Posted in Spring Break Marketing, Youth Culture Research on April 5th, 2009
Filed Under: college students, Event Marketing, Experiential Marketing, Fuze, Generation Y, MTV, Panama City Beach, Rockstar, spring break, spring break 2009, Spring Break Marketing, youth culture, youth culture marketing, Youth Culture Research
Those of you that don’t already subscribe are going to want to sprint to your nearest retailer of fine periodicals and purchase the latest copy of Event Marketer Magazine. In addition to its regular mix of cogent analysis, industry news and silky-smooth photography, there’s an outstanding profile of three of our Spring Break campaigns (which are rolling out as we speak).
That’s right, we’re kind of a big deal. The press can’t get enough of us.
The article, entitled “Playing It Safe,” highlights three of our largest Spring Break brands — MTV, Rockstar and Fuze — and notes that those brands see experiential marketing in tried-and-true Spring Break hotspots as the surest way to connect with Gen-Y. Especially when marketing budgets are lean. The moral of the story is simple: for youth-targeted brands, Spring Break is a nearly unmatched opportunity. Not only does it provide a chance to market to millions — literally millions — of college students, but those that travel to Spring Break destinations tend to be influencers on campus. You’re not just reaching college students — you’re reaching the college students that set the tone for youth culture in general.
To read the article in it’s entirety, either swing by your local newsstand, or go to Event Marketer Magazine online to get the details on our campaigns for Rockstar and Fuze. To whet your appetite, here’s an excerpt:
Branching out from its niche on the West Coast, ROCKSTAR now has college brand ambassadors in 75 schools nationwide. The ambassadors are actual students (keeping the peer-to-peer buzz authentic) that ROCKSTAR, via Youth Marketing Connection’s brand ambassador program, selects to spread the word about the brand on campus. ROCKSTAR brand ambassadors in key colleges and universities receive 20 cases of the product each month as well as premiums to distribute to fellow students at parties, study breaks and other campus activities.
Brand ambassadors post ROCKSTAR content and photos on a Facebook page to get the word out virally. When spring break comes around, ROCKSTAR makes sure its top performing brand ambassadors get the rock star treatment in time-tested locales like Cancun and Acapulco.
“You have to look at spring break as one aspect for a brand in terms of collegiate marketing,” says Frank Guernesey, vp-marketing at ROCKSTAR. “It’s generally a highlight for most students in the course of their year, and it seems to me that the numbers really aren’t that far off than they have been in the past, making Cancun and Acapulco still relevant.”
Part of the rock star experience includes express check-in at the hotel and VIP express entrance to the best bars and clubs for the brand ambassador plus one guest. (At spring break, where lines are long to get into coveted clubs, this perk is priceless.) The brand ambassador and their guests are directed to a ROCKSTAR VIP area with private waiter service. They also have special access to A-list performers. ROCKSTAR culminates its VIP treatment with an exclusive dinner.
During the day, ROCKSTAR hangs out at the pool and beach with the crowds. It has a branded stage on which it runs contests daily and sends out waiters to give out the product chilled in branded mini coolers. The goal is to have its brand ambassadors and their guests get back to campus and tell their network of friends all about ROCKSTAR. Last year, the brand distributed 250,000 cans of product on campuses and at Spring Break, and gained 40,000 Facebook friends.
Posted in Uncategorized on April 2nd, 2009
Filed Under: Cancun, Generation Y, Panama City Beach, Rockstar, spring break, spring break 2009, T-Mobile, Television, The Travel Channel, Travel Channel special, TV, Ultimate Spring Break, Worth Watching
It’s a gray, drizzly, and uneventful Thursday here in Washington, DC, which makes it an ideal day to engage in our country’s most celebrated pastime. No, no, I don’t mean baseball. I’m referring to the one true spectator sport, the ultimate diversion, the full-time hobby that has captivated Americans for the last half century: Television. If your weather is anything like ours, today is precisely the kind of day for which this magnificent time-vampire was invented.
But it’s not just the weather (or your empty social calendar) that should drive you to the tube this evening — there’s actually something worth watching! The Travel Channel is unveiling an hour-long special on this year’s Spring Break experience, and it promises to be be genuinely, genuinely awesome. How can we be so sure? As it happens, the fine folks at The Travel Channel spent a lot of time in two Spring Break haunts that we at YMC know extremely well: Cancun and Panama City Beach. If you watch carefully tonight, you just might catch a glimpse of us — or at the very least, you’ll likely spot Rockstar, T-Mobile or one of our other Spring Break brands.
So, gather ’round the TV at 11 pm EST, fire up The Travel Channel, and bask in the warm blue glow of Ultimate Spring Break. (If you’re — somehow — still not convinced, here’s a little teaser, just for you guys, to give you a taste of what The Travel Channel has to offer.) Tonight should be a good night.
Posted in Spring Break Marketing, Youth Culture Research on February 2nd, 2009
Filed Under: acapulco, beaches, Cancun, college students, Experiential Marketing, genreation Y, mexico, south padre island, spring break, spring break 2009, Spring Break Marketing, students, sun and fun, Youth Marketing
O sunshine, sunshine! Wherefore art thou sunshine?
As you’ve likely noticed if you live anywhere near the East Coast of these fine United States, winter is in full swing. Matter of fact, Boston — YMC’s home base — has already endured 45 inches of snow. And it’s still getting dark before five o’clock. And, oh yeah, it’s cold. So to say that Spring Break can’t get here any faster would be a colossal understatement.
And now that the countdown is officially on, what do we have to look forward this Spring Break as the realities of our ‘new economy’ set in? It may sound surprising, but it’s not all that different than it was in year’s past. In fact, as the exclusive marketing partner of leading Spring Break tour provider StudentCity.com, we have the inside scoop on how Spring Break 2009 is shaping up. So we’re sharing it with you.
First of all, Spring Break is still on. Students are still packing their bags and heading south for sunny escapes. And as of this posting, the top five travel destinations include three international and two domestic hotspots. According to StudentCity, the most popular destinations for American college students in 2009 are:
(1) Panama City Beach, FL
(2) Cancun, MX
(3) Acapulco, MX
(4) South Padre Island, TX
(5) Freeport Bahamas Cruise
Overall, you can see the top five destinations for all American college students in 2009 has remained largely unchanged. By region, though, some interesting trends have emerged over the years. Specifically we’ve noticed that the Mississippi River has become something of a Spring Break territory marker, with schools in the East skewing one way, and those in the West skewing another. Here’s how it tends to break down:
Most popular international destination for students in the North and East: Cancun, MX
Most popular domestic destination for students in the North and East: Panama City Beach, FL
Most popular international destination for students in the South and West: Acapulco, MX for students traveling by air and Mazatlan for students traveling via land
Most popular domestic destination for students in the South and West:: South Padre Island, TX
Another trend we’ve noticed over the years is a peculiar one: our northernmost neighbors in Alaska tend to stay within U.S. borders and head to Big Texas for Spring Break. While another trend is not surprising at all: our island neighbors in Hawaii tend to stay put altogether. Must be that paradise thing or something…
What’s clear is that wallet woes haven’t put the kibosh on students’ dreams of sun, fun and co-eds. In fact, what we’re seeing instead is a smarter Spring Breaker this year. Students have taken advantage of early booking discounts, trying to save where it’s easier to do so. Plans are being altered, with domestic travel on the rise. The throwback roadtrip is back in vogue – even more so now that the price of gas has leveled off. And students are planning to ‘piggy back’ in hotel rooms, as they try to save their money for what they perceive as much more important – nightlife, food and fun. And sunscreen. Lots and lots of sunscreen.
