In the course of analyzing his company’s syndicated study of the buying habits and attitudes of college students, Stuart Himmelfarb, president of CollegeTrack, Inc., has come up with some important advice for marketers: don’t sell the college market short.

Himmelfarb, whose CollegeTrack studies interview students on 30 college campuses across the U.S., says marketers frequently tell him that they think pursuit of the college market just isn’t worthwhile because it offers no immediate payoff. “Very often, marketers say they perceive the college market as an investment market, and they follow that statement up with something like ‘And we don’t have the time or the budget to pursue investment markets,’” Himmelfarb says.

Though they represent a desirable market once they graduate and enter the workforce, college students aren’t seen as active, current consumers while still in school. But Himmelfarb says his studies tell a different story.

The CollegeTrack studies are divided into two sections. A general tracking study looks at student attitudes, media and purchasing habits, demographics, and financial resources. Category studies investigate student attitudes and intentions in product categories such as health and beauty aids, automotive, entertainment, consumer electronics, and financial services. CollegeTrack data shows that college students are active consumers in these areas, and in some not so obvious other ones.

For example, while 37% of students live on-campus and 18% live at home, 45% live off-campus. Members of this group, many of whom are setting up households for the first time, purchase the same products and food items that any household would—a fact which marketers don’t normally consider, Himmelfarb says.

These and other purchases are influenced by media, friends/roommates and the trends of each particular campus. “Many of the brand loyalties that students bring with them as teenagers are up for grabs when they’re in the college market, because they’re exposed to that many more tastes and preferences.”

Survey data shows that only 61% of fall term students were at the same campus in the prior school year, meaning that each fall the market is infused with new students with their own tastes and influences.

Well-informed

Himmelfarb has found that college students are very interested in and well-informed about new products. “We have the sense that in addition to being active current consumers they also tend to be at the leading edge of adopting new technologies and new kinds of products. They have the resources, and on top of that they have the interest and awareness to fuel that purchasing.”

For example, the survey data shows that the penetration of compact disc players is much higher in the college market than in the general market. (In addition, 78% own a TV, 42% have a VCR and 40% are connected to cable.)

Students also have money to spend. About half of the students surveyed work during the school year, while 85% work during the summer. On average, students have $155 of discretionary income per month. About half have a major credit card. And 64% report having their own car at college.

“A great deal of the money that’s being spent is money they’ve earned. We’ve been impressed by the amount of resources they have at their own command,” Himmelfarb says.

Misconceptions

Ostensibly, college is an ideal time for marketers to reach a new audience, but misconceptions keep many of them out of the college market, Himmelfarb says. For example, some use their own college experiences (“When I was in college, I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have a car...”) as proof that college students aren’t a viable market.

“We’ve found that it’s hard to get marketers to look past their own personal experiences in this area. This is a market full of surprises. The rapidity of change is such that even if you were on campus a handful of years ago, what is going on today can be quite different. And that means that the anecdotal reasons for not targeting the college market really might not be in the best interest of the brand you’re working on.”

Spring break

Another misconception is the belief that rolling out a full-scale promotional effort during the annual spring break festivities (when college students from around the country converge on beaches in Florida and other coastal areas) constitutes ample involvement in the college market. With so many other marketers sharing the same idea, spring break is filled with promotional clutter, and in addition, a comparatively small number of students actually participate in spring break activities.

“A spring break promotion does not a college marketing program make,” Himmelfarb says. “To use it in the absence of a much more sustained marketing, communications and promotion program is one of the mistakes that’s getting made. We’re not saying not to get involved with spring break, but we’re saying don’t depend on it as the exclusive way of reaching students.”

Students receptive to media

CollegeTrack data shows that students are receptive to many media, and not just television. In fact, study information shows that college students are light viewers of TV. Instead, they stay informed on news and trends by reading magazines and college and local newspapers.

Along with aiming at the college market with mass media campaigns, it’s important to establish a presence on campus. “It’s really a one-two punch. I wouldn’t do one to the exclusion of the other. If you can deliver a strong message through the mass media and then combine it with messages targeted to the students on campus, I think that’s a very powerful way to reach this market.

“A very important criterion for students, just as it is for any market segment, is the sense that this marketer is talking to me, they understand what I want and they are bringing me a product that I care about.”

Himmelfarb says that the companies who enter the college market early on and maintain a presence there will not only benefit in the short term, but they will also ensure the payoff on that “investment” after the students graduate.

“That’s where we think the victories are going to be won.”