• by Larissa Faw , February 17, 2015

Three in four college students read their local campus paper, and this strong engagement is a key reason why college marketing agency Fluent is acquiring Streak Media, a daily online newsletter of campus-based, local and global news. This deal expands Fluent's reach into a new channel and provides its clients with sponsorship and native advertising opportunities.

For Streak, Fluent will provide resources and access to campuses to help ramp the business faster than it could have on its own. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“By teaming up with the top college marketing agency in the U.S., we’re now able to expand our campus digital media offering significantly further and faster than we could have on our own,” said Mike Nardella, president of Streak Media. “We see the potential to dramatically change the way students stay informed about and in touch with the world they live in, from their immediate campus setting to major global happenings. And Fluent’s portfolio of top brands offers us limitless opportunities to explore new features and benefits tailored to the college market.” 

Under this acquisition, Streak Media is now a subsidiary of Fluent with four full-time employees in Boston and a network of up to 50 curators and club members across the U.S. responsible for content development, editing and publishing. Nardella and his team will continue to run the day-to-day business and the brand will continue to operate under its current name. 

Fluent has big plans for its new platform. The agency plans to quickly increase Streak Media's readership from 20,000 to 125,000 subscribers at more than 50 schools in the next semester. "Our plan is to grow it to 100 schools by the end of the calendar year," says Fluent CEO Chip Rives. "As the number of campuses grows, the staff will grow."

The deal was attractive to Fluent due to its connection to students. “Just when digital media and social networks were starting to converge, Mike and his group of Boston College classmates found an ingenious way to capitalize on the value of immediate, hyperlocal information for campus audiences,” said Rives. “Bringing this talented group of media entrepreneurs onboard is a natural fit for Fluent; it works perfectly within our mission of helping brands create useful, meaningful and lasting connections with college millennials, and that starts with understanding what the college millennial knows and cares about.”

Looking forward, Fluent expects to make similar deals with other college-type entities. "Because of our access to college campuses and 18 – 24 year olds, we have the ability to help start-ups targeting this audience by helping them ramp much faster than they could on their own," says Rives. "Fluent has marketing programs running on over 650 campuses across the country with deep relationships and access to help companies reach this audience."

With a network encompassing more than 1,000 colleges and universities, Fluent’s capabilities include campus activities and programs, insights, digital and social media strategy and activations, and experiential programs. Clients have included Keurig, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, Macy’s, Jack in the Box, Skype, Zipcar, Kotex, Dove and L’Oreal.