Campus Solutions, Inc. Launches Back to School Campaigns for Top Marketers

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 17 million students headed back to college this fall, marketers across the U.S. have signed on with Campus Solutions, Inc. (www.campussolutionsinc.com) to help penetrate this hard-to-reach demographic, whose discretionary spending will exceed $50 billion this year, according to an industry forecast by Veronis Suhler Stevenson. In doing so, brands like 7-Eleven and Summer's Eve that have signed on for exclusive collegiate promotions with Campus Solutions this fall are tapping into the marketing firm's vast network of universities across the country.

"These two promotions illustrate the uniqueness that Campus Solutions brings to every campaign, big or small," said Bryan Carbone, President, Campus Solutions. "Our nationwide network of college campuses allows us to launch mass market campaigns across the country, or geo-targeted promotions on a regional scale. Very few marketing firms can offer this kind of precision and flexibility, and yet it's at the core of what we do at Campus Solutions. And we are thrilled to tap into that experience and our contacts to launch these promotions with 7-Eleven and Summer's Eve."

The 7-Eleven campaign, launched to promote its coffee and hot food offerings as well as its store improvements, is a broad, nationwide promotion that will span 15 campuses nationwide, including Hofstra University, John Hopkins University and Morgan State University, among others. Campus Solutions has designed a program for 7-Eleven that will tap into each university's student body and Greek system to promote the convenience store chain through events, free samples and the distribution of more than 70,000 coupons throughout campuses. Campus Solutions staffers, dressed in branded 7-Eleven T-shirts, will visit every campus to stage the events, and provide samples of the chain's coffee flavors, including its regular blend and its Brazilian Bold blend, as well as food items such as chicken wings. Campus Solutions staff will also affix more than 8,000 7-Eleven door hangers in dormitories, and work with Greek fraternities and sororities to sponsor 7-Eleven themed events.

"Our campaign with 7-Eleven played into our specialty: targeting college audiences, especially Greek systems, in promoting a brand that is synonymous with college life," said Carbone.

In total, the campaign will include more than 30 events across the 15 campuses, where more than 100,000 students will be exposed to 7-Eleven branding, coupons and promotional materials.

Campus Solutions also announced today a promotion with Summer's Eve for its "ID the V" campaign, which highlights the importance of vaginal care. The promotion is aimed at college aged-women throughout the southwest, and will include the distribution of samples, quizzes and educational materials to five campuses in the region, including the University of Arizona (9/21-9/22), Arizona State University (9/27-9/28), CSU Northridge (10/4-10/5), CSU Fullerton (10/6-10/7) and CSU Long Beach (10/11-10/12).

Two days worth of events on each campus, featuring branded Summer's Eve tents in Student Unions and public spaces, will also include more exclusive, specialized promotions with sororities. In total, Campus Solution's Summer's Eve promotion will expose the brand and its products to more than 150,000 college-aged women.

"The Summer's Eve promotion gives Campus Solutions the opportunity to flex our muscles on a regional level," said Carbone. "While we are mostly known for our nationwide programs, this campaign shows what we can do on a more localized basis. We now have the ability to offer geo-targeted promotions in any part of the country."

College students are the most elusive – and prized – demographic with marketers today. They are estimated to spend more than $21.5 billion on food and beverage in one year alone, as well as $21 billion on electronics and cell phones; $10.5 billion on entertainment; $6.5 billion on footwear and apparel; and $6 billion on health and beauty. Also, 93 percent of this audience has credit cards, and 97 percent of them make their purchases off campus. Additionally, this year's student body is said to be the most wired ever, spending an average of 11 hours a day engaged with media via cell phones, laptops, Blackberrys and iPods.

Campus Solutions is currently working on several major campaigns with Fortune 500 companies to introduce new products to the 2011-2012 college audience, and will announce several new partnerships in the coming months.

SOURCE Campus Solutions