Today's student originally appeared in 2005's book Targeting Students: A Marketing Guide and formed the introduction.
Students are widely recognised as a valuable audience to engage with. They are at an age when they make decisions that stick with them for many years. Compared with other audiences, the 18 to 24 year-old in full-time education is highly consumptive in various product sectors, such as cinema, mobile communications, music, internet banking, snack food, beverages and healthcare. And although many marketers find it hard to pitch their communications effectively to students, those that get it right often find the response is enthusiastic.
Student marketing has grown significantly in the last ten years and the marketplace has become crowded and competitive. Students have also become more marketing savvy, and any marketer that wants to engage should not underestimate the student's understanding of techniques and motives. The attitude generally of students to marketing is, in part, trend dependent; there was a cultural backlash in the late-Nineties which caught out those marketers behind the pace. Today's student, now fully aware of his or her worth to marketers, assumes an attitude of perceived power, striking deals and often seeking to get one over on the marketer.
Today's student is conscious that there is a literal price to pay for their education. They seek maximum value from the experience, whether that be on a social, academic or personal development level. The shift of funding structures in recent years has turned around the 'poor student' legend; today many students have relatively easy access to cash while at university or college but become poor on graduation when years of debt-accumulation begin to impact and loans stop. Imminent changes in the funding structure is likely to create an even more dramatic contrast between student and graduate finances: students will find university life easier to survive but post-graduation will bring some mighty debt.
Every year the student accommodation provider, UNITE, commissions MORI to find out what students feel about their university experience. The key findings of 2005's survey were:
Students are generally a happy and contented group, enjoying the freedom to live as they want and considering the experience to be worthwhile. On the downside, increasing proportions are feeling stressed since coming to university.
Financial constraints are likely to be adding to the stress factor with little money, debt and the lack of a regular income being the three worst aspects of student life. Trying to juggle studying with other commitments, especially work are also key triggers.
Students enjoy their social lives, a large majority feel that they have good opportunities for social activities, to meet people and to try new experiences.
The pub is their favourite activity but despite a high level of awareness of the risks of binge drinking, significant proportions buy more alcohol than the recommended levels for safe drinking. Similarly, significant proportions continue to smoke and do not acknowledge the risks involved. However, they are more likely to recognise the dangers of smoking cannabis and, especially, using hard drugs.
Despite their vices, more students today care about fitness than in previous years. Seven in ten now claim to care very much about health and fitness in body and mind compared with the four in ten who said three years ago that they spent their spare time playing sport or taking exercise.
Mobile phones with picture messaging are the gadget of choice with males owning the most gadgets overall.
This book takes a look at more of the research findings that help create a vivid picture of today's student in the marketing context, including chapters on advertising that gets noticed, segmentation opportunities and market research techniques. There is also a close look at some specialised areas, such as field marketing, student television and working with students' unions.
In the preceding book to this, the Reach Students Handbook (2003), we predicted it would be a critical year for the big student websites and student brand manager schemes, that new student media such as SUBtv (students' unions plasma screens) would be worth watching closely, and that new innovative methods would be employed in student marketing to engage students.
Since then Virginstudent.com and StudentUK.com have both lost their financial backing, The Guardian has ended its brand manager scheme (one of the most successful in its time) because it feels the idea has been exhausted, and SUBtv has developed into one of the market's most interesting and versatile media. There have been various new advertising ideas employed, projections onto university buildings being a popular one, some of them more gimmicky than others - the fleeting availability of students foreheads for advertising messages springs to mind.
This year we believe that clients will start to demand more accountability from their student marketing, which in turn will either force results or bring more pressure on those at the front line than can be managed. A massive amount of student marketing is eventually realised by or within students' unions, institutions that are not overly concerned with profit-making. They will be asked to deliver more, and inevitably there will be those that can't or won't, encouraging the search for other routes to access the student audience.
Among specialist agencies there is a spirit of co-operation and consolidation that is welcome: the cowboy days that gave this sector a bad name are fading, and experienced student marketers are willing to work together to create a more attractive and rewarding experience for clients.
All in all, it could be the year that student marketing comes of age.
Showing posts with label student spending. Show all posts
Showing posts with label student spending. Show all posts
08 December 2006
19 November 2006
Spotlight on: student shopping
"If I'm going to go out and have some fun, I need to be wearing the right clothes to do it in" Female student at Lancaster University (from 'Mental Budgeting', research by Dr Sue Eccles).
Wearing the right clothes is a key concern for today's student. Recent MORI research identified the modern fashion for designer labels, along with keeping up appearances with peers, as the two biggest influences on student clothes spending. The average UK student spends £46.63 per month (women £49.65, men £43.44) on new items. At one university alone - Brunel in Middlesex - some 13,000 students spend £2.1 million on their wardrobes. No wonder retailers such as TopShop have invested heavily in student marketing.
What else do students spend their money on when out shopping? Personal convenience goods - CDs, DVDs, magazines etc - account for over £30 of the typical student's spending a month. When it comes to entertainment spending, audio equipment is second only to alcohol in the outgoings table, taking up 22% of the budget.
Book costs, an obvious expense, have led banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland to offer discount deals when students sign up for new accounts. "Depending on the subject studied, students spend, on average, up to £200 on text books per year," says Andrea Aitken-Paige, head of student banking at RBS. "Consequently, we are offering a minimum 20% discount on books."
Household accessories and decorations should not be forgotten. Habitat, which recently started offering an NUS discount, is seeing more and more image-conscious students come through its doors. The students are looking for items that will give their homes the same air of style that comes with their other purchases. They are the most transient consumer group in the UK, getting through three or four addresses a year sometimes, and each move precipitates a furnishings review. Whether it's lava lamps and Radiohead posters or Rothko prints and Phillipe Stark lemon squeezers, students treat their room decor as a personality statement.
At the end of all this spending it would be wise for students to get insured. 70% of crimes against students involve theft or criminal damage. NUS calculated the average student has £3,000 worth of possessions in their home, a fact that has inspired awareness-raising campaigns from students' unions and police forces across the UK.
Wearing the right clothes is a key concern for today's student. Recent MORI research identified the modern fashion for designer labels, along with keeping up appearances with peers, as the two biggest influences on student clothes spending. The average UK student spends £46.63 per month (women £49.65, men £43.44) on new items. At one university alone - Brunel in Middlesex - some 13,000 students spend £2.1 million on their wardrobes. No wonder retailers such as TopShop have invested heavily in student marketing.
What else do students spend their money on when out shopping? Personal convenience goods - CDs, DVDs, magazines etc - account for over £30 of the typical student's spending a month. When it comes to entertainment spending, audio equipment is second only to alcohol in the outgoings table, taking up 22% of the budget.
Book costs, an obvious expense, have led banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland to offer discount deals when students sign up for new accounts. "Depending on the subject studied, students spend, on average, up to £200 on text books per year," says Andrea Aitken-Paige, head of student banking at RBS. "Consequently, we are offering a minimum 20% discount on books."
Household accessories and decorations should not be forgotten. Habitat, which recently started offering an NUS discount, is seeing more and more image-conscious students come through its doors. The students are looking for items that will give their homes the same air of style that comes with their other purchases. They are the most transient consumer group in the UK, getting through three or four addresses a year sometimes, and each move precipitates a furnishings review. Whether it's lava lamps and Radiohead posters or Rothko prints and Phillipe Stark lemon squeezers, students treat their room decor as a personality statement.
At the end of all this spending it would be wise for students to get insured. 70% of crimes against students involve theft or criminal damage. NUS calculated the average student has £3,000 worth of possessions in their home, a fact that has inspired awareness-raising campaigns from students' unions and police forces across the UK.
Spotlight on: student health and beauty
Student spending on healthcare products is partly driven by students' unions and university welfare teams. These bodies have a responsibility to inform students on health issues - they invest heavily in promoting practices such as safe sex, nutrition and bodycare. Their marketing work on campuses is among the most visible, and as a result student awareness is high.
Being a student is different today than it was ten or even five years ago. Among the many changes that have impacted on student lifestyles is the withdrawal of free prescriptions. Nowadays students rarely bother visiting a doctor unless they feel especially unwell - they prefer to take advice from a pharmacist and buy over-the-counter.
There has also been a marked rise in sales of vitamins and energy supplements, as students seek to counter-balance the effects of heavy nights out and intense study. Products like Pro Plus have won a permanent place in the bathroom cabinet: "Pro Plus is as essential a part of the modern student's toolkit as the mobile phone," said The Guardian recently.
Meanwhile cosmetics retailers and those selling grooming products have benefited from the eventual death of the 'great unwashed' myth. It may have once been cool to be unclean, but today's fresher is full of fragrance. It's all about pulling power according to Daniel Goldup, who writes for York University's student paper. Speaking about male students, Daniel says: "There is more pressure these days. Standards have been pushed up by the, letÕs call it ÔfeminisationÕ, of male culture through the likes of David Beckham, Jude Law and various boy bands. No longer is the ideal of male beauty the rugged look of the 1980s. For now at least it is the pretty-boy, well shaven and immaculately groomed look that is dragging girls wilfully between crisp Habitat sheets!"
And it may come as a surprise to those who remember students as disorganised characters, but today's students often arrive at university with a medical kit full of aspirins, cold remedies, creams and potions - because university handbooks encourage students to come prepared. Campuses are notorious harbingers of illness, especially in the first term when thousands of young people from all across the country come together.
This year the Department of Health will spend £2 million on a safe sex campaign pitched at students and young people. Boots the Chemist have invested in the student market with the large-scale sponsorship of university facilities, such as the Boots Library at Nottingham Trent University. Meanwhile brands such as Nivea, Clinique and Brylcreem have recognised students make up a massive part of their customer base and targeted their marketing accordingly. From condoms and sanitary products to aspirins, cold remedies, hair sprays and skin lotions, students have proved a key market for the health and beauty sector.
Being a student is different today than it was ten or even five years ago. Among the many changes that have impacted on student lifestyles is the withdrawal of free prescriptions. Nowadays students rarely bother visiting a doctor unless they feel especially unwell - they prefer to take advice from a pharmacist and buy over-the-counter.
There has also been a marked rise in sales of vitamins and energy supplements, as students seek to counter-balance the effects of heavy nights out and intense study. Products like Pro Plus have won a permanent place in the bathroom cabinet: "Pro Plus is as essential a part of the modern student's toolkit as the mobile phone," said The Guardian recently.
Meanwhile cosmetics retailers and those selling grooming products have benefited from the eventual death of the 'great unwashed' myth. It may have once been cool to be unclean, but today's fresher is full of fragrance. It's all about pulling power according to Daniel Goldup, who writes for York University's student paper. Speaking about male students, Daniel says: "There is more pressure these days. Standards have been pushed up by the, letÕs call it ÔfeminisationÕ, of male culture through the likes of David Beckham, Jude Law and various boy bands. No longer is the ideal of male beauty the rugged look of the 1980s. For now at least it is the pretty-boy, well shaven and immaculately groomed look that is dragging girls wilfully between crisp Habitat sheets!"
And it may come as a surprise to those who remember students as disorganised characters, but today's students often arrive at university with a medical kit full of aspirins, cold remedies, creams and potions - because university handbooks encourage students to come prepared. Campuses are notorious harbingers of illness, especially in the first term when thousands of young people from all across the country come together.
This year the Department of Health will spend £2 million on a safe sex campaign pitched at students and young people. Boots the Chemist have invested in the student market with the large-scale sponsorship of university facilities, such as the Boots Library at Nottingham Trent University. Meanwhile brands such as Nivea, Clinique and Brylcreem have recognised students make up a massive part of their customer base and targeted their marketing accordingly. From condoms and sanitary products to aspirins, cold remedies, hair sprays and skin lotions, students have proved a key market for the health and beauty sector.
Spotlight on: students and their money
A recent NOP finance report identified students as 'green shoots' - newly sprouted consumers with lots of potential. Although their financial holdings are low, their youth makes them the perfect target for those selling first-ever current accounts, credit cards and other financial products.
The abolition of grants in the late Nineties opened the floodgates for the finance sector. There is now an insatiable demand for borrowing, and it is a rare student that does not need to call on the help of overdrafts and credit cards to get them through university.
The modern student lifestyle has accelerated the need for credit. Today's student has a 'live today, pay tomorrow' attitude and expects to live a full life at university. As The Guardian recently said of students: "They are now uniquely flashy, conditioned to expect a lifestyle of cocktails, designer clothes and en-suite travel."
So isn't this a bit of a worry? Not according to students, says Dr Sue Eccles of Lancaster University. She conducted research into the borrowing phenomenon and found: "The general consensus amongst university students was that they have accepted that they will have extensive debt as an inevitable part of their experiences. They do not treat loans or overdrafts as 'real' debt but merely as a long-term investment." They may now have money, but students are still out for all they can get for free. Incentives such as gifts, discounts and prize draws are guaranteed to capture their interest in finance products. When it comes to signing up for a credit card, it is often the originality of the giveaway that makes the difference. Barclaycard found last year that its free popcorn-maker was massively successful in attracting new customers. One Aston University student told a newspaper reporter at freshers' fair: "The funny thing was I was not interested [in getting a credit card], but at the same time felt tempted."
The plain facts of student finance are that, to get through three years of university, the average student needs in excess of £15,000. Even though 83% of students nowadays are from ABC1 backgrounds, £5,000 per year is beyond the budget of many middle-class parents and just as many are not inclined to provide that level of support. The typical student leaves university with over £10,000 owed, and prepared to work hard to manage their finances.
The student lending market is the strongest of them all. And with the prospect of 'top-up' tuition fees just around the corner - meaning students will pay up to £7,000 extra to get into a top university - it can only get stronger.
The abolition of grants in the late Nineties opened the floodgates for the finance sector. There is now an insatiable demand for borrowing, and it is a rare student that does not need to call on the help of overdrafts and credit cards to get them through university.
The modern student lifestyle has accelerated the need for credit. Today's student has a 'live today, pay tomorrow' attitude and expects to live a full life at university. As The Guardian recently said of students: "They are now uniquely flashy, conditioned to expect a lifestyle of cocktails, designer clothes and en-suite travel."
So isn't this a bit of a worry? Not according to students, says Dr Sue Eccles of Lancaster University. She conducted research into the borrowing phenomenon and found: "The general consensus amongst university students was that they have accepted that they will have extensive debt as an inevitable part of their experiences. They do not treat loans or overdrafts as 'real' debt but merely as a long-term investment." They may now have money, but students are still out for all they can get for free. Incentives such as gifts, discounts and prize draws are guaranteed to capture their interest in finance products. When it comes to signing up for a credit card, it is often the originality of the giveaway that makes the difference. Barclaycard found last year that its free popcorn-maker was massively successful in attracting new customers. One Aston University student told a newspaper reporter at freshers' fair: "The funny thing was I was not interested [in getting a credit card], but at the same time felt tempted."
The plain facts of student finance are that, to get through three years of university, the average student needs in excess of £15,000. Even though 83% of students nowadays are from ABC1 backgrounds, £5,000 per year is beyond the budget of many middle-class parents and just as many are not inclined to provide that level of support. The typical student leaves university with over £10,000 owed, and prepared to work hard to manage their finances.
The student lending market is the strongest of them all. And with the prospect of 'top-up' tuition fees just around the corner - meaning students will pay up to £7,000 extra to get into a top university - it can only get stronger.
Spotlight on: student eating habits
Kebabs, Pot Noodles, Coco Pops and toast. The four staples of the student diet according to folklore. But how true is the stereotype? What do students really eat, is it all about convenience and how do students choose their snacks, meals and confectionery?
Increasingly, research suggests student lifestyles are changing. Reports say students are becoming more sophisticated in their choices. Mike Bond, managing director of Scholarest, which runs university catering outlets, says this applies to food too: "Students are more cosmopolitan about food and drink than ever before. In terms of what is offered to them, they are looking for lots of variety, quality and taste, and probably that reflects what they can find in the high street."
But this trend away from cheap and basic foodstuffs towards exotically flavoured products does not mean you're likely to find undergraduates crammed into the communal kitchen every night, experimenting with rare spices. Students don't do a lot of cooking. In fact, they're doing even less cooking nowadays: "Students are now eating more on the hoof," says Graham Crump, who manages catering facilities at Warwick University. "This is partly due to timetable demands, which is why snack foods have become increasingly popular."
Research by the National Union of Students supports this. Penny Hollings, national secretary of NUS, explains: "Students are moving towards snacking as lectures are held any time of day, and some do part-time work. It's about convenience."
The rise of the convenience noodle market is evidence of the student trend towards no-fuss meals. Mintel reported that noodle sales rose by 45% over the period 1998-2003, reaching an estimated £189.6 million in 2003. The overall rise was driven, they said, by sales of easy-cook and instant snack products, and they acknowledged students as the core market. It's clear that if you have a product that meets their needs, students can deliver brands dramatic success.
Market Research Solutions found that on average students spend £3.88 a day on meals on campus, with first-years spending the most (on average £4.03) and postgraduates the least (on average £3.65). Students in London and the south west tend to spend the most on food (up to £4.26) compared to students from Scotland and Northern Ireland, who tend to spend an average of £3.43. Most students said they were more likely to buy their lunch from supermarkets than on campus.
Increasingly, research suggests student lifestyles are changing. Reports say students are becoming more sophisticated in their choices. Mike Bond, managing director of Scholarest, which runs university catering outlets, says this applies to food too: "Students are more cosmopolitan about food and drink than ever before. In terms of what is offered to them, they are looking for lots of variety, quality and taste, and probably that reflects what they can find in the high street."
But this trend away from cheap and basic foodstuffs towards exotically flavoured products does not mean you're likely to find undergraduates crammed into the communal kitchen every night, experimenting with rare spices. Students don't do a lot of cooking. In fact, they're doing even less cooking nowadays: "Students are now eating more on the hoof," says Graham Crump, who manages catering facilities at Warwick University. "This is partly due to timetable demands, which is why snack foods have become increasingly popular."
Research by the National Union of Students supports this. Penny Hollings, national secretary of NUS, explains: "Students are moving towards snacking as lectures are held any time of day, and some do part-time work. It's about convenience."
The rise of the convenience noodle market is evidence of the student trend towards no-fuss meals. Mintel reported that noodle sales rose by 45% over the period 1998-2003, reaching an estimated £189.6 million in 2003. The overall rise was driven, they said, by sales of easy-cook and instant snack products, and they acknowledged students as the core market. It's clear that if you have a product that meets their needs, students can deliver brands dramatic success.
Market Research Solutions found that on average students spend £3.88 a day on meals on campus, with first-years spending the most (on average £4.03) and postgraduates the least (on average £3.65). Students in London and the south west tend to spend the most on food (up to £4.26) compared to students from Scotland and Northern Ireland, who tend to spend an average of £3.43. Most students said they were more likely to buy their lunch from supermarkets than on campus.
17 November 2006
Student statistics and profile
Article by Luke Mitchell
Students have been chased and feted since the mid-Nineties when they emerged as having real commercial value. In the UK in 2005 students contribute over £13 billion to the economy, according to NUSSL (NUS Services Ltd).
Although there are nearly five million students in all (including part-timers), it's the 1.8 million in higher education that are of significant fiscal interest. These are students mainly aged 18-24 (90%), mainly living away from home (87%) and mainly from ABC1 backgrounds (70%).
While the scrapping of grants and introduction of tuition fees in 1997 may have cut student income and forced many to get part-time jobs (47%), the chance to borrow relatively large sums of cash changed the old scenario. Once a student scrimped and improvised to make a grant cheque last until the summer; nowadays there is no budget - they can borrow almost as much as they decide they need.
A typical student today will claim their full entitlement of the Government-endorsed Student Loan before considering overdrafts, credit cards, personal loans and university hardship funds. And many will also receive regular cash installments from their parents. On average they exceed their total income by £4,000 a year and finish university with over £10,000 of debt.
A recent Guardian Weekend feature examined how student attitudes have changed. It portrayed students as materialistic, status-conscious and highly careerist. And it reported a widespread change of attitude towards debt.
Debt is now seen as inevitable and, since state funding disappeared, its stigma has dissolved. The catalysts that create larger debt are high expectations of post-graduation earnings (on average they expect a starting salary of £25,000) and the ongoing parental mantra: 'student years - best of your life'.
Today's student lives now and pays later.
But those who like to romanticise will be inspired by some enduring student characteristics, those related with social rather than financial circumstance. Students haven't changed in all respects. They are still rebellious, innovative, idealistic, reactive, smart, subversive, experimental and adventurous. They are a vibrant, creative and challenging audience.
Modern marketing theory values early exposure to ideas and options. Students, who are making all sorts of choices for the first time in their lives, represent an attentive, unadulterated target for information. Many of the decisions they make will stick with them through their lives. It's not just pound signs that attract businesses to the student market - and it's not just businesses that are interested in students. Whether it is environmentalists selling the idea of green electricity, government agencies promoting healthy eating or newspapers seeking new readers, students are a good audience. They are open-minded.
Contrary to widespread opinion, students are not a hard audience to find. They ostensibly live on campus - even those that don't sleep there will spend most of their time in and around the university grounds, drinking, eating, studying, taking part in activities, working, washing clothes, on the internet etc (all students have free access to the web; 20% have bought online in the last six months). At the metropolitan universities of Leeds and Manchester there may be less attachment to campus, but at others like Warwick and Keele there is no need to leave it. And few do.
When students leave campus it is usually to seek entertainment (29% of student spending) or to travel (71% travel at least once a year). They watch more films than most other groups (92% go to the cinema at least once a month) see more bands (79% go to a gig at least once a month) and spend more time in clubs (46% go clubbing at least once a week). Hardship counsellors at universities regularly receive loan requests from students who admit spending over £100 a week on entertainment.
Copyright Reach Students
Students have been chased and feted since the mid-Nineties when they emerged as having real commercial value. In the UK in 2005 students contribute over £13 billion to the economy, according to NUSSL (NUS Services Ltd).
Although there are nearly five million students in all (including part-timers), it's the 1.8 million in higher education that are of significant fiscal interest. These are students mainly aged 18-24 (90%), mainly living away from home (87%) and mainly from ABC1 backgrounds (70%).
While the scrapping of grants and introduction of tuition fees in 1997 may have cut student income and forced many to get part-time jobs (47%), the chance to borrow relatively large sums of cash changed the old scenario. Once a student scrimped and improvised to make a grant cheque last until the summer; nowadays there is no budget - they can borrow almost as much as they decide they need.
A typical student today will claim their full entitlement of the Government-endorsed Student Loan before considering overdrafts, credit cards, personal loans and university hardship funds. And many will also receive regular cash installments from their parents. On average they exceed their total income by £4,000 a year and finish university with over £10,000 of debt.
A recent Guardian Weekend feature examined how student attitudes have changed. It portrayed students as materialistic, status-conscious and highly careerist. And it reported a widespread change of attitude towards debt.
Debt is now seen as inevitable and, since state funding disappeared, its stigma has dissolved. The catalysts that create larger debt are high expectations of post-graduation earnings (on average they expect a starting salary of £25,000) and the ongoing parental mantra: 'student years - best of your life'.
Today's student lives now and pays later.
But those who like to romanticise will be inspired by some enduring student characteristics, those related with social rather than financial circumstance. Students haven't changed in all respects. They are still rebellious, innovative, idealistic, reactive, smart, subversive, experimental and adventurous. They are a vibrant, creative and challenging audience.
Modern marketing theory values early exposure to ideas and options. Students, who are making all sorts of choices for the first time in their lives, represent an attentive, unadulterated target for information. Many of the decisions they make will stick with them through their lives. It's not just pound signs that attract businesses to the student market - and it's not just businesses that are interested in students. Whether it is environmentalists selling the idea of green electricity, government agencies promoting healthy eating or newspapers seeking new readers, students are a good audience. They are open-minded.
Contrary to widespread opinion, students are not a hard audience to find. They ostensibly live on campus - even those that don't sleep there will spend most of their time in and around the university grounds, drinking, eating, studying, taking part in activities, working, washing clothes, on the internet etc (all students have free access to the web; 20% have bought online in the last six months). At the metropolitan universities of Leeds and Manchester there may be less attachment to campus, but at others like Warwick and Keele there is no need to leave it. And few do.
When students leave campus it is usually to seek entertainment (29% of student spending) or to travel (71% travel at least once a year). They watch more films than most other groups (92% go to the cinema at least once a month) see more bands (79% go to a gig at least once a month) and spend more time in clubs (46% go clubbing at least once a week). Hardship counsellors at universities regularly receive loan requests from students who admit spending over £100 a week on entertainment.
Copyright Reach Students
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
