November 2019

6 Ways to advertise on Campus

At BAM we provide unprecedented access to the lucrative student market through an extensive portfolio of media channels, combining this with our experience and knowledge of the market, allowing us to advise brands on the most effective media channels that are bespoke to their individual objectives.

When advertising your brand or business on campus we recommend the following 6 key media routes for promoting your services to university students.

Freshers Fairs

It will come as no surprise that we’re listing Freshers Fairs as our number one route to advertising on campus. The pinnacle time of year for any brand with the student market as a key demographic, Freshers sees students in their first 100 days on a journey of new identity and beginnings, making this the ideal place to start a blossoming relationship.

With our research showing students to attend fairs in order to experience new brands native to their university environment, this is the prime time to engage with an audience eager to discover what’s out there, at the time when they are most open to new ideas and experiences.

However, Freshers Fairs are a crowded place, full to the brim with brands vying for the attention of students, so if you don’t fancy your chances at fighting through the crowds then there is always the following options!

Social Media

With Social Media being a leading gateway into the Millennial market, we understand its importance as part of an integrated marketing campaign as well as a stand alone route.

With the chance for your brand to be seen by thousands upon thousands of students per day, sponsored posts, union media and digital imagery is a great way of reaching the student masses, in a visually impactful and tonaly relevant way.

With social advertising being an essential element of building an online community within the student market, BAM have exclusive access to Official Students’ Union Social Media platforms and peer-to-peer content sharing by over 10,000 students, helping make sure your ads really do cut through the noise.

Sampling and Distribution

For brands looking to promote a new product to the student market, there really is no better way than getting goods directly into the hands of the student consumer through sampling and distribution. Providing greater awareness and increased exposure of a brand and product, students are given the chance to try before they buy and with students known to be hesitant to buy a new brand or product if they have an existing favourite, they can now sample with no cost or commitment!

At BAM we can facilitate the distribution of products and samples directly into the hands of thousands of students across the UK and ROI with ease, formulating, executing and managing the most effective distribution campaigns for our brands.

Onsite Experiential

With it essential for brands to reinforce their message throughout the academic year and students University lives, a year round presence is key and combining this with an onsite experiential is a great opportunity for brands to achieve this memorability.

Often less crowded than Freshers Fairs, onsite experiential activities at alternative times throughout the year can strengthen the bond between student and brand and with over 200 University campuses, key student venues and student events across the UK and ROI, BAM can get you access to students directly at source, wherever and whenever you want!

Student Brand Ambassadors

Student Brand ambassadors are another great way to showcase your product or service on campus. With peer to peer advertising at the forefront of the campaign, this method allows students to interact in a unique way, that comes across as more genuine and authentic in comparison to other ambassador schemes.

Bringing personality and a human face to your brand, students can identify with the product or service that you are advertising on a much higher level, in turn generating increased brand awareness and a positive association with your business.

With a dedicated and experienced in house team here to help brands secure a successful Student BA campaign, BAM ensure we always get the right fit for your brand.

Student Accommodation

Taking a more creative and alternative approach to reaching students on campus, brands are now seeking new ways in which to connect and engage with their student demographic. With student accommodation blocks offering a multitude of options when attempting to get your brand seen, this is now a highly effective method of making a real impact in a rather saturated market.

BAM have access to an array of advertising opportunities within student accommodation blocks across the UK, including post box drops, ideal for the distribution of flyers. Vinyl advertising, engulfing student rooms with engaging branding and Direct product distribution, putting your product in to bedrooms and fridges up and down the country.

To find out how BAM can help you to make an impact on campus, get in touch with the team today.

3 Youth Experiential Campaign Fails

It’s 2019 and the spending power of the youth market is now truly undeniable. With a vast plethora of sources out there showcasing just how big their spending power is, every brand now wants a slice of the action, but winning over this lucrative market doesn’t come without the risk of embarrassing failures!

Contributing approximately 23 billion into the economy each year, students today are a far cry from the ‘broke’ youth stereotype of previous decades, and with their modern shopping habits showing annual spends of over 3.5 billion on food, 2 billion on entertainment and another 1 billion on clothes alone, students today are spending big and across every market.

In a rush to tap into this billion pound spending power, many brands forget to consider the market drivers and learn its complexities, and in turn this has resulted in even some of the globes most familiar brand faces falling short with failed attempts.

A recent and likely memorable example of how a global player can get it so drastically wrong was Pepsi’s 2017 “Live for Now” Campaign. Featuring Kendall Jenner, the 21st century super model for the millennial generation, Pepsi released a 2 minute ad that showed the icon leaving work to join a Black Lives Matter protest.

With the youth generation of today more politically active and aware than ever before, Pepsi’s attempt to showcase this was only developed with good intentions, however the brands attempt to link themselves to a good cause only to increase the sales of soda fell on deaf ears.

With the global youth branding the company creative as tone-deaf and outright offensive, this was one tailored campaign that really missed the millennial mark.

Sticking with the political theme and taking a trip across the Atlantic, the next failed attempt on harnessing the youth market comes from within the home of Hillary Clinton. In a cringe-inducing attempt to engage with millennials online, the Former First Lady and Presidential candidate took to Twitter to ask the following question… “How does your student loan debt make you feel? Tell us in 3 emojis or less.”

Targeting a generation growing up along side the development of the digital language, and introducing this virtual text into on screen conversations may have seemed like a smart idea at the time, however Clinton’s team failed to understand the true role that digital media and emoji’s play online. A lighthearted, fun and often simplified method of digital communication, emojis have no place in a serious conversation around the crippling student debt that millions face around the globe.

Mistaking Millienials love for digital comms as their preferred method of communication, Clinton and her team managed to insult rather than evoke the youth market, failing to understand that when it comes to hard hitting issues, the youth market have complex opinions that they want to be heard

It’s not easy being cool, just ask Microsoft,

The final fail to hit the screens of some lucky youth consumers comes from the worlds most popular desktop system. With almost 45 years in the digital game, Microsoft’s marketing history is almost squeaky clean, with the exception of this 2016 cringeworthy content. In an effort to use contemporary slang to help sway its intern youth workforce to attend the Microsoft ‘Interpalooza’, the following email was sent out.

Titled ‘Hey Bae Interns’ and including the following 21st century terms “get lit’ and “the best beats” the Microsoft interns of Seattle were left thinking someone’s dad had hacked the system after swallowing the Urban Dictionary. A company renowned for its technological innovation, this move was far from a step in the right direction! Learning its lesson the hard way and reiterating the need to stay on brand, Microsoft’s misrepresentation emphasises the need to stay true to who you are, regardless of your target audience.

As a Youth Marketing Agency, BAM can show you how to hit the millennial mark the first time around, helping to cement your success for now and the future. Get in touch to find out more about how we can help you.

A Guide to thumb stopping Social Media

As we fast approach 2020 it’s become common place for the world’s social media users to carry out their daily screen scrolling in between their day to day activities. But as a brand or business heading into the new decade, how do you press pause on the globes scrolling thumbs and win the coveted double tap of these social savvy consumers?

Although there is no one size fits all answer, implementing the following 3 steps should help you cut through the noise and make an impact online.

Every second counts

When it comes to social content, every second really does count, but none more so than the first 3! As the digital age continues to dominate and influence the world’s population, consumers attention spans aren’t what they used to be. When it comes to attention grabbing on social media in 2020, it needs to be instant, more specifically within the first 3 seconds of content being viewed.

In order to achieve this you need to know your message. If you yourself don’t have a clear understanding of the message behind the post, how can you expect your consumers to? Avoid the dreaded scroll on by, by showcasing clear and concise posts with minimal but key messaging. You never want to leave an audience asking too many questions so give them what they want and do it in the space of 1…2…3!

Understand your audience

You may have succeeded in grabbing their attention, great! But why should they take the next step? Why should they care? Securing an emotive response will only come from truly understanding the audience you are trying to reach. You know your brand and message but just as importantly, you need to know the people behind the screens and adapt your content accordingly.

Do your research, define your audience and do this often. As we move with the times your targets can change, you may be surprised to find your demographic has shifted and the new audience you have isn’t the one your talking to online.

Make the leap

In an oversaturated digital landscape, mundane content just won’t cut the mustard. It needs to be compelling, different and unexpected. If your following the same style, same format and the same message as 2015 it’s time to make the leap and offer your consumers something new.

As a brand with a presence in the social world you are always competing for attention. Not just with competitors within your field but with every brand advertising within the social space. Consumers are bombarded with and forced to view online content whether they like it or not, so don’t encourage them to resent you, offer them content that is worth their time and not a scroll through.

Compelling and creative content makes your brand memorable and often acts as a welcome intrusion in between the hundreds of space invading, predictable ads. Your content doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel, but it should stand out from the crowd in order to avoid getting lost in a sea of similar content, so show those thumbs who’s boss and create great content that isn’t just a one off!

With Social Media now being a leading gateway into the Millennial market, we understand its importance as part of an integrated marketing campaign as well as a stand alone route. At BAM we can offer you everything from tailored packages to complete account management. Get in touch to find out more.