Soundbites: wise words from student experts

See contributors list at the end for mini-biographies
These quotes originally appeared in The Reach Students Handbook (2003)

On students and the student market

The student market is very important to EMI-Virgin. Practically every single band will have student promotion as part of a marketing and promo plan these days. DOLLY CLEW

Whilst many students struggle to make ends meet, others - for the first time in their lives - have significant expendable incomes to thrash on booze, shopping, records and holidays. Retailers wishing to secure future loyalty are well advised to make their services attractive and available at this early opportunity. TOM EDGE

Young people have grown up with technology and they adopt it very easily. Three or four years ago there was zero SMS sent a month, now there's a billion. That kind of growth is incredible. That's neverhappened before in terms of adoption of technology. Students and young people push this technology. They're quite influential and they're happier to change their habits than someone aged 66.SEAN SINGLETON

Most undergraduates consort, primarily, with fellow undergraduates, enabling trends on campus to root and flourish quickly. TOM EDGE

I entered the student market many years after leaving University in the Seventies and learned through market research and experience that students today are not the same as students and student bodies ofyesteryear. JULIAN FOULGER

Students don't like people who are out to make a fast buck.EMILY DUBBERLEY

Three words to describe today's student? Competitive. Overwhelmed. Money-conscious. SHARON LOUGHER

There's a massive misconception of students: they're really crazy and wacky. In fact, most of them aren’t. JUSTINE ANDREWS

If a student wants something now, they are usually prepared to pay for it. SHERAZ DAR

Students are very pressured in terms of image consciousness. If you walk round any student bar you'll be amazed that these people who are up to their eyeballs in debt are wearing top brand clothes, driving better cars than most of us, wearing good watches, going onexpensive holidays, buying top range hi-fi. When I was a student, if I'd gone overdrawn by £50 I'd have palpitations. Now, they just accept that they're going to leave with £15,000 debt. Students on paper are no doubt in hardship, but they are also lifestyle-rich.JUSTINE ANDREWS

Our experience of students today is that they share many of the values of their parents when purchasing. They are not naïve and we treat them as adults. That means they deserve and get the same sellingprotections as other members of the public. Students can also be your customers after they leave University, treat them well.JULIAN FOULGER

Students aren't apathetic, they just don't care about the things you might previously have thought they would. I don't think manystudents are politically, environmentally or socially motivated any more. A lot of them are money motivated. They want to cut the best deal for themselves. They're not apathetic, they're focussed on other things. This is the next generation of Gordon Geckos. It's not for me to debate the rights and wrongs of that, but it's what's happening and I find it very interesting to observe. JUSTINE ANDREWS

Compared to the Sixties and Seventies students aren't so political nowadays, but there is still a sizeable political element. You only have to look at the numbers of students involved in the Stop the War campaigning to see that. MIKE SLOCOMBE

Students have become more career conscious and these days better understand the advantages of making contacts and building their CV. DOLLY CLEW

Students have to work very hard, now more than ever.SHARON LOUGHER
Students work hard at their studies and expect those that sell to them to work hard at selling their offering. Students today demand service from suppliers. Selling to students is as difficult as selling to anyone else so don't think you can cut corners. JULIAN FOULGER

10 years ago very few students had part-time jobs, now most do. Generally they have access to more money now. They don't have more money, but they have access to more money and consequently they have much bigger debts. SHERAZ DAR

Tuition fees changed the very nature of student life.SHARON LOUGHER

Students are being massively affected by tuition fees. So many just can't afford to go to university nowadays. Those that do have to work their way through it. It's no holiday any more, it's hard work and expensive. MIKE SLOCOMBE

They're studying in a different economic and highly competitiveenvironment: if a student has had to produce very good academic grades, shown some flair in an interview and had to fork out a large amount of money to obtain a place on a course, he or she is going to apportion their time differently and protesting may have to take a back seat to that. SHARON LOUGHER

Students can be quite politically correct when they're in groups, but as individuals not so much. In the bar there may be an anti-sexism poster, but at the bar they're telling sexist jokes…rightly or wrongly. SEAN SINGLETON

Students prefer to discover things for themselves. SHERAZ DAR

On marketing to students

The student market is a hell of a lot easier to get hold of than the youth market. You know where they are going to congregate. Most students hang out around either the union or one or two pubs in town. You might miss a few, but you're damn near 100 per cent of the market. EMILY DUBBERLEY

Students aren't difficult to reach, but it is hard work reaching them - there's a difference. EMILY DUBBERLEY

Students are such a desired consumer market, they can often beoverwhelmed with things - especially in the first few months of uni. It's difficult to capture attention. SHARON LOUGHER

It's not difficult to reach students, but maybe the market isover-saturated.
Especially during freshers when every company thinks about students. DOLLY CLEW

Don't market during freshers week. All the companies market then, and do nothing else for the rest of the year. EMILY DUBBERLEY

The only difficulty is competing with the amount of information freshers are overloaded with at the start of university when the guide is published. SHARON LOUGHER

I once got asked to run a seminar called 'How you can segment and accurately target the student market'. I said I'd do it, but I didn't believe it was worth segmenting the market. I mean, you could split it into your jocks, your indie kids etc. But given what the market is worth as a whole, why bother? There are certain things that work on a universal level: sex, beer and humour. If you can produce something with those three elements you're on a winner. EMILY DUBBERLEY

Given that the government intends to put 50% of people through higher or further education, the 'student audience' is a pretty broad church. TOM EDGE

We try to inject humour into our work, because it works online full stop. With humour obviously you're going to hit, not just students, but a younger demographic generally. LOUIS CLEMENT
We think that young people tend to laugh at the same things. I don't know whether there is a student sense of humour; it's generally about going out, enjoying yourself, being a bit cynical and laughing at the world. That's the approach we have. SEAN SINGLETON

We know what makes people laugh, but the question is what is a brand prepared to do? With viral it's quite extreme: horror, sex, extreme humour. Brands don't always want to be associated with that. The problem we have aiming at the student market is finding that place where the brand is comfortable and the student will laugh. SEAN SINGLETON

The tricky part is the creative end. A campaign will flounder unless the end product is genuinely useful or, better, entertaining. Being innovative is key, even if you're just putting a sharp new spin on an old idea. Poor quality, hackneyed ideas are probably the greatest obstacles. TOM EDGE

We would always encourage risk taking. I don't think manycampaigns are worth doing. In terms of marketing you just get so much notice taken. SEAN SINGLETON
Patronising and taking students for granted is the biggest mistake you can make. And expecting them to embrace anything projected at them with open arms - they know when they are being ripped off.DOLLY CLEW

When I did SBN news we had a sponsor who wanted to put a drum'n'bass bed under our programme. I told them: this is ABC1 news pal - you're not putting that behind the news! That's the difference between the youth and student market that some don't get.The student market, by logical default, is all ABC1.JOHN HANDELAAR


These days they're just more savvy in what really affects them and what doesn't, and are more cynical as a result. For example ifstudents have not felt the effects of student union campaigns during whatever time they've spent in college, they're not going to bother to vote on their student elections. Governments are savvy to protests now and protesting these days does very little - the protests against the Iraq war illustrated this - and I think that's very demoralising for students. SHARON LOUGHER

Students like value for money. ‘Cheap’ is viewed with suspicion and as we all know cheap today in IT could prove to be expensivetomorrow when there is a problem and no-one is around to help you. JULIAN FOULGER

You will know your products and USPs, but do you know how to communicate them to your student audience? We used a students' union to write our copy for student media and although the message was the same as for our other markets, the words used werevery different. JULIAN FOULGER

Students are blind to a lot of marketing. It's not a case of apathy or anger, they just don’t see it.
The majority of students aresophisticated, more media literate. Walking past a row of stickerson the toilet mirror isn't going to do it. JUSTINE ANDREWS

Work experience works as an incentive. Because it's really hard to get work experience. EMILY DUBBERLEY

There's a lot of nervousness about the student market, a lack ofclarity about how to approach students. Do you treat them as a youth market? What exactly do you do? In the end brands just hand over the money to someone they think knows what they're doing.JUSTINE ANDREWS

A lot of student marketing seems to be five years behind the students. EMILY DUBBERLEY

You can't claim to know what the kids think if you're past it yourself. That's a very dangerous game. So I'm always very sceptical when I come across marketing executives who tell me what's 'hot' with the kids today. MIKE SLOCOMBE

Marketing people don't use focus groups in the right way. They ask the wrong questions. Focus groups are good for testing theergonomics of a product. They're no use for making creativejudgements. 'What colour do you prefer? Red or blue'. Some will say one, some will say the other. Nothing useful comes out of it.MIKE SLOCOMBE
We advise holding back on branding. Entertain first, brand later. Students don't mind being sold to if they enjoy themselves first. LOUIS CLEMENT

Most good student campaigns are simple, but done well.SEAN SINGLETON

Don't underestimate students. A lot of student marketing is aimed at the lowest common denominator, still very pound-a-pint mentality. I'm surprised when so much money is spent on marketing, and when mainstream campaigns have got so sophisticated, that the student campaigns are so wide of the mark. I wonder whether brands really understand students as a consumer. JUSTINE ANDREWS

You see a lot of garish campaigns that, to my mind, would appeal to a younger age than students. JUSTINE ANDREWS

The graduate recruiters aren't the most exciting campaigns, because it's quite a sensible product they're pitching, but the creative from the likes Accenture and PWC, who do have money to get it right, isusually very well done. JUSTINE ANDREWS

I have more respect for brands who have been student marketing for a long time. A lot of brands jumped in five years ago when the whole student thing really took off, but those that were there beforeI respect. EMILY DUBBERLEY
You get someone who was heavily involved in the drama society goes to work in student marketing and comes up with the idea ofsponsoring plays. The problem is, often marketers think they're the same as everyone else. EMILY DUBBERLEY

A lot of people dive into student marketing without knowing what they're doing. They graduate and, having heard the legend thatstudents are hard to reach, think: 'I know - I'll start up a student marketing company'. Then they realise that the reason students are hard to reach isn't necessarily that everyone else is doing it wrong; it's because it actually takes a lot of work. EMILY DUBBERLEY

It's amazing how many big brands put money into these fly-by-night agencies who think if they send a couple of promotion people to stand outside the gates of a university that's an effectivemarketing campaign. JUSTINE ANDREWS

There are still those times when you find a box of samples or leaflets dumped outside the union. Unions now get onto the brands and let them know they've made a cock-up with the agency they've chosen. JUSTINE ANDREWS

The best way of doing student marketing? Pay every student, pay them a reasonable amount of money. EMILY DUBBERLEY

People think it's a great market to get into. They pop up one week and they're gone again the next. JUSTINE ANDREWS

If you're looking for a quick win, it may not work. Brands that are popular with students normally have had a dialogue with them for some time. SHERAZ DAR

Student brand manager schemes? Big mistake. DOLLY CLEW

Student brand manager schemes are a good idea. Contacts areeverything, and those sorts of schemes are as good a place as any to start. SHARON LOUGHER

One of our competitors who sold through student brand managers was viewed with deep suspicion. Who likes being sold to by one of their mates who you know is getting commission and may not think they are selling the best product in the world? Students will recommend but they want to recommend with objectivity. JULIAN FOULGER

A brand manager rarely tries to sell things to their friends. Most brand manager programmes are designed to keep a constant level of brand awareness throughout a term. This can be nothing morecomplex than poster and flyer distribution, some market research and sourcing sponsorship and other opportunities. They are in effect an extension to the clients' own marketing team - the eyes and ears on the ground. The insight they give the client is worth the investment alone. CHRIS JOHNSTONE

I think there is a danger when you use students to sell to otherstudents that you will be seen as being desperate. We have always felt more comfortable developing a relationship with students directly. We have shops with fantastically trained sales people to sell our products. SHERAZ DAR

Most of our brand manager campaigns are now in the area of graduate recruitment, helping a recruiter get ahead of the game. We ran four campaigns in the autumn and each one showed an increase in quantity and quality of applications received by the recruiters involved.CHRIS JOHNSTONE

The Time Out Student Guide acknowledges that London is anincredibly daunting place. Time Out really is an authority on everything there is to do in the capital: the guides to London are the capital in a book. The magazine captures the changing culture and life here, and the Student Guide is a useful tool to introduce students to all the things that Time Out does. SHARON LOUGHER

We don't want to put on an event that students really look forward to and then spoil it for them by selling. SHERAZ DAR

Having said that, you do have to back up your marketing with aproduct that students actually want. It's not all about creatingawareness and empathy, it's also about making sure you offer the right product and services. SHERAZ DAR

The number of freebies that became synonymous with freshers fairs have fast diminished in recent years. Which is why it's nice to give away such a substantial product. SHARON LOUGHER

When you see a brand that has confidence in itself, you feelcomfortable with it, and that's how students feel with Orange. But it's no use people thinking you're a great brand unless you back it up with the products that they want. SHERAZ DAR

A company that did really well through us was one that didn't care about image. They were a new online casino and they just wanted as many visitors as they could get. Just build us something good they said. So we took the three elements of what works virally - horror, humour, sex - and created 'Strip or Die'. Russian roulette with stripping. It's got gambling, violence and nudity involved: notvery pc. LOUIS CLEMENT

Strip or Die was massive. It took down our server. Six months later it's still crazy - most viral games only have a three month shelf life. For one week our site was bigger than Warner Brothers'.SEAN SINGLETON

On student media and students' unions

A lot of clients falsely assume that you go to NUS, you pay them a broker's fee, and you guarantee a really successful campaign. But they don't realise how NUS operates. I know one guy who'd beentrying to get a meeting with NUS for 15 years! EMILY DUBBERLEY

Everyone thinks you have to go through NUS, but NUS are a pain in the arse. You should ignore NUS and go straight to local student media. The most effective way to reach students is through thestudent press. Full stop. JOHN HANDELAAR

Student media has its place, like normal media. In many ways as a great training ground for people who are moving on into the music mags. These days if you write for a good student paper and build upa good relationship with a record company plugger there aren't many bands you cant interview or go and see play. DOLLY CLEW

The student papers change every year. Our relationship with them depends on who the music editor is. Student Direct (Manchester), Leeds Student and Gair Rhydd (Cardiff) are consistently good to work with, and there are a lot of others that are brilliant this year but last year weren't. Its a bit of a merry-go-round. DOLLY CLEW

There is naivety in student media, but not the kind businesses expect. Student journalists fall into two camps: those who believe they are a journalist and no different to those in the mainstream, and those don't think they're important at all. Both of them are wrong. Individualstudent journalists and publications are not important at all, but as a mass student media has power. EMILY DUBBERLEY

The Student Broadcast Network is a fantastic place to start breaking a band. Its ears are often more open to a lot of music than other commercial radio stations. It should be encouraged. DOLLY CLEW

The main frustration dealing with student media? Getting them to send copies of their newspaper to us. DOLLY CLEW

There's enthusiasm and a lack of cynicism from the student journos. DOLLY CLEW


Students' unions value and market advertising opportunities aggressively, but do not think you can play one off against another. They do talk to each other. They also act as a sieve to ensure unscrupulous traders are not given free access to the student market and you can expect some vetting before being allowed to advertise in student publications. View them as allies, not as foes.JULIAN FOULGER

Students' unions talk to each other. We work individually and collectively. JUSTINE ANDREWS

It's easier for the client to pay one company to sort out your student marketing, but from my point of view it's better to work direct with the union. JOANNA BIRD

I don't work on commission, I don't get bonuses. I'm on a salary. All the rates that I put together are proportional to costs. We're not here to make a profit. JOANNA BIRD

On students and new technologies

Email is proven to be a primary method of communication during student years. TOM EDGE

An online campaign can be low-cost and highly-targeted, and exists in a medium where if something is catchy a few clicks see it winging its way, via email, to a dozen new potential customers, at zero cost to the advertiser. This should be very attractive. TOM EDGE

Student web users are very often experienced and jaded - another low-end Flash game won't catch their imagination unless it has a serious creative hook behind it. TOM EDGE
People only forward emails which have amused them enough to want to spread the joy - everything else gets binned. TOM EDGE

We keep an eye on marketplace developments, but our core strategy is less reliant on innovative technologies than many others. We try to keep our pages simple and easy to use on a 56K modem. Thedevelopments that do catch our interest tend to be content forms - blogging and suchlike. These are the kind of things we hope to pick up on and introduce to the site in the next 12 months. TOM EDGE

Generally our work is aimed for youth brands, but when we consider the student application it's the practical issues. When we're choosing a list or placing an ad, we think of the time of year: are the students actually going to be using that email address to check their email? Are they going to be at university using a student website? We're always considering where students might be at certain times. The chances are, for example, that you're going to get less studentschecking their email over Easter. LOUIS CLEMENT

A lot of students who use university machines haven't got sound, file size is a bigger issue. Obviously these things are changing day by day, connection speeds are improving. LOUIS CLEMENT

Online can deliver great value. We looked after the online part of a broad Royal Navy recruitment campaign. 80% of their resulting enquiries came from online. We certainly weren't 80% of the campaign budget. SEAN SINGLETON

PCs will continue to be important to students because that's where they do all their work. SEAN SINGLETON

Don't waste £500,000 of your money on website that no student is honestly going to go to. Spend 10 per cent of it on a great piece of content that can be placed somewhere that students are.SEAN SINGLETON

Contributor bios
JUSTINE ANDREWS works in media sales for Student Direct, Manchester’s student newspaper. It has one of the largest circulations of all student press in the UK

JOANNA BIRD is Advertising and Marketing Coordinator at the University Of Bristol Union. She is on the AMSU Marketing Initiative Commitee

TIM BODENHAM runs BAM, a student media booking agency

ADAM BUSS is PR Manager at NUS Ents, the entertainments arm of the National Union of Students

LOUISE CLARK is PR Manager for STA Travel

LOUIS CLEMENT is Creative Director at Skive Creative, a new media agency notorious for its student-popular viral games

DOLLY CLEW is a music plugger for EMI-Virgin

SHERAZ DAR is Senior Acquisition Manager at Orange

EMILY DUBBERLEY is a writer and consultant. She has a regularcolumn in Revolution magazine. Emily founded the Student Press Association and has spoken at conferences on student marketing

TOM EDGE is New Media Manager at the National Union of Students

JULIAN FOULGER is Managing Director of Tick PC, an onlinecomputer retailer focused on students

JOHN HANDELAAR is now a web designer. He co-founded the Student Broadcast Network and is a former editor of London Student

CHRIS JOHNSTONE runs the Campus Marketing Company [now CAMPUS GROUP]

SHARON LOUGHER is editor of the Time Out Student Guide

ANNA PEARSON is an Account Director at Liquid Communications, who handled the award-winning Big Red House campaign forVirgin Mobile

MARK SANDS is Marketing Director of The Guardian

SEAN SINGLETON is Managing Director of Skive Creative

MIKE SLOCOMBE runs Urban75.com, an activist website popular with young people. He has designed sites for Virgin, Xfm and Channel 4 and has been consistently labelled by Internet magazine as one of the web’s most important people

KIRSTEN WILLIAMSON is Managing Director of Petrus Communications, a France-based European student marketingcompany. She has worked in the student market for over ten years and has lived and worked throughout Europe

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