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Get into Teaching Digital Campaign
Whose story will you inspire?

There is no question that the last few months have been an incredibly tough time for everyone and students are no exception. For final year students they have found themselves finishing years of hard work online and will be entering a challenging graduate employment market, as many employers are understandably withdrawing job opportunities.

Over the last year BAM has supported the Department for Education with their fantastic on-campus marketing, however with the implications of lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions we had to bring planned onsite activity to a close. However this certainly did not mean that all activity must come to an end. With this in mind we began planning a move to digital marketing to reach students, who naturally have been spending increased amounts of time online. At a time when recruiting the best quality teachers has never been more important, it was critical to continue to communicate the key messages of the Get Into Teaching campaign.

BAM created and developed a fully integrated digital strategy to market the Get Into Teaching vehicle the Department for Education uses to promote all aspects of teaching. From the outset our objective was to inspire students with real stories and showcase the critical impact teachers have on shaping the lives of children. Working with the Department for Education, we focused not only on teaching being a great career, but on the positive impact it makes to so many young people.

With 140 student brand ambassadors already recruited from Universities across England and Wales, we asked them to share their stories and experiences to allow us to identify 3 stories and help create engaging video content which has become the hero content of the campaign. These stories formed the basis for the creation of content across multiple student digital channels providing a coherent message throughout the activity. These real experiences were designed to encourage students to inspire the next generation of stories.

With the country in lockdown we have become a nation of avid quizzers, with friends and families across the UK hosting their very own quiz nights in a bid to stay connected. With this in mind, we formulated a school inspired quiz to be the centre of the gamified element of the campaign, by using back to the classroom school questions, to test students and find out if they ‘Think you’re smarter than when you were 16?”. To drive this campaign into the heart of the student market, we:

Designed and built a series of engaging online quizzes for our student brand ambassadors to share and promote via their social media channels. This authentic peer to peer approach has engaged students in the conversation and provided some much needed fun during these difficult times in lockdown
Secured display media across 20 Students’ Union websites
Secured official students union social media channels to share the video story organically to a combined audience of 1.25million
Secured news articles allowing a content approach via 15 student publishers to allow the video stories to expand
Secured adverts within 550,000 official university e-newsletters with a direct call to action to visit the Get into Teaching website
Built highly impactful HTML copy and secured solus email sends to 400,000 students to encourage students to watch the video stories and visit the campaign website to explore the opportunities available

BAM has worked closely with the Department for Education, developing new, fresh, creative content, managing the on-campus campaign from start to finish. The campaign is live and it’s delivering positive results and high levels of interaction. Through our campaign management and tracking we are able to monitor and optimise our approach allowing us to retarget messaging whilst we have an engaged audience to maximise impact. We are excited to continue to develop this campaign and engage with the student market.

If you would like to learn more about the Get Into Teaching digital campaign or for more information on how BAM can successfully connect your brand with the student market using the most effective approach, please contact us.

Will students be returning to University in September?
The latest insight from Students’ Unions

Last month we brought to you key insights from Students Unions across many Universities in the UK, detailing their plans for the new academic year and how the University landscape is looking for brands with students as their key demographic.

As lockdown measures begin to be released and guidance from the government continues to be updated, we wanted to find out if Universities have updated their plans and if they are any clearer on what the University sphere will look like. The insight gained is pivotal for brands to enable them to plan, strategise and act accordingly.

We sent our survey to 120 Universities across the UK, requesting updated feedback on their plans and intentions for the new academic year. We received an increase in responses with 43 Universities completing the survey within the time period.

In our last survey, 77% of Universities stated that they are looking to open as normal for the start of the new term. This has decreased to 58%, with 65% of Universities not having a clear understanding of exactly when physical lectures will resume, with virtual learning continuing to be at the forefront of academic plans.

There is a clear movement with Universities now reporting that they will be opening their doors to students come September. Latest announcements include the University of Nottingham and Swansea University. This trend is starting to build up a strong and viable market to promote to students, once again at a key brand interaction period of the student journey.

National press have been reporting of Universities moving to virtual lectures, indicating a sense that these universities would be closed to physical interaction. However this is misleading as these Universities are only planning on converting their lectures (mass gatherings indoors) to virtual. Cambridge University is a prime example of this. On the 19th May, The BBC reported with the headline ‘Cambridge University: All lectures to be online-only until summer of 2021’. The next day, the Senior Pro Vice Chancellor added a statement to help clarify the situation and not to cause confusion: “The University and the Colleges will welcome as many students as possible to Cambridge for the start of the next academic year, guided always by advice from Public Health England” and continued to state “Colleges are planning to offer a wide range of activities, and will work hard to build up community life, even in the midst of social distancing.”. There will still be physical face to face teaching in small groups, campuses will be open and students will be returning to University.

Continuing with the survey, the good news is that 67% of Universities stated that they are looking to host their Freshers Fair events as normal for the new academic year, which is consistent with the feedback from our previous survey. Again whilst this information is opinion based and subject to change, this is positive news for brands with students as a core sector. It is becoming more likely that physical Freshers Fairs WILL still take place, it is simply a case of when, with 48% of Universities still not having a clear picture of when they are likely to host the event. Based on our insight, trends and if the hold on the pandemic continues to improve, the number of Freshers Fairs held under social distancing measures at the start of the academic year will continue to increase as more Students’ Unions confirm event dates. Outdoor activities are seen as a safer environment, therefore this links to the fact more Students’ Unions will be hosting their fairs outdoors like the well established Bristol Freshers Fair in Clifton.

A significant 84% of Universities stated that they are looking to run a virtual Freshers Fair. It is likely that this will be as an addition to the physical Freshers Fair, not as an alternative. 39% of Universities are looking to host a virtual fair in September to try to ensure their new influx students can still enjoy the “Freshers” experience, until they are able to hold a physical fair at a later date. For brands this means they are faced with a unique opportunity to engage with students at two Freshers events, which is an opportunity not to be missed. Again 42% of Universities do not have a clear understanding of exactly when they will be hosting the virtual Freshers fairs, but hope this will become clearer over the coming weeks. With this in mind, brands should be considering how they can capitalise on both events and start planning how they can engage with students across the two Freshers platforms that will be available.

Information continues to develop in regards to halls of residence and how the facilitation of students into their new halls will work. 35% of Students’ Unions believe that students will be returning to halls of residence in September, whilst 55% are unsure when this will take place. Accommodation providers across the UK are gearing for business as normal, with increased social distancing and hygiene measures in place for the arrival of the new students. As the government continues to release lockdown measures, over the next few weeks we would expect to see a much clearer understanding.

Of course students are still accessible through digital means. 58% of Universities confirmed that they will start to or are still offering solus email sends in the new academic year. Email marketing is more powerful than ever, with the Digital Marketing Association suggesting that 66% of customers purchase as a result of an email marketing message. Our own research has shown that youth regularly check both their personal and university email accounts, with 90% of youth checking their personal email accounts daily whilst a similarly impressive 76% check their university email accounts daily. Email marketing remains an essential channel in any student marketing strategy, however with limited availability brands need to act fast to secure this highly coveted media.

If you would like to talk about marketing to students now or ahead of the new academic year, please get in touch.

List of the University Students’ Unions who completed the survey:

St Mary's University
The Students' Union at UWE
LSE Students Union
Durham Students' Union
Imperial College Union
University of Leicester Students' Union
Bucks Students' Union
Union of Brunel Students
BCUSU
Leeds Beckett Students' Union
Reading SU
Stirling
Middlesex University
Greenwich Students' Union
Worcester Students Union
Aberystwyth University Students' Union
Solent
Manchester SU
Edinburgh Napier Students' Association
Queen Mary Students' Union
University of Southampton Student Union
London Metropolitan University
Worcester Students' Union
Nottingham Trent Students Union
Cardiff Met SU
University of Northumbria
Chichester
Liverpool Guild of Students
University of Nottingham Students' Union
Teesside University Students' Union
SU Network - Kent Union
SU Network - Surrey SU
SU Network - Cambridge SU
SU Network - GK Unions
SU Network - Beds SU
SU Network - Oxford SU
University of Birmingham Guild of Students
Sheffield Students' Union
Anglia Ruskin University's SU
Newcastle University Students' Union
Lincoln Students' Union
University of Bath
Bath Spa University

Will Universities be running a Freshers’ Fair in September?

It is an ever-changing landscape. We do not know what the next few weeks, or months, hold for us. With mounting uncertainty about what lies ahead, it can be a daunting time for us not only as individuals but also as businesses.

As Covid-19 continues to impact the marketing sphere and impede our ability to connect with our key demographics, as a student marketing agency we wanted to find out how the University landscape is adapting and more importantly find out what the plans are for the looming new academic year.

Whilst we understand that this is an ever-moving picture, with guidelines and restrictions continuously being reviewed, we believe it is important for brands to understand what the future currently looks like in terms of marketing to students, to not only enable them to shape their future strategies to reflect the changes but to also provide optimism that opportunities are on the horizon.

We sent our short survey to 120 Universities across the UK, requesting their feedback on their current plans and intentions for the new academic year, 30 completed the survey within the timeframe of creating this article.

As it currently stands, 77% of Universities that replied, stated that they are looking to open as normal for the start of the new term, with the remaining 23% detailing that they are anticipating a delay to the start of the new year and are expecting remote learning and virtual interaction to play a major role.

70% of Universities went on to state that they are looking to host their Freshers Fair events as normal for the new academic year. Whilst this information is opinion based and subject to change, this is some extremely positive insight for brands with students as a core demographic. Of the 30% who are not looking to run their Freshers Fair events as normal, they detailed that they are likely to postpone their physical Freshers Fairs to a later date, potentially with a change to the organisation of the event to allow adequate social distancing. They also stated that there is the potential of hosting virtual fairs at the beginning of the new academic year but still run a physical event later in the year.

The key insight here is that Freshers Fairs are not canceled. Even if they do not take place at the beginning of the academic year, they will be taking place at some point, when Government restrictions and guidelines allow. So whilst brands may need to postpone Freshers’ activity, they should not be canceling their Freshers’ planning altogether. Freshers Fairs should still be a part of any student marketing strategy.

Another key insight is the introduction of virtual Freshers Fairs. This is a new opportunity for brands to engage with students at such a pivotal time. Whilst the interaction is not likely to surpass or even meet the levels of interaction experienced at a physical Freshers Fair, it is important for brands to be a part of the student journey, from the beginning, no matter what shape or form this takes.

The findings from our survey give a positive indication of what’s to come, but as mentioned this is a constantly moving picture. As a result and to stay connected with what is happening in the student marketing sphere, we will be surveying Universities every month to understand if the landscape depicted above has changed or if indeed their original plans are still in motion.

If you would like to talk about marketing to students now or ahead of the new academic year, please get in touch.

List of the University Students’ Unions who completed the survey:

Aberdeen University Students' Association
Bucks Students' Union
Cardiff Met SU
Chichester Students’ Union
City Students Union
Durham Students' Union
Edinburgh University Student Association
Exeter Guild of Students
Guild of Students University of Birmingham
Huddersfield SU
Imperial College Union
Leeds University Union
Middlesex University Students Union
Newcastle University Students' Union
Nottingham Trent Students' Union
Oxford Brookes Union
Queen Mary Students' Union
Solent Students' Union
Students Union Bournemouth University
Students' Union UCL
Teesside University Students' Union
The Students' Union at UWE
The University of St Andrews Students' Association
University of Bristol SU
University of Manchester Students' Union
University of Northumbria
University of Nottingham Students' Union
University of Plymouth Students Union
University of Stirling
Worcester Students Union

How is COVID-19 affecting youth trends and behaviours?

Youth trends, behaviours and opinions are forever changing, it is a market that is constantly evolving. Staying in tune with the youth market is a passion for BAM. By truly understanding this market we are able to provide brands with unique advice and insight, to ensure they are positioned correctly to connect with youth.

With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the implications this has placed on the University sphere, change has never been more prevalent. With this in mind we wanted to speak to students and find out exactly how this pandemic is affecting their lives, behaviours and purchasing habits.

We compiled survey responses across three surveys, with responses from over 1,000 candidates.

Where are students?

With Universities closed, learning moved to online and the advice to “stay at home” from the government, we wanted to know where students would be living. 60% of International students stated that they would be remaining in their student accommodation, whilst in contrast, 69% of UK students confirmed they would be returning to their family home.

We know from previous research that students are either already looking for accommodation for the next academic year, or will be in the coming months. Interestingly only 12% of students stated that they would be “holding back” from securing their accommodation due to the outbreak. In the competitive market that is student accommodation, now is not the time for providers to be complacent. You can still connect and access students, and the time is now.

Where are students online?

So we know where students are going to be physically, but for a generation who already relies heavily on the digital world, where are they going to be online?

Unsurprisingly almost all students (98%) confirmed that the amount of time they spend online will increase during this period, with 55% of students stating that they would be spending 3-5 hours online every day, with 26% of students stating they will spend over 6 hours online every day.

3/4 of all students stated that they would be spending most of their time on social media. This was closely followed by online streaming services for video, TV and music. These statistics do not really differ from students’ usual online migration habits, however the effect of COVID-19 is certainly going to increase the dwell time with students seeking to stay connected and trying to beat the boredom.

Do students welcome emails?

Email marketing is more powerful than ever, with the Digital Marketing Association suggesting that 66% of customers purchase as a result of an email marketing message. Our own research has shown that youth regularly check both their personal and university email accounts, with 90% of youth checking their personal email accounts daily whilst a similarly impressive 76% check their university email accounts daily.

Whilst other forms of advertising such as programmatic can be seen by students as “intrusive”, email is not considered an intrusive form of advertising. Why? Because students have logged into their accounts to see what emails they have received, it is on their terms, and so they are open to communication from brands.

How are students purchasing habits changing?

With limitations and restrictions placed on going outside, purchasing habits across the nation will inevitably change and students are no different, with 67% believing their online shopping habits will change.

What’s the biggest change? Food shopping online.

We know from our previous research into the trends between youth and food that 94% of students regularly shop at supermarkets. We now see a shift in this behaviour, with 60% of students confirming that they will be ordering their usual supermarket shop online.

We know that almost all students (94%) eat takeaways, with ⅔ of students stating that they order takeaways at least a couple of times a month up to a couple of times a week. During this period students confirmed that they would still be purchasing takeaways. What is key to remember is that students have always been deterred by delivery charges with any online purchase, whether that is food, fashion or the latest gadgets. Offering free delivery has never been so important, allowing students to stay at home.

Are students still spending?

Absolutely. With 68% stating that the implications of COVID-19 will have little to no impact on their income, students will still be spending. In fact, students confirmed that in all likelihood they will be spending more.

There has never been a more important time to connect with students. It is a time of uncertainty and many students will be feeling anxious about what is to come. Brands who can support students and show they understand the impact on their lives through this time will form solid, life long relationships with the consumer of tomorrow. In a time where virtual communication is paramount, start building that connection now.

We know where students are online and we know how to access them. With a plethora of channels available to brands we know it can be a challenge to know how to approach students to achieve the best engagement. So please get in touch with our team, even for a reassuring chat to know this market is still alive for brands to reach out to, because it is still very much alive.

HOSTELWORLD’s “Escape to the world” campaign

BRIEF

Hostelworld, the world’s number one hostel booking website, is the leading provider of online reservations for the budget, independent and youth travel market. In the summer of 2014, Hostelworld turned to BAM to help facilitate the UK part of its global ‘Escape to the World’ campaign. The campaign involved launching a fantastic competition to win 3 all-expenses-paid trips of a lifetime. Our objectives were to:

Drive entries to the ‘My Awesome Escape’ competition, collecting at least 50,000 UK student email addresses
Increase brand awareness and engagement with the Hostelworld brand among the student market

APPROACH

With vast experience of the student market, we knew there was a great opportunity to build excitement and brand awareness as well as generating valuable student email data. We designed a creative and strategic multi-channel approach:

Pre-registrations
Making use of ‘opt out’ permissions on relevant student events in May, we were able to email with permission, inviting students to enter the Hostelworld competition

Incentivising Students’ Unions
We created the Hostelworld Union Challenge, where Students’ Unions could compete to gain the most student entries for a chance to win an awesome prize. Sixteen Unions battled it out to win a selection of cracking prizes, including a 30ft inflatable cinema screen with projection system. The Unions used their full range of media, from student email sends to display, online, and social channels, with BAM supplying artwork for all their needs. Each Union had a designated landing page, and a BAM-built platform to track entries from each Union.

Delivering fun and brand recognition for Hostelworld was as important to us as email data. As such, our promo teams visited a selection of university campuses, summer balls and graduation events armed with green screens, inflatables and silly props for students to take Hostelworld-branded photos of themselves in exotic locations. Students simply had to enter the competition to join in the fun, photos were posted on Twitter, and shared widely on social media by the students themselves.

Media Drive

Official student email databases
We pushed emails through our collection of official student email databases, which exceeds 500,000 addresses.

SMS messaging
Based on geographical location, several thousand targeted text messages were sent directly to FE/ HE students.

Online advertising
Targeted web advertising helped build presence online through a network of the most popular student-related websites in the UK and overseas.

Social media
A selection of the most popular student-focused social media channels were utilised which included official Students’ Union accounts and other highly popular student social media pages.

Brand ambassadors
Our own brand ambassadors took to the ground in selected UK universities and were tasked with using their personal social media feeds in a race against the other reps to achieve 2,000 entries.

With Universities closing, do you know how to access students?

One of our favourite motto’s here at BAM is “where there is a will, there is a way”, if you have enough drive and determination, anything is achievable. With every challenge comes an opportunity, with every problem there is a solution and when one door closes another one opens.

Our mission is to connect brands with the youth market. We work with brands to establish an effective strategy that is underpinned by their persona and objectives to engage with the consumers of the future. Our experience and extensive research into this market provides us with the unique ability to provide the best possible advice to our clients. We know what students want from brands. We know how they want to be communicated to. We know what motivates them to buy. But most importantly of all, we know where they are and how to access them.

Whilst limitations are being placed on how we can access students, you may feel that this market is inaccessible or you may be concerned about how you can continue to impact the marketing objectives your business needs to achieve.

BAM are here to tell you that the youth market is still very much alive and still extremely accessible for brands. Students still have access to expendable cash, students are still receptive to brands and students are looking to #beattheboredom. This is where you come in.

It is time to adapt your strategy and time to get creative. With a plethora of channels waiting to be utilised, this is the prime time to engage with students and target them where they will be.. online!

So let’s look at some options:

Email Marketing

Email marketing is more powerful than ever with an estimated 66% of consumers purchasing as a direct result of a targeted email. With 90% of students checking their emails daily, email marketing has the ability to reach a receptive audience.

Social Media Marketing

From paid ads to scroll stopping content, the opportunities to advertise through this medium are vast and with youth spending an average of 14hours a week on social platforms, it is a sitting audience waiting to be targeted.

Youth Focussed Platforms

From sponsorships and targeted takeovers to emails and programmatic, youth focussed platforms provide brands with the opportunity to connect with 90% of the student population, providing maximum exposure and delivering maximum results.

Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a unique advertising channel that, when harnessed correctly, can provide outstanding results, as it empowers the same emotive buying triggers of face to face experiential.

Live Streaming Experiential Marketing

Online experiential marketing provides high engagement and interaction through gamification and competitive jeopardy. With live video streaming brands can bring their experiential campaign to life through online channels and experiences, creating an instant buzz and leaving a long lasting brand footprint.

Certainly some food for thought!

But with these and so many channels available to brands, how do you know which to choose and how will you know which ones will work best for your brand, to generate maximum ROI?

This is exactly where we come in!

BAM has an in-depth understanding of the market and has extensive connections within the industry, which means we are best placed to advise you on the best solutions for your brand. So don’t let your marketing plans fall by the wayside. Adapt and seize opportunities.

Start by getting in touch with our talented team today and let us help you to immerse your brand into the youth market, then sit back and simply reap the rewards.

Our guide to award-winning experientials

It’s a new year and a new decade and just as we move forward with the times, we’re moving forward with experiential marketing, with BAM’s guide to award-winning experiential in 2020.

Experiential marketing is the live interaction between a brand and a consumer, representing the brand and product’s key emotional and functional benefits, stimulating the senses in order to achieve a deep and long lasting connection with the audience.

To help brands achieve this connection, BAM has put together the following 4 guidelines to success.

Strive to make the ordinary extraordinary

Whether you’re the latest insta coveted fashion brand or a humble homeware business, your brand and offering should never limit your potential with experiential.

You should always take a creative approach to experiential marketing, no matter now mundane your product or service may be. You should always look for a strong single-minded idea that brings both credibility and excitement to your brand, while resonating with your target audience on the spot and long into the future. Great creative goes beyond content, focusing more on the experience – seeing it, wanting it and getting it.

Reinvent the wheel

Brand are constantly told that they don’t need to reinvent the wheel in order to be successful, but we disagree when this comes to experiential. Consumers crave the new, the now and the instagrammable.

When an idea and concept has been done, it’s also been seen. Your experiential should always aim to innovate, showcase the new and provide consumers with a unique and memorable experience, don’t just add your spin on an existing idea, take the time to create, curate and execute concepts with a wow factor, be the first to do it and remain the first brand that comes to mind for doing it!

Pay attention to the details

From the messaging behind the concept to the physical design of the concept itself, no questions should be left unanswered, covering every touch point, as the devil really is in the detail.

The consumer journey needs to be clear and concise, avoiding confusion and ensuring the messaging and campaign aim resonates with each and every participant.

Matching this level of mental detail should be the physical details. If a concept is worth creating, it’s worth creating well, fill all available space in the best way possible and always add those finishing touches and subtle design elements, that although might not be obvious at first, ultimately take your experiential to the next level.

Entice the senses

Seeing is believing and the temptation to touch will always be there. Listening to the music, tasting the flavours of the new and now and smelling the sweet scent of creativity – the final secret to award winning experiential is to amplify the five senses through concepts with a multi-sensual effect.

Get in touch with our team to see what ideas we can develop to bring your brand to life.

Promotional Staff and their Key Features

Trade shows, exhibitions and fairs are all environments that have ideal opportunities to create customer relationships and valuable experiences. With promotional staff you can get the best out of all these events.

Promotional staff need to have quality and skills in various areas including personality, reliability, leadership and professionalism. Mix all of these together and you get the perfect staff for your brand.

Personality is vital. The promotional staffing role is growing and adapting to the new digital world. With a number of different ways to engage a customer, personality is key in order to really sell the brand you are working on. Having outgoing, approachable and honest staff makes the process of building a relationship with customers a lot easier.

Reliability is something our Promotional Staff pride themselves on. We invest time and effort into our staff in order to keep them motivated and ready to go for any campaigns they are on. Being reliable and prepared is what is needed to create a stress free and effective campaign.

Leadership is a skill which is inevitable in Promoting brands and products. Using your own initiative and going out of your way to really gage customers is a skill within itself. Taking the first step is crucial and allows the rest of the team to step up and really engage and create customer relationships.

Professionalism when working with brands is always at the forefront of our Promotional Staff’s mind. Our teams play a vital role for clients who invest in promotional staff in order to get the best out of the campaign. Even though the Promotional Staff are not employed by the clients directly they need to be completely on brand throughout. In order to meet the needs of our client we offer training and ensure our staff are as fully briefed before the shifts start so they can be on-message and ready to answer any questions potential customers may have.

If you would like to know more about promotional staff and how they can help market your brand, get in touch with our team today.

Introducing you to BAM 2.0
The future is experiential

Keeping with the infamous trend of ‘new year, new me’, We’ve made some changes around here, and we’d like to introduce you to BAM 2.0, the new and improved experiential marketing and promotional staffing agency, with a talent for youth.

A full-service marketing agency, experienced and equipped to deliver innovative solutions, effective strategy, and prolific execution, BAM has a rich history of executing both youth and student marketing campaigns, combined with a passion and flair for creative, hard-working, and record breaking campaigns and activations.

Through an in-depth understanding of our client’s brand and ambitions, we develop bespoke solutions and create fresh ideas that deliver campaigns that exceed expectations, so whether dipping into the youth and student market or a full end to end integrated campaign, when brands work with BAM they always see amazing results.

So what’s new?

Although youth marketing remains very much an integral part of our culture and a core element of BAM, we are playing to our strengths in 2020 onwards, branching out to reach a wider audience, using our transferable skills and knowledge of the markets to dominate campaigns and activations within sectors outside of the youth demographic.

Why now?

Although students are still very much our bread and butter, the demand and increase to target those who fall outside this bracket has now become just as sought after, as brands come to BAM for the best of the best in marketing solutions for every audience out there.

Over recent years we have shifted from providing brands with youth only focused campaigns, to being the complete one stop shop for all brands general marketing needs, delivering powerful and memorable experiential campaigns for all ages and on a global scale.

From the UK to the US, and Germany to Kazakhstan BAM has grown from strength to strength and with over 21 years of experience executing award winning experiential marketing campaigns for some of the worlds biggest brands, now is the time we expand once again, continuing on our journey of success, seeking new ventures and hitting new milestones throughout the new decade!

If you would like to know more about BAM and our future growth plans, please get in touch.

And that’s a wrap for 2019…

As the dust finally settles from the new year excitement and the 2020 changes are now in full swing, it’s time to reflect on our 2019 and what a memorable year it was for many reasons – from record breaking temperatures and a new PM to the rugby world cup and a new Royal baby. 2019 was also one to remember for the team here at BAM – from winning new clients and growing our team to winning awards and having our best year on record, here are some standout moments from the year.

We started 2019 by welcoming our new client, Clarins, on board. In January we signed of the My Nature, My Clarins campaign. The impressive airstream toured across 14 campuses from Exeter to Edinburugh showcasing the brand’s latest beauty line of ethical, natural, vegan friendly products. Clarins distributed goody bags filled with freebies of the new range, alongside smoothies which were made up of the same ingredients of the products!

In February, BAM were instructed by Hollister to conduct a European research project to understand the buying habits of millennials. BAM travelled to London and Berlin to run focus groups and shopalongs with students and parents to understand a deeper mentality to retail purchasing.

May saw BAM selected via a competitive pitch process to support the Department for Education with the 2019/20 Get into Teaching campaign. This would be our largest student brand manager campaign to date (and possibly the current largest in the UK). The Department for Education entrusted BAM to deliver what would be their highest target on record. We kicked off the campaign in style attending over 60 freshers fairs before assembling an army of student brand managers UK wide to register interest for the Get into Teaching events.

In September we attended the IPM COGS Awards. We managed to scoop a gold award for the best experiential and events award, for our campaign with PizzaExpress. We conducted market research within the student space for PizzaExpress. We then devised a campaign plan which was based on driving awareness of PizzaExpress amongst students. We did this by refining the offering so it was clearer for students to understand. We kickstarted the campaign taking over kitchens in 6 accommodation blocks, across 3 cities by branding up the kitchens and placing free pizza’s in to the fridges, for when students arrive at university. Alongside this we also attended fresher’s fairs distributing their famous dough balls and a variety of freebies. We had

interaction with over 130,000 students throughout the campaign and 94% of the restaurants within a 5 mile radius of the campaign activity saw a dramatic increase in sales.

There was no let up after freshers as in October, as BAM hit the road once again, but this time touring the UK with Wagamama on their ‘teppvanyaki’ food tour. The food truck was a huge hit on campus where fresh vegan noodles were handed out to hungry students throughout the duration of the tour!

With the success of 2019, we cannot wait to see what we can achieve in 2020. Watch this space!