In a recent blog post by Morgan Stewart, How would college students target their peers?, thoughts were presented regarding marketing via a college newspaper as a strong marketing tool.
I really agree with the CPM, the large targeted audiences, and the target specific campuses, but am having a hard time believing a few of the other presented advantages.
I will begin with the fact that I attend Anderson University, which is a small private college in northeastern Indiana. But, in my experience, the campus paper rarely gets read. The idea of reading a paper is fading away. Two years ago, our campus had to discontinue the publication of our yearbook because sales had decreased to the point that it was no longer cost-effective to produce. Students weren’t interested and businesses weren’t sponsoring. I can now find all the pictures I want to see online at Facebook—the new college yearbook.
Again, I think it’s important to consider some of the findings that this previous blog post had brought attention to from the study by BSU. I want to draw attention to one in particular: “College students want to be taken seriously as consumers and future employees, out with the hip looking graphics and logos, in with creative that recognizes their intelligence and value.” The advertisers in our school newspaper don’t always keep this in mind.
I think it is also important to consider who on campus is reading the paper and for what purpose they are reading it. When I read the paper, it’s often right after I pick it up from my mailbox until my next class starts. I take 5-10 minutes to see if there are any articles worth reading, browse the security log, and read over the sports news. I never do the crossword or soduku. I rarely read articles in their entirety.
I would say over 50% of the ads in the paper stay the same all year. With a bi-weekly paper, these ads blend in very quickly. What has caught my eye has been the ads that look professional and aren’t the same every week.
My recommendation would be to consider engaging the audience with your advertisement. Make me act on it. Make it relevant.
Kyle Schroeder
Slingshot Summer Intern
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