Marketers spend well over $185 million in campus-specific advertising and promotions alone. The college market is one of the most lucrative groups targeted by marketers and advertisers today-and for good reason. Considered the heart and soul of the youth market, it encompasses college-bound high school graduates, current college students, recent college grads, parents of college students, alumni, college faculty, administrators, and institutional buyers. Currently enrolled college students alone represent 15.6 million voracious consumers who spend an estimated $200 billion annually.

Whether you’re an experienced college marketer or new to the field, Marketing to the Campus Crowd is required reading for any company eager to boost its bottom line and establish long-term brand loyalty. Industry expert and consultant David A. Morrison discusses the three most common mistakes, over 22 different traditional and emerging marketing channels, "Best in Class" case studies, and the underlying drivers of market behavior. In addition, Marketing to the Campus Crowd features:
* Key demographic and psychographic data.
* Campus trends.
* Special chapters on the pre- and post-college market.
* Predictions of future paradigm shifts.
* A seven-point checklist for developing and implementing a
successful marketing mix.
* The author’s proprietary four-step IRRLe ("early") Method to harness
the power of early adoption as a competitive advantage.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
The First Note: "Just the Facts, Ma’am"
The Second Note: The $200-Billion Estimate
The Third Note: References to Alcohol-Based Beverages
The Final Note: Use of Examples

1. Going Back to School
Looking Past the Hype
The Freebie T
The Ten-Second Download
Today’s College Scene Is Not How You Remember It
The Three Most Common "Killer" Mistakes
Breaking Through the Clutter

2. Why College Marketing? ("What’s All the Fuss?")
Some Statistics to Blow Your Mind
Best in Class: The Blair Witch Goes to College
Student Spending (and Spending and Spending)
High Experimentation
The Brand-Surfing Trap
Trickle Triad Theory
From Bands to Apples
The Student Grapevine: The Power of Word of Mouth
Bottom Line

3. College Marketing: Past, Present, and Future or the Rise and Semifall of the School Monopoly
Higher Education Takes Root: From Beijing to Bologna to Boston (and Back to Beijing)
The Birth of Feeder High Schools
Best in Class: New York University Raids Its Archives
The School Monopoly Beams Beyond the Campus Gates (and Goes Mainstream)
Sidebar: School Branding Touches Nearly Everything
The Monopoly Today
Best in Class: On-Campus Soda Wars
Breaking the Monopoly: Two Trojan Horses
Sidebar: Revenge of the Real Animal House
Current State of the Union
Contemporary College Marketing: All Hail the Pizza King
Distance Learning: Higher Ed Goes Higher Tech
Behind the Bookstore Counter: Underlying Dynamics Driving Sales

4. The Precollege Market
A Holistic Approach: Starting with the Seed
Targeting Students Before They (Even) Arrive On-Campus
Best in Class: Apple Plants the Seed
A Potential Pitfall in Targeting College-Bound Consumers
The Larger Precollege Market
College-Bound High School Students: A New Mindset
Providing Solutions
How Early? The Baby Formula
Sidebar: Brain Drain
Corporate America Gets In on the Game

5. The College Market
Uniquely Desirable
Notable Demographics
Sidebar: The Larger College Market
Key Market Characteristics: Defining Psychographics
Experimentation Gives Way to Adoption
Looking Down the Road

6. The Postcollege Market
Brand Loyalties in Flux: Oh No! Not Again
Adultolescents: The Boomerang Phenomenon Hits Home (and Boosts Discretionary Spending)
Sidebar: The Global Boomerang Phenomenon
Entry into the "Real World": Taking Off the Corporate Blinders
Get ’Em during Entry into "Real Life"
Tapping the Power of the Alumni Network

7. Gatekeepers: Reaching the Mother Lode Through "Big Mother"
The Gatekeeper Triad: School Administrators, Faculty, and Parents
Quid Pro Quo: Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor (Students) ... and We’ll Give ’Em T-Shirts
Student Credit Cards: Plastic? Fantastic!
Credit Card Wars: The Battle for "Wallet Share"
Best in Class: AT&T Universal Card Changes the Field Forever
Best in Class: Visa and Others Educate Customers
Best in Class: MasterCard’s "Letting Go" Television Commercial
Cultivating and Maintaining School Relationships
Best in Class: Coca-Cola Targets Students and Administrators
Trumping Exclusivity Contracts
A Look to the Future: Nike-Managed School Gyms?

8. The Influencers
Word of Mouth
Early Adopters and Category "Experts"
So What’s Next?: The IRRLe Method
Student Panels: The Building Blocks for Change
Sidebar: The 30-Second Overview of Panel Research
Best in Class: Aramark Provides a Lesson in Crisis Control

9. Reaching the College Crowd
Selecting the Right Marketing Mix
Segmentation
Skeletal Classifications: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Consumer Profiles
Best in Class: AT&T Universal Card Breaks the Mold with a Classic Segmentation Execution
Best in Class: Targeting College Freshmen
Strategic Implementation
On-Campus Channels
Best in Class: Cingular Gets Funky
Off-Campus Channels
Best in Class: Dr Pepper Hits the Beaches
Best in Class: eCampus.com Goes to Hollywood

10. Timing: An Important Factor in College Marketing
Timing Is Everything
Welcome to Campus, Will That Be Semester or Trimester?
Timing Factors: Breaking Murphy’s Law
Seasonal Marketing
Best in Class: IBM Takes Its Cues from the Seasons

11. The Original Daewoo Motor Company: A Good Idea Gone Bad
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

12. Cobranding Strategies
A Sum Greater Than Its Parts
Student ID Cards
The Corporate Connection
College Life as TV Fodder: "Oh, the Drama!"
Best in Class: Microsoft Heads Off to M.I.T.

13. Concluding Thoughts from a Seasoned Insider
Words of Wisdom: The Seven College Rules
Net Sum

14. We Want to Hear from You!

Appendix A The Country’s 25 Largest Campuses
Appendix B The Country’s Oldest Schools
End Notes
Index