition to providing an experienced campus street team, Campus Solutions also provides an experienced photographer onsite on each campus involved- photographing the fraternity as a group and providing highlights of each event.  For more information, feel free to visit our website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or contact Bryan Carbone directly at bryan.

Social networking and web 2.0 social sites have for good reason, become an essential component of a brand’s youth marketing strategy. Recently, a debate has erupted over which is the smarter option: a social network created by a brand and its marketing arm or taking advantage of Facebook and MySpace’s existing multi-million member network. In a recent post by Adam Ostrow of Mashable.com, “Is a Facebook Page a Complete Social Media Strategy,” http://mashable.com/2008/06/05/social-media-strategy/ the author explains Verizon’s recent move from Verizon Community to a Verizon Facebook page.

Users are reluctant to join a separate social network for even their favorite brands, cause or promotion. Another disadvantage to a brand’s network or a brand ambassador social network is that students are expected to sign up friends and other students as new members of the site, a huge turn off to students. Facebook members simply sign up via a News Feed and Invite.

Moving into the 2008-2009 school year, Campus Solutions, one of the country’s leading college marketing companies specializing in on-campus media, college event marketing and spring break promotions, will be helping brands spread their presence on the internet by developing Facebook campaigns targeting the college student demographic. Simply developing a Facebook Page or Event is not enough without having a built-in core group of students (specific niches within the college student demographic, targeted DMAs or campuses). Utilizing our network of college athletics, fraternities and sororities and student groups provides opportunities for brands to implement a successful Facebook campaign and brand ambassadorship program. For more information, please feel free to visit our website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or contact Bryan Carbone at bryan.

An effective college marketing strategy for any new product or service geared toward college women is to implement a sorority marketing campaign. Campus Solutions, Inc. is a pioneer in college sorority marketing, generating national viral marketing strategies, sampling campaigns and contests that actively involve sorority members and alumni on a regional and national scale. Reaching college sorority women allows your message to reach large groups of college women who are influential trend setters on campus. A sorority promotion allows a brand to target women with similar interests, who have discretionary spending and a group responsible for some of the most effective viral and philanthropic strategies each year among the 18-24 year old demographic.

Campus Solutions develops on-campus sorority promotions by implementing interactive brand awareness campaigns and online sweepstakes and contests. Our staff will involve active sorority houses by scheduling the events around the dinner hour, in the evening and during chapter meetings. Through our existing relationship with sorority elected members, Campus Solutions’s staff members are interacting with each sorority weeks in advance to ensure the support of the campaign and to ensure the promotion reaches the most sisters per house. For additional information regarding on-campus sorority promotions, please feel free to view Campus Solutions’s website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or contact Bryan Carbone at bryan.

In terms of a nationally supported sorority campaign, here are three of our favorites:

The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty (Self-Esteem is Worth Sharing)

www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/dsef07/t5.aspx?id=7433

Yoplait’s Breast Cancer Commitment “Save Lids to Save Lives“

www.yoplait.com/breastcancer_lids.aspx

Merck’s HPV cervical cancer vaccine awareness campaign www.gardasil.com/

For more information please visit our website at www.campussolutionsinc.com or feel free to reach Bryan Carbone at bryan.