Commentary
Market Focus: College Kids
- by Lindsey Fadner , October 21, 2002
Meet today’s college student. Current and planned purchases for the college market are strong despite the state of the economy and the events of September 11. Among graduating seniors, levels of expectation in terms of employment and personal earnings have reached a record high. They are so optimistic that fewer students plan to attend graduate school right out of college, an indication that they don’t feel the need to “wait out” the recession. Today’s affluent college student is indeed the consumer many media planners hope to reach.
Right now, however, only companies with enormous resources and higher specialization are choosing to target the college market. Billion-dollar corporations like AT&T, KIA, IBM, and Visa are banking on capturing students now and keeping them for life. Students are already purchasing a broad range of packaged goods and demonstrating high levels of brand loyalty, and according to Eric Weil, managing partner of Student Monitor LLC, many marketers want to establish an early relationship with them. “College students are the most attractive consumers in the 18-24 segment, because they represent the young adults with the best career prospects and highest spending power,” Weil says. “They have the greatest potential to be affluent consumers years out of school.”
What’s the difference between this year’s college audience and the college audience of last year? After Student Monitor interviewed 1,200 undergraduates on 100 campuses for its Lifestyle and Media research study recently, Weil’s answer is: “Not that much. You’ll never have a problem reaching college students. It’s what you say when you reach them that matters.” The common misconception is that college students are most interested in what’s “hip” and “cool.” In reality this increasingly practical and realistic market requires a more substantive approach from marketers.
A survey of 1,000 students by YouthStream Media Networks, a youth-focused media and marketing services company, revealed behaviors and attitudes that are very different than those traditionally attributed to this market. Students named “honesty,” “product information,” and “description of actual pricing” as the most critical qualities for good advertising. The more superficial issues traditionally considered vital to this demographic group received far fewer positive ratings, with “celebrity endorsements/models” (6%), “irreverence” (14%), and “coolness/edginess” (31%) among the least favored qualities.
Students tend to spend fewer hours watching TV in the fall than in the spring because of campus distractions such as class registration, new-student activities, and other events. However, 93% of all students still reported turning on the tube the week prior to the October study. MTV maintains leading cable station status (33% reported watching), followed by ESPN (23%) and Comedy Central (20%). Friends<\I> increased its dominance as the most watched TV show (some experts speculate that this is tied to the events of 9-11 and America’s need to feel close to friends and family), while The Simpsons<\I> (22%) and network news (up 3% from last year) came in second and third, respectively.
Students still read. In the past week, 55% read at least one magazine, 38% read a book not required for class, and 42% read three or more of the last five issues of their campus newspaper, spending an average of 18 minutes with each issue. Over 96% of students read at least one issue of their campus newspaper in the last week. This continues to be the most effective place to reach today’s college students, although advertising is expensive. But with more than 1,800 four-year schools in the nation, you can effectively pinpoint the schools you want to target. National college publication readership, on the other hand, showed only modest levels. The publications students want to read are relevant to their lives and futures: Honda, for example, published free magazines for college students with resume, interview, and thank-you-letter tips in a free magazine. The vision: The sooner students become employed, the sooner they’ll purchase a new automobile.
Another place to target students may be the Internet. While historically it’s been all but impossible to find any activity in which nearly 100% of college students participate, 99% reported using the Internet. This year, students have spent an average 10.3 hours weekly online (up 13% from 9.1 hours last year). Also, 49% (up from 46% last year and 41% two years ago) have made an online purchase in the past year, with travel/airline tickets, computers, and clothing representing nearly 80% of total annual online spending. The leading websites are for job hunting, with monster.com the most popular by far. MTV.com has moved into the lead in the music-related website category, as downloading free music has seen a dramatic decrease since the demise of Napster website.
Terrorism has sparked changes in students. TV news is watched more than ever, with CNN showing particular gains (18% compared to 9% last year), and for the first time in many years, Time is the best-read magazine among students, tying for first with Cosmopolitan.
Students agree unanimously that terrorism is the most important issue facing the nation. A YouthStream survey conducted weeks after September 11 showed that 40% of college students were reprioritizing their lives or changing their “core values” but had not made significant changes in their daily lives. While behavior ranging from purchasing intent to sleep and studying have remained largely unchanged, YouthStream suggests that a no-nonsense approach to college marketing might be necessary to meet students’ changing needs.
