Part
01
of one
Part
01
Need examples of effective college marketing programs or activations from brands/companies that are unorthodox or non traditional. Thank you!
Hello,
Thank you for your question seeking examples of effective college marketing programs or activations from brands/companies that are unorthodox or non traditional. The short version is that Reese's, Hamburger Helper, Keurig, Golden Grahm's Gold Grant, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Toy Story 3 and Target are some of the brands that have effectively targeted college students with creative marketing techniques.
Below you can have a deep dive in to my findings.
METHODOLOGY
We began our research searching through media and advertising related websites for innovative and award winning marketing campaigns that targeted college students. Further, we searched for pre-compiled lists of innovative, quirky and unorthodox marketing campaigns and from those lists, we tried to filter ones that targeted college students. Though we found examples using the two above-mentioned strategies, most of the examples are not recent as per Wonder standards ( less than 2 year old). As we were unable to find recent examples even after an exhaustive search, we are left with no other option other than to include them.
OVERVIEW
College students, a group aged between 18-24 years is estimated to spend $163 billion on non-essential items in the year 2017. This demographic is more likely to notice a brand that has online presence ( on social media and streaming platforms) and least "likely to notice traditional ads on TV and radio and magazines." A survey among 600 students has revealed that "humour and authenticity are declining in importance" with only 65% saying they remembered an ad that made them laugh compared to 80% who said the same in 2013. However 88% of the surveyed students said that they are "more responsive towards brands that give back to the community."
Below are some of the examples of creative marketing campaigns that has struck a chord with college students.
1. REESE'S #MARCHMOOD
Partnering with NCAA by being official sponsor of #MarchMadness for the 4th year in a row in 2016, Reese's created "custom content that that trended with the games, in real time. During the Reese’s College All-Star Game and Final Four Friday, the brand curated custom graphics, video animations, and tongue-and-cheek content that responded to real time actions. " The brand shared "seasonal recipes, fun memes, and a slew of short videos." As a result, the brand saw high level of engagement from college students. The custom content they created was widely shared across all social media platforms. By simultaneously launching a contest on Instagram and a paid promotion through Snapchat, the brand was able to take its engagement level to new heights. On Facebook alone they had over 260,000 engagements and their #MarchMood hashtag generated 73% of their total engagement on Twitter.
2. UNACCEPTABLE ACCEPTANCE LETTER
Unacceptable Acceptance Letter is an ad campaign aimed at creating awareness around sexual assault on campuses. The campaign features a print ad showing an acceptance letter that targets the practice of victim blaming. It says that the claims made against the rapist will be ignored just like a woman's right to feel safe at school. The letter also takes a dig at the school authorities who often fail to acknowledge a victim's statement just because she was drinking when the incident occurred. The video ads of the campaign showed college students opening and reading aloud their acceptance letter. But instead of usual acceptance letter, the viewers are presented with "facts from assaults that took place at these colleges." The ad campaign has won the Creative Of The Year award from Adage.
3. HAMBURGER HELPER
Hamburger Helper launched an April fool "prank" by releasing a mix tape called Watch The Stove. It got a huge traction from college students because instead of relying on professionals, they put together the tape with the help of students from McNally Smith College of Music and Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). The mix tape was a huge hit and was trending in Twitter. It is said that the sales of Hamburger Helper also saw a significant rise with the release of these mix tapes.
4. KEURIG
Keurig which sells coffee and brewing systems targeted college students for selling its "Mini Plus Brewer" by embarking upon college tours with events featuring "games like beat the clock, K Cup pack dig, memory games and a pack-toss into an oversized Keurig brewer." They also had a "wrapped motorized cooler-scooter" plying around the colleges brewing hot and cold beverages handing out samples, Spotify memberships and special one-day offers.
In addition to it, the brand also launched videos featuring Football star Emmit Smith called “What Emmit Does While He Brews,” which showed fun things Smith does while brewing his coffee.
( Please note, this example is from the year 2014)
5. GOLDEN GRAHMS GOLD GRANT
The company targeted college students through a series of hilarious videos about things like job interviews and what goes wrong with it. By resonating perfectly with the target audience, the video went viral gaining more than 2.5 million views.
( Please note, this example is from the year 2013)
6. National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Alliance on Mental Illness ( New York chapter) spread their #IWillListen campaign through a series of videos and by organising on-the-ground events like a day without headphones on college campuses as a gesture indicating their "willingness to hear out peers in need." The campaign garnered 12,000 pledges, 3000% increase in Facebook likes, 7000+ tweets and over 200 IWillListen videos were submitted by people.
( Please note, this example is from the year 2013)
7. Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 was released in the year 2010. Pixar marketed the movie by evoking nostalgia in college students as this segment of audience were in their early childhood when the first part of the movie was released. "An advert was released on You Tube for ‘Lots-o-Huggin’ bear, dated 1983 and appearing to be filmed on VHS tape. It was posted on a You Tube channel that was devoted to real 80’s toy adverts, (rumoured to be created by the film’s director.) Viewers quickly realised it actually featured one of the films new stars and as word spread the video quickly went viral and got over one million views." Further they littered the college campuses with "leaflets posting jobs at Pizza Planet-a fictional venue featured in the first film." The link in the leaflet led to a Facebook event page where they were invited for campus screening of the movie. The movie was well received by college students as a result of this campaign.
8. Target
In 2013, Target launched their back-to-school marketing campaign targeting college students by streaming videos for four days of five YouTube personalities hanging out in a fake dorm designed and decorated by Target. They also set up Live Dorm Rooms on campus which are “freestanding, glass-enclosed structures occupied by a student and fully furnished with products from Target." Further, they designed and sold products specifically designed for college students like "plates with a lip" to prevent spilling as college students often eat standing up and bowls with handle as college students like to drink cereals and noodles directly from the bowl. As a result of these initiatives, Target was able to gain life-long loyalty from this customer base.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, Reese's, Hamburger Helper, Keurig, Golden Grahm's Gold Grant, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Toy Story 3 and Target are some of the brands that have effectively targeted college students with unorthodox marketing.
Thank you for using Wonder. Please let us know if we can help you with anything else.