Dear Charlotteboy,
College students are among the most sought groups for advertisers. A
research by Interrep concludes, that "The college market is attracting
increasing attention from advertisers as the number of college
students continues to grow and their spending levels keep pace.
According to U.S. Census data cited by Interep, more than 60 percent
of students who graduated from high school in the previous 12 months
currently were enrolled in college. That total represents a sharp
upswing from just 49 percent in 1980". (SOURCE: "Targeting The College
Consumer", Interrep Research, (1) e-radio source,
<http://www.eradioresource.com/images_pdf/2000_vol6n4/v6n4_college_consumer.pdf>
and (2) Interrep site <http://www.interep.com/pr/praug2000c.pdf>).
However, it is not only the demographic growth in the number of
students, but also their consumption habbits. For example, the same
research maintains that "The market also is valuable to marketers in
less concrete ways. For example, college students often are
trend-setters for other groups; moreover, they are forming brand
loyalties that may affect their purchasing habits for decades to come.
In addition, since the link between higher education and earning
potential remains strong, college students are likely to be the
upscale market of the future". (SOURCE: ibid).
However, regarding television, please note that college students seem
to watch less television than teenagers (IBID).
What kind of industries, then, attempt to attract college students?
Almost all of them, but in particular:
- The fashion/apparel industry
- Beverage, snacks. (See for example: "Low-price liquor promotions
still target students"
http://www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/03/2/low-price.html; "The Marketing
of Alcohol to College Students"
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/Documents/marketingalcohol/AlcoholPromotion.pdf)
- Communication (cell phones, computers, Internet, etc) (see:
Microsoft goes to college with OneNote,
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5067381.html>).
- Entertainment (music, movies, books)
(http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/1075.html)
VarsityBooks.com Enrolls Time to Target College Students
(http://www.computeruser.com/news/00/05/16/news14.html)
But not only:
- education/courses: Karen A. Spaeder, "Who Is Your Market?and What Do
They Want?" Entrepreneur.com
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,298041,00.html
- The financial sector (for example, Credit Cards "Credit Cards Target
College Students", <http://www.thewgalchannel.com/8onyourside/2644344/detail.html>;
Credit card companies target college students
<http://www1.uwex.edu/news/story.cfm/402>).
- Business Support Services (See: Business Support Services - Target
Market, Entrepreneur.com
<http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,290197-2,00.html>.
- Tobacco (See: Tobacco Documents,
<http://tobaccodocuments.org/usc_tim/?field_id=12&field_value=College+Students&total_count=48>).
Agencies targeting college students
------------------------------------
Magma Group <http://www.magmagroup.com/>
Further Reading
===============
Kathy J. Kobliski , "How to Market to College Students",
<http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,290886,00.html>.
Why College/ Youth? <http://www.marketmedia.com/youth_target.html>
Tapping the Teen Market
<http://catalogagemag.com/ar/marketing_tapping_teen_market/>
However, the best way for you to learn which industries are targeting
college students is to conduct a full market research among students -
on their TV viewing habbits and on their respective consumption
habbits. If you have no resources to make such a full market research,
even looking on the advertisers on MTV and TV shows popular with that
age group could give you the picture described above.
I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
further clarification on the answer before you tip/rate it. |
