Many marketers know that the Orientation period, when students return to campus, is the most lucrative time to invest in college advertising but there are a few effective ways to make sure your message doesn’t get lost in the shuffle resulting in a waste of ad dollars.

Whether you’re a startup company with a small budget or a Fortune 100 company if you‘re looking to make an impact on the 18-22 year old demographic, college campuses are an excellent venue to do so.  College campuses are most alive during the ‘Back-to-School’ time frame when students are returning to campus along with incoming freshman to begin the Fall semester.

From orientation to the move-in period, students are typically upbeat and have the most disposable income than any other point in the academic year.  With their parents on-campus for a portion of this process there is a lot of opportunity to maximize your ROI.  However, if not done carefully and with the proper guidance and experience, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle resulting in wasted ad dollars.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning your college advertising campaign this fall:

• Student Demographics: Understand your student demographic and which students on campus are better candidates to purchase your product or service then build your campaign strategy on reaching that exact student.
• Selecting the Right Advertising Mediums: Much like understanding your target student demographic, selecting the right outreach mediums is key. OOH placements such as dorm door hangers are great for reaching underclassman where they live, posters in academic building and classroom reach a very specific student at an economical cost.
• Timing is Key: In many cases, companies can wait a few weeks after the mad rush of orientation, move-in and ‘back to school’ are over.  Every other company invested heavily to make a foot print only to blend in with all the companies trying to do the same.  Waiting 2-3 weeks for the ‘dust to settle’ gives you the same ad space with much less saturation.

Students returning to to campus is ripe with opportunity for the right company who is careful about timing and targeted with their ad placements.  University Marketing & Promotions has over 20 yrs. of experience in assisting marketers navigate college advertising landscape and maximizing ROI.