I remember being at Current TV and brainstorming around how to set up a campus rep program to get the word out. It seemed like a no-brainer, but I now realize there's actually a lot of thinking and planning needed to launch an effective program. I think Current ended up working with Mr. Youth's RepNation if I'm not mistaken. As a part of Mr. Youth's founding sponsorship of the first ever Ypulse College Mashup, we offered them the opportunity to do a short Q&A for the blog, giving them some more publicity and hopefully giving you a bit of insight into how they approach what they do.

Ypulse: What do you consider to be key when thinking about reaching college students?

Mr. Youth The best tactic for delivering a powerful message to students is being localized and relevant. Approaching the college student audience as a monolithic one will result in noise that won't resonate on campus. Secondly, your campaign must create news: the barometer for the excitement you create should be the media. If they don't care about it, a college student consumer won't either.

YP: How do today's college students differ in their media consumption habits? What should any brand trying to reach this demographic have in their media plan?

MY: College students consume media on their schedule in ways conducive to their lifestyle. Traditional media remains at the forefront of daily media consumption, but rising adoption of new technologies (TiVo, iPods, Satellite Radio) no longer make traditional media effective on its own. A strong promotional campaign seeded with a big idea is the best way to approach the college market. If this strategy is in place, the choice of mediums becomes almost secondary.

YP: What makes a college rep program successful vs. not successful?

MY: A college rep program is successful when measurable campaign metrics are set and able to be accurately measured throughout. This puts accountability on the reps and the agency and allows the client to truly gauge the success of these programs. Secondly, solid campus rep initiatives embrace multiple mediums, including guerilla marketing, social media, interactive promotion, and PR.

Photo by Patricia Hudak (from L to R): Matt Britton/Mr. Youth, Alli Decker/Ypulse Books, and me at the Ypulse College Mashup opening reception.

Posted by anastasia