How to be the big brand on campus? Think long-term

How does a company or brand connect with students on campus or at college fairs? It’s not as easy as it may look. It might take more than just sending one of your younger looking employees off to campus to hand out branded shirts and other promotional apparel while trying to engage with a youthful crowd.

Millennials are heavily marketed and advertised to before they even leave home for school. But how do you get your company to stand out without looking desperate or putting on an air of faux-hipness?

The days of giving out free T-shirts to students who sign up for credit card offers are dead, Leah Bell, president of UQ Marketing wrote in The Huffington Post.

Per Entrepreneur magazine, students are becoming savvier to marketing; knowing which ones might be just putting on a show instead of being trustworthy.

“College students are very quick about sniffing out a phony,” Jeff Gawronski, president of Dorm Co, a retailer that sells dormitory room furnishings, told Entrepreneur.

The typical American is exposed to more than 2,000 advertisements a day, according to The Center for Media Literacy, and now students are even more aware of marketing.

So, how does a brand cut through the noise and establish a connection with college age or university-bound adults that’s more than just fleeting?

What to offer
The answer to the above question is to offer a useful item and also show your young customers that you share their values. Per Bell, some marketers don’t consider their long game before giving away T-shirts and pens. In many cases it can hamper establishing a relationship with the brand and the consumer over the long run.

That’s why giving out promotional tech gifts and other branded items that meet college students’ needs and sensibilities now may be more effective in making an impression. A giveaway they can use throughout their four or more years of study will get your brand noticed.

Branded portable chargers, power banks and promotional USB flash drives are all tools that university students use on a day-to-day basis and that complement the electronics they use both in the classroom and in free time. Smartphone cases, branded headphones and microfiber cleaning cloths for computer screens are also useful products that’ll see everyday use and continually make an impression.

Word of mouth marketing
Even though it may seem that millennials only communicate via text or social media, studies found that word of mouth still holds a powerful sway over 18-to-22-year-olds. A 2012 marketing study from Bell’s firm found that nearly 95 percent of college-age students prefer to receive suggestions from their friends regarding purchases.

Meanwhile, a Barnes and Noble survey of university attendees showed that 59 percent of those polled respondents said that friends’ recommendations either in person or online has the greatest influence on their buying habits.

That means if your company’s promotional or branded item makes a positive impact with one person on campus, it has a chance at piquing other students’ curiosity and becoming viral.

Positive brands
A branded USB flash drive will be useful for a college student to store term papers, photos, music or other data on for the years they’re on campus. However, brands may make an even larger and longer impression by putting their logo on promotional items that show their support for the environment or other important evergreen causes.

Environmentally-friendly promotional bags like canvas totes that can replace paper or plastic grocery sacks are a great solution to show college students you care about the environment while also giving them a branded gift they’ll likely use for years. A student could use the tote even after graduation and later into his or her life.

Many millennials and college students respect socially-conscious brands that also give back to their communities such as Panera, Chipotle and TOMS Shoes. Both Panera and Chipotle include healthier options than other fast food chain restaurants while boasting additive-free menu items.

Meanwhile, companies like TOMS shoes and Panera also give back in the form of free shoes and food to developing countries and the needy.

According to the Barnes and Noble college marketing survey of 7,500 university students, 70 percent of those polled said they would spend their dollars on a brand that made charitable contributions while 63 percent said they would be willing to pay more for a product if it was tied to a charity.

Promoting both your brand and a good cause through your companies’ marketing will make a greater and more permanent impression on students. And it could influence them to be regular customers for life.