Just when a business thinks they know their audience, new technologies, new behaviours and even new audiences appear that shake the market once again.
At BAM knowing students is our bread and butter and we’ve got 20 years of experience that proves it. So after two decades of connecting brands with the student audience, we’ve got pretty good at predicting the next big trends that connect these consumers in the ever-changing landscape of Student Marketing.
Transparency is key
We strive to continue to develop the latest technologies, but as we do so we also make it possible for our consumers to view and track us at every stage of the development and delivery journey.
This is why Transparency is more important than ever before. If you’ve got something to hide then you should be prepared for this to be found out.
Communication will always happen between humans, this works in your favour if you are a transparent brand with a lot of positives to showcase, but it will work against you if your product or service journey isn’t meeting the ethical or moral ideals of your audience.
The 2019 student is more conscientious than ever before, they care about where their products come from and the process that gets them to their door.
Transparency is now key in winning the hearts, trust and most importantly, the Capital of the student consumer. Share your values, goals and processes in a transparent and authentic way and your brand will be rewarded.
A password protected lifestyle
After all the hacking’s, breaches of data and invasions of privacy over the past year, people have seriously clued up about their online security and are more cautious than ever before, with students being no exception.
No matter the size of your business, you should ensure your security is meticulous, even if this isn’t obvious to your consumers, they still deserve thorough online protection when it comes to their details, data and privacy.
You may think that in 2019 that this is now a compulsory business requirement, but it’s not and customers are starting to notice this. Win the trust of the student consumer by promising them your bullet proof protection and increase your reputation of online safety and watch students favour you over your competitors who have not been as fail safe with their online security.
Becoming the face of your brand
As a brand your audience is everything to you. Utilise this and start to make your student consumers part of your student brand stories.
Students connect with students, even if they share no other connecting qualities or factors, they are all united by the fact that they are students and they trust each others recommendations and reviews.
Whether you include students in your brand stories though publishing testimonials, recruiting student Brand Ambassadors or even curate a place for students to discuss and review your brand online, showcasing your engagement and activity with this audience will inevitably influence the student market into seeing your brand in a positive and student loved light. It also provides you an organic and cost effective way of bypassing traditional influencer marketing.
Think Visual
It’s no secret that the use of imagery and strong visuals has been a fast growing trend in general marketing within the last 5 years, but taking this one step further in 2019, visual searches are set to become the norm.
Today’s students have grown up alongside the highly visual and engaging worlds of Instagram and Facebook and as a result of this constant bombardment of digital imagery has become a part of their everyday lives.
Although voice searching is also on the increase, when it comes to a more accurate and specific search, the future is visual.
A pioneer in this technology, Google, has long enabled reverse-image searching, but more recent developments in recording technology now makes it possible for consumers to take real world pictures and accurately and effectively find information about the subject of the image.
Pinterest was one of the first student favourite sites to implement this lens feature back in February 18, with ASOS following close behind by launching its Style Match reverse image search for shoppable clothes in March 18.
Although it is unlikely that visual search will replace text based searching over the next year, or even within the next few years, it does open the door to a new word of exciting possibilities that will inevitably play a large part in the future of searching (Sentance, 2016).
Want to find out more about the student marketing trends of 2019? Get in touch with our experts today!
Sentance, R. (2016). The new wave of visual search: what it can do, and what might be possible. Available: https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/10/13/the-new-wave-of-visual-search-what-it-can-do-and-what-might-be-possible/. Last accessed 21st Jan 2019.
It’s never too late to engage with students!
Whether you were late to the party for this years Freshers or you simply want more time on campus in front of students, Refreshers is the perfect time to communicate with the student market. The motto of ‘a student isn’t just for Freshers’ is in full swing at this time of the year and is being shouted from the rooftops at BAM HQ, as we drive home the importance of continuous engagement throughout the year. Just like Freshers, Refreshers is a major date in the academic calendar for students, with many Universities up and down the country recognising its value and investing more time and money into it.
Get your brand in front of 130,000 students this winter
With footfall levels ranging from 500 to 5,000, Refreshers is an excellent opportunity to introduce or reacquaint your brand to large, open minded student audiences across the UK. January is a key time to re-engage as many students will be returning to campus following the Christmas break in a much more financially healthy position than they may have been before leaving. This can be attributed in part by additional Christmas money, plus any savings brought forward from part-time seasonal work. However a key thing to remember is that the final instalments of their maintenance loans will be paid during this month. One can argue that a student in January is just as (or possibly even more) likely to engage with a new brand and make a purchase than a student in September.
New Year. New Me
It also worth noting that students will be returning to University with new goals, aims and resolutions for the upcoming year in order to better themselves and their University experience. This could be starting at the gym, eating more healthily, dedicating more time to study or maybe even a gap year. This is a major opportunity for brands to capitalise on these feelings of spontaneity!
It doesn’t have to break the bank
With prices for on-site stalls starting from as little as £200 there really is an option suitable for all budgets, sizes and requirements. If you want to go big with an experiential – go for it. Or if you want something smaller and intimate – no problem. If you attended Freshers it is extremely important to keep momentum going and continue to build new relationships with students and nurture existing ones by getting you brand booked into Refreshers – don’t let all your hard work go to waste.
We already have the details of more than 30 Refreshers fairs confirmed (with plenty more to come!) so now is the best time to get in touch and secure your spaces!
Kazakhstan – An untouched market
For those who follow BAM’s adventures you will be well aware that we are frequent visitors to the land of Kazakhstan, working with our friends at Burger King helping them to crack an untouched student market. As we enter our 3rd year of consultancy with this renowned brand, it was time to take things up a notch.
Over the past few years we have been working hard to lay the foundations to ensure Burger King are best place to reap the rewards of what we know is a lucrative market. Having never targeted the student market before, BAM had to ensure that everything was in place and ready for their first ever experiential launch.
Whilst onsite experiential may seem like a glaringly obvious marketing channel to reach students here in the UK, over in Kazakhstan, campuses are untouched by brands. It was time to break new ground and take the Burger King student campaign on the road.
There was no time to rest, our team had to fully maximise the time we had. First on the agenda was to fully brief and train restaurant staff to ensure they were on board and understood the concept of the campaign so that once our promotional activity started to drive students into restaurant, they were primed and ready to continue the experience through their service.
What was the concept? Building on the success of the King Flip coin, our aim was to increase the number of King Flip Coins in circulation. The King Flip Coin is essentially the gateway to amazing student discounts, offers and giveaways. However in true BAM style we simply do not just give them away, we wanted students to physically interact with the brand to create a lasting impression as a value exchange. As this is the first activity of it’s kind we wanted to keep it simple yet successful, something that the spin to wheel has a proven track record of.
With everything ready and an abundance of prizes to give away, we hit the road. Targeting 4 University campuses, shopping malls and even setting up in Burger King restaurants the campaign was in full motion. Having not seen anything like this before, students were excited and yet just a little bit suspicious, not quite believing that they were going to win something on the spot with many claiming it must be too good to be true. The proof is in the pudding as they say and so as we directed the students loaded with their branded freebies and vouchers to the nearest restaurant, we knew they were going to be pleasantly surprised.
The science is simple, students love to be made to feel special and simply love freebies. Wherever you are in the world this will always be the case and this was proven in Kazakhstan. Students flocked to the stand wanting a chance to win a prize and claim their voucher. Within this short space of time of live activity, over 2500 students interacted with the brand and played the Spin To Win game. A fantastic start to the campaign and a boost to Burger King’s student email database, which is essential for continued engagement and marketing.
Interactions are one thing, redemptions are another. Driving students into restaurant was the ultimate goal and so true success lay in the redemption figures. Hundreds of student headed straight into the restaurants to redeem their voucher, resulting in a redemption rate of over 50% whilst restaurants also experienced significantly higher spend rates from students as they redeemed their free treats. Burger King had officially landed in the student market.
Making the most of the opportunity to engage with students on mass, we ensured that the secondary message of the campaign was also deployed. The Burger King Brand Ambassador campaign needed new recruits and we were on the hunt for the very best students to apply. Sure enough applications rolled in as students jumped at the chance to work for this super brand.
Burger King were still new to the world of Brand Ambassador’s, so we used our extensive experience and knowledge of running these programmes to kick start their campaign for 2018/19. Utilising every second of our time we vetted, interviewed, selected and trained budding Ambassadors providing Burger King with 9 enthusiastic students to get the ball rolling.
Before we left we set out a strategic plan for the Burger King Team to deliver over the following weeks to continue to amazing work and success we had seen during our visit. Experiential activity is our bread and butter, something we live and breathe here is the UK. It was an absolute privilege to share this expertise with our friends at Burger King, propelling them to become the leading brand in the student sphere.
We are already plotting how to up the ante for phase 2 of the campaign where the BAM team will be back in Kazakhstan in early 2019. So stay tuned for more firsts and adventures in the country that is fast becoming our new home from home.
StudentUniverse ‘Aussie News Today’ Tour
StudentUniverse have long been targeting the student market, spreading awareness of their brand and offering. With a chance to win amazing return tickets to destinations across the globe, students simply loved the brand and StudentUniverse experienced amazing success at Freshers Fairs across the years.
Something we always talk about here at BAM is keeping the message alive and the fact that students are for life not just for Freshers.
Whilst Freshers is the pinnacle time of year to target this savvy demographic, it is important to continue connecting with them throughout University and beyond.
After the success of StudentUniverse’s GetMeToOz campaign of 2017, they were keen to maintain engagement with a campaign targeting term 2 of the academic year 2017/18.
Their key objectives were:
To cause a big splash on campus, creating a buzz and familiarising students with the brand and what they have to offer
Data collection
To drive bookings through the discount codes distributed to students
With the objectives and locations set, we were ready to start putting the “AussieNewsToday” tour on the road. How did we make a splash on campus? Our specially recruited team of enthusiastic promotional staff drove a fully branded awe inspiring campervan to the designated locations across the UK.
The campervan certainly created a buzz on campus! Not content, our team also took with them a handball machine where students competed for the chance to win an amazing trip of a lifetime to Australia.
The on campus activity was supported by digital media through the Students’ Unions to create excitement for the tour arriving and to further enforce the brand message.
Taking full advantage and making the most of the campervan, we organised a host of PR days which involved the campervan visiting some of the UK’s most renowned landmarks. The campervan certainly got around and this created the media buzz we had hoped for.
This certainly was a fun campaign for us to work on and we love working with StudentUniverse. However the campaign was not without its challenges. Along the way we faced not only lecturer strikes but two snow storms! But at BAM we do not let anything stand in our way of delivering for our clients and the results of this epic campaign saw every objective being achieved and one very happy client!
We can’t wait to get started on the next adventure.
BAM Agency in the Big Apple
Each year our busy Freshers season sees our team rack up a huge amount of miles on the road but this year we cranked it up a notch with a quick trip to the Big Apple to present at this years YMS NYC event.
BAM are long standing contributors to the YMS series of events. We are regulars at the renowned London based events and over recent years we have been adding a little British flavour to the sister events that take place in Berlin and New York. Once again we were very excited to be back in the Big Apple to share some of our unique insight and experience of the student market.
The two day event was hosted at the super cool Industry City venue in the heart of Brooklyn, providing a unique location and one that we have become accustomed to over recent years. In additions to the awesome venue there were some amazing speakers from some of the biggest youth brands from across the globe including Snapchat, Converse, Coca Cola, EA, Gymshark and ASOS and of course BAM.
Day 1 featured the student stream which provided a great opportunity to understand more about the US student sphere allowing us to recognise not only the similarities but also the differing factors that impact the student market. It provided us great insight and enhanced knowledge that we can inject into our current campaigns, in particular our UK wide Brand Ambassador programme for the New York Times.
Day 2 saw BAM’s Managing Director, Tim Bodenham present some of the latest research and insight on key brand wins in the student space and how brands are achieving success. Tim shared his experience of building brand love and loyalty drawing on examples from our recent successful campaigns alongside our latest research revealing what students value from the brands they love.
Never one to miss an opportunity to impart wisdom in a cultural exchange, Tim educated our American friends on what depicts a real Sausage roll, the likes of which none of them had ever seen. There is certainly a gap in the market for a British sausage roll in the US, and on the flip side Tim introduced to an amazing game, named Corn Hole. It turns out Tim was pretty good.
Up next the team are off to the Savage Marketing event in Berlin. We are already counting down to our next big adventure. Stay tuned!
The power of words
After over 20 years of helping brands connect with students, there is still one area in which we still see the same mistakes being made… Language.
Everything from your responses on Social Media, to your choice of words on your Freshers Fair backdrop needs to resonate with the student consumer and more importantly needs to reflect your brand or business.
But we’re not just talking about nailing your tone of voice, that’s already a given! You also need to focus on the words themselves, so if you’re at a loss for words? It could be the case that your ads are too.
As a businesses with a student focus, you’re already competing with thousands of other advertisers for this audience’s eyes. Whether this is online, offline or every other targeting route you can think of!
This is why you have to make your message not just clear but crystal clear. Students aren’t mind readers, so don’t expect them to be. They shouldn’t have to read between the lines to discover what your brand, product or offering actually is. Saying this, don’t just state the obvious either. Don’t dumb it down but don’t be so elusive that they have no idea who you are, or what you do. You need to think of every route of written communication as the first handshake between your brand and your student consumer.
From every first encounter you need to make yourselves clear. Who are you? What do you have to offer? And why you and students are such a good match? You want to form connections with these students, so always keep in mind that if consumers are confused or fail to easily answer any of these questions, then a connection isn’t looking likely!
So when it comes to writing that ticks all the student boxes, follow these 4 simple tips:
1. Using bigger words won’t make you look or sound smarter In fact, it can actually do the opposite. To sound smart, you’ve got to stop trying to sound smart. Great writing is often simple writing, a good idea delivered clearly and concisely. Why explain yourselves in 100 fancy words when you can do it in 10 simple ones?
2. Have something to say If you’re struggling to describe who you are and what you do, this is going to show. When you have nothing to say, you often feel forced to write sentences that may sound meaningful, but in reality deliver nothing. You need to know how to summarise your business. Understanding how to do this will always make your writing much easier and quicker.
3. Make each word count and keep them active Boring sentences bore people, it really is that simple. You need to put your audience first and yourself in the background. Focus on messages that speak to them and engages them from the very first sentence. Don’t waste space with words such as ‘very’ and ‘rather’. Use active words such as ‘you’, ‘need’ and ‘now’.
4. Keep it easy It sounds easy because it is. This is probably the most important tip of all. Wherever possible keep it easy. Easy to read, easy to digest, easy to engage with and easy to share. If you’re falling flat at any of these points, you’ll struggle stand a chance in the student market.
If you want to know more or want some advice from one of our industry experts, get in touch today!
BAM celebrates 20 years
This month BAM Student Marketing celebrates its 20th year in business. As we enter this massive milestone, we thought we would take a stroll down memory lane to appreciate how far we have come, how much we have grown and how much we have achieved in those 20 years.
The story of BAM begins way back in 1998 where Tim Bodenham was a sabbatical officer at Swansea Institute. Whilst running the athletic union and entertainments program, Tim also managed the media sales for the Union. After two years of sabbatical duties , Tim realised there was a gap in the market, there was no agency promoting student media nationally, there was a need for a service and this is where BAM was born.
Seeing the potential in the student market and the opportunity for brands, BAM began collating details of all the media opportunities available to advertise to students through University channels. Over the next few years the database began to grow and so did BAM.
By 2005 BAM started to develop exclusive partnerships with students organisations across the UK where we sold their media on their behalf. We were essentially an exclusive booking agent for student organisations and a one stop shop for brands looking to advertise to students.
In 2009 BAM relocated to Cheltenham and as they company continued to grow as the demand for the service we provided continued to increase, by 2011 BAM were working exclusively with 46 student organisations.
It was at this point that the strategic management team realised that they had more to offer not only student organisations and the market, but also brands. With years of unprecedented access to this lucrative market, we knew it’s potential for brands, we knew what students wanted from a brand and we had the experience to gain great results for brands. So in 2011 BAM conducted a strategic review which led to the business re focusing the services we provide to become a full end to end provider for our clients.
Over the next few years BAM began to blossom. By 2014 BAM had expanded it services to include consultancy, staffing and social marketing, offering clients the best, most effective routes to market. Since then BAM has gone from strength to strength, honing in on what we do best. We now not only offer brands the option of full-service youth marketing campaigns from concept creation through to campaign evaluation, and everything in-between but also pride ourselves on our unparalleled knowledge of the market. With continued research, analysis and understanding into the trends and behaviours, we are ambassadors of the student market. Regularly attending marketing events from the UK to New York, sharing our knowledge and expertise to show brands exactly why they should be marketing to students and exactly what makes this market so lucrative.
BAM are proud to be working with brands both nationally and across the globe. As our portfolio of clients continues to expand, our team are passionate in their quest to deliver innovative, creative and bespoke services that put us ahead of rest.
As we enter our 20th Anniversary, not only can we appreciate how far we have come but also look to the future and imagine where we will be in the next 20 years. As we strive to be the UK’s leading student marketing experts, our aim is to continue to increase awareness of the power of the student market and continue to provide our clients with outstanding results.
Skyrocketing since it first made its mark, Influencer marketing is now common place for the Millennial generation and beyond. Born from a mix of the transforming digital landscape and a growing shift in purchasing behaviour, over the years Influencer marketing has become present everywhere and anywhere.
Celebrity endorsements were a highly influential factor in the purchasing decisions of the 90’s which continued all the way through to the late 2000’s. However with the current 18-25 market no longer trusting this rather transparent sales approach, Social Media Influencers have taken over.
But when it comes to getting advice and recommendations on what to wear, what to do and where to go, there are still people we trust more than even the most authoritative online Influencers; our peers!
Your friends and fellow students don’t have to be a certified expert for you to trust what they say, however it is your shared experiences, similarities in lifestyle and the general unity of students that generates this trust their peers opinion.
Helping enthusiastic students share their passions with a like minded audience is something we do best. We connect Student Influencers with the best brands and business around the globe, helping them broadcast their valuable opinions with those around them. But that’s not the only advantage of becoming an Influencer with BAM. Check out these 3 key reasons to become a BAM Student Influencer:
You get paid
Whether you’re reviewing a textbook, promoting an event on campus or attending a fashion launch on behalf of your university, students always get paid for their work and time. We want real opinions from real students, and this candid honesty is invaluable to both us and our clients! On top of this our Influencer’s are often gifted the products they review and they are often given free entry to events the brand promotes.
You don’t have to be Insta-famous
As weird as it may sounds, you do not even have to be online at all!
If you are a head of a society, involved in university specific groups or are just the go to girl or guy on campus, then you are just the person we are looking for!
A relatively strong social following is still advantageous, but we’re not after the future Kim Kardashian of Instagram. We don’t work with students solely based on numbers, we look for those who are open to talking about products and services with their fellow students, whether this be from behind a screen or face to face!
You can make real connections
Most jobs will say great networking opportunities go hand in hand with the role, but with BAM that really is the case. Just as we work closely with some of the biggest global brands, so can our Influencers! These brands want to hear what you have to say, they trust your opinion and they want your honest feedback.
We work with brands and businesses across every sector out there. Food, fashion, travel and entertainment are just a few of the industries our clients are dominant in. Our Influencers have the opportunity to connect with these amazing brands and become a true advocate for them. An opportunity not to be missed for any budding Influencer.
So whether you are a brand looking for the very best Influencers for your product or service, or if indeed you think you could be the next best thing in Influencer marketing, get in touch with our team today, we would love to hear from you!
How to successfully re brand
At first glance, the idea of re branding your business or brand may seem like nothing but a fun, new and exciting thought. However, if you’ve ever done it before you already know that designing logos, picking colour themes and customising fonts, although fun, only make up the smallest portion of the process.
If you want to re brand and re brand successfully, you’ve got to go the whole way! A logo revamp may seem like a huge brand change, but what good is a face lift that makes you look 50 when you’re still acting 100 years old? Re branding needs to start from within. Right from the visual look and creative feel of your new brand identity, to how your customers will react and feel towards your brand. Effective re branding encompasses a whole number of factors, factors that always require a whole lot of planning and a seemingly infinite number of considerations.
But don’t worry, we’re here to make this often complicated process easier to digest in 3 easy steps:
It’s all in your head
The first, and frankly most important, step in any re branding process isn’t a physical or even customer or company related change. It’s a psychological change of mindset and outlook on the process that lies ahead. You need to view this change in a positive light.
Needing a re brand is not a bad thing, nor a sign of failure or defeat, but the complete opposite! Many of the worlds most successful companies have had a re brand, from startups to Fortune 500’s, re branding is not a negative, so neither should your thoughts towards it be.
If you go into any re branding viewing the changes ahead as your last ditch attempt or your only hope for growth and success, then you can expect your outcome to reflect these views. Positivity encourages positivity, so no matter what the circumstances are that have got you to this place, it’s onwards and upwards from here on out!
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
The biggest mistake a business can make is to re brand just for the hell of it. If you’re experiencing your first dry patch or even just getting bored, re branding isn’t necessarily the spark of life your business needs and it should never be the first route taken as an answer to your problems.
With any changes that will affect your business, there should always be a clear goal in mind, re branding included. You need to fully understand the reasons for making any change, no matter how great or small.
Saying this, there are 3 key signs to look for that often mean re branding may be the right route for you! The first being your target demographic has changed. As your business grows, so may your audience and it is this broadening in demographic that needs to be reflected in your branding. The most common example of this type of re brand is an already established business making changes to appeal to the highly desirable millennial generation (Lakra, 2017).
The second reason a re brand may be in order is that there’s new competition out there. New trends in consumer taste and choice may be having an affect on your industry, leading to an influx of new brands, all after a slice of the market. With this surge in competitors in your sector, differentiation is key and re branding is a great way to show the consumers out there just why you stand out from the crowd.
A significant business change is the third key sign a re branding is on the cards. Expanding into new product lines or entering the international market can fundamentally change the feel of your business. Your branding always needs to be a true reflection of your current business and this is where a re brand can be used to effectively showcase and broadcast any new or noticeable changes. Keeping the same branding across the board can often means you run the risk of your branding reflecting you businesses past identity.
Understand your story
We’ve touched on this already, but your branding is so much more than just the logo you’re identified by. Your branding encompasses your name, your company’s entire culture and even the story behind it all. At every touch point, your consumers can gather perceptions about your company from the make up of your brand.
No one knows the story and purpose of your brand better than you do and you need to make this story known throughout your business. Dig deep and try to remember the driving causes and factors that lead you to starting your business. Only when you have clarified these can you reflect and check that you’re aesthetics, tone of voice and general feel of the brand can you breath and speak the values and messages you were so passionate about in the first place. If these touch points no longer align, it’s time for change!
Want help with re branding or simply want to find out more, get in touch with our team today.
Lakra, A. (2017). How to successfully rebrand: a strategic and tactical guide. Available: https://99designs.co.uk/blog/logo-branding/how-to-rebrand/. Last accessed 23rd Jul 2018.