Campus Representative Programs are gaining more popularity as brands look to reach the college market. On Boston University’s campus alone, I can count off the top of my head five or six campus representative programs that my fellow classmates participate in. As an Advertising Major here at BU, I recognize the benefits of these programs first hand from both the client and student perspective. From the student side, they are hired to engage their local communities and peers as brand advocates while gaining real hands-on marketing experience.. The brand is getting their name out on campus and communicating with students in a very real way. After all, you’re much more likely to take advice from your fellow students than some high-up corporate advertisement claiming benefits that feel intangible.
You may have seen some students on campus in the past week offering discounted sushi, tacos, and cupcakes, if you simply take the time to download the PayPal mobile app and pay for your food via PayPal. This is one of the various on-campus programs that employ students, but the twist on this one – it’s also a competition.
These PayPal Brand Ambassadors use their entrepreneurial initiative to educate their network of friends
“Through this experience, I gained tangible knowledge of becoming an influential leader of my sorority when delegating tasks and motivating my sisters to work towards our goal of winning the PayPal No Money Challenge,” said Jessica Lin (SMG ‘14), who teamed up with Kayuga Sushi for her on-campus challenge event competing as a brand ambassador:
The ambassadors used their own creativity and help from their teammates to design a grassroots marketing strategy which led to some amazing experiential events on campus. In order to get the attention of their friends and fellow students, the ambassadors reached out to some willing local partners like The Taco Truck, Kayuga Sushi, and Georgetown Cupcakes to offer discounted meals and treats. They also saw a great opportunity to use their events as platforms to give back to the community by teaming up with charities like Hayley’s Gift and Relay for Life.
“My internship thus far has been a truly educational experience. Not only has this opportunity introduced me to the extremely convenient PayPal application, but it has taught me very useful communication skills,” said said Meredith Miller (COM 14’) another brand ambassador who executed an event with The Taco Truck. “Being a brand ambassador is a great way to be introduced to, and educate others about, a great brand and to independently learn first-hand how to communicate your ideas effectively.”
Students not only learn how to plan, execute, and evaluate marketing campaigns, but also gain real-world working experience without ever having to leave their own campus.
As these campus programs are gaining more popularity, agencies are beginning to specialize in creating and managing these programs. Youth Marketing Connection (www.youthmarketing.com), based out of Boston and Washington D.C., does just this. Jose Colchao, Program Strategist in the D.C. office of Youth Marketing Connection, sees firsthand the amazing opportunities for students that arise as a result of these programs.
“Over the course of a semester, these social influencers piece together all of the elements involved in creating and executing a successful grassroots marketing campaign, an accomplishment that will surely differentiate them in any interview. We can’t all be Mark Zuckerberg, but with a bit of initiative and a lot of creativity we can all do pretty cool things,” Colchao says.