College students as current customers.

As new postal rates kick in, one cataloger/retailer targets college students through school papers - bypassing postage costs altogether.

As every marketer is acutely aware, a 14 percent increase in third-class postage took effect this month. Companies will continue to mail smarter and look for alternative ways to reach new customers for their products and services.

This article describes how one nationally known cataloger/retailer utilized alternative direct response to drive retail store traffic reaching a largely untapped market - college students.

The College Market

Many retailers view college students as future customers. This is a big mistake. Companies like American Express, AT&T and Ford have advertising dollars geared to reaching these active consumers.

Roper CollegeTrack conducted a Lifestyle & Media Study in October 1993 and April 1994. Some of their findings on retail activity were:

* On a past week basis, students were more likely to shop at a department store or a mall than in their college store. (About 50 percent shopped in a mall and 44% a department store.)

* Seventy-five percent ate in a fast-food restaurant at least once; 50 percent ate at a full service restaurant.

* Major high ticket items were often purchased off-campus. For instance, more than half of undergrads having their own computer bought it in an off campus retail store.

This study also identified the most prevalent types of stores college students shopped. These were: clothing, sporting goods, discount and department stores.

Direct mail catalogs should not fear, however. Nearly half of all undergrads bought something from a catalog in the past year. Music, casual clothes and dress clothes were the items most frequently purchased.

In view of these statistics, it is not surprising this company implemented this program. They are attempting to attract customers that have disposable income now and are open to experiment new products and services.

Implementation & Execution

The company initially experimented itself by inserting a catalog into two or three college newspapers near several of their retail stores. It showcased merchandise available in their stores. They analyzed response by conducting telephone follow-up on the college campus within two weeks after the students received the catalog.