Many marketers focus on the Back-to-School time frame to make their impact on the college demographic but the winter/spring semester can be just as fruitful if approached the right way.

Those familiar with the college market understand that the Back-to-School time frame in the fall is the most optimal time to reach college students with all the hustle and bustle of activity and life taking place on campus. The problem is that many marketers are all thinking the same way thus saturating the market and making it difficult to really get the inside track and make an impact, especially if you’re working with a limited budget.

Second semester can be just as lucrative but requires a slightly different approach to ensure that your message and brand are receiving optimal exposure. Keep these points in mind as you plan for this period and you will definitely maximize your ad dollars while taking advantage of this time frame:

• Students Returning to Campus: Unlike the Fall semester where all students generally return to campus around the same time, late August/early September, the beginning of the winter/spring semester has a longer period of time in which students are returning to campus. To be on the safe side, don’t start any executions until late January at the earliest as you don’t want to spend resources in marketing to an empty campus.
• Know When Spring Break is on Your Targeted Campuses: Spring Break is the event that generally breaks up the second semester. Know your message and brand and determine if your efforts will resonate with students before they leave campus for this vacation period or after they return for the home stretch of the academic year. Students will be in a much different mindset depending on which side of spring break you reach out to them on, aligning with the right partner is the first step in making this determination.
• Gear Up for Graduation/Commencement: The Commencement/graduation period is very similar to orientation at the beginning of the academic year in the fall. The weather is nice, students are outside, on-campus, in the quad and much more approachable for advertisers. Also, parents are in town and there is much more disposable income on-campus. This is the key time to utilize the University Marketing & Promotions network of student ambassadors and engage students and parents alike in boosting your ROI.

Knowing when the best times to execute and invest in the second semester time frame can provide you with an ‘under-the-radar’ way to optimize your marketing plan, maximize your ad dollars and do so with limited competition that the Fall time frame, which should set your brand apart. Let us assist you in making these strategic decisions with a free consultation and our over 20 years of industry experience.