Your client
partying in the sand
Reaching college kids by sponsoring events on beaches
By Diego Vasquez
Mar 1, 2010
Spring break is all about partying, and what better way for advertisers to reach all those merrymaking co-eds than by joining the party themselves.
College students are always a desirable target for advertisers. During spring break, advertisers can reach them by the hundreds of thousands by sponsoring concerts, contests and booths at the hottest U.S. beaches.
These interactive displays help advertisers stand out by making memories rather than just sales pitches. For example, kids are likely to remember the laughs they had during a shampoo-sponsored karaoke contest much longer than the bottle of shampoo the same advertiser handed out on campus.
To find out how to get your client on the beach at spring break, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Advertising on beaches at top U.S. spring break destinations such as Panama City Beach, Fla., Daytona Beach, Fla., South Padre Island, Texas, and Lake Havasu, Ariz.
Who
There are roughly three dozen youth-focused agencies across the country with experience targeting students during spring break.
How it works
Beach parties serve as the center of most daytime activities during the spring break season, which lasts the entire month of March.
Students hang at the oceanfront all day, often near the branded stages erected right on the sand at the start of the month. The stages are used by DJs, concerts and contests seen by tens of thousands of revelers each day.
Surrounding the stages are spring break villages, or areas with interactive booths where advertisers can pass out product samples, host games, tell students about a particular service, or simply place street teams to interact with the partying students.
An advertiser’s beach presence can be as simple as a soft drink company giving away free samples of a new flavor of beverage.
Or it can be much more fun and interactive. Advertisers have a chance to get creative in a way that kids will enjoy.
In South Padre Island, Texas, this year the U.S. Army will erect a huge rock-climbing wall, giving away branded prizes to those who scale to the top.
Nearby, Victoria’s Secret will host three fashion shows and give away swimsuits from its latest line, and Geico will host a tent where students can try out the latest Xbox 360 video games.
In Panama City Beach, Fla., a hair care company will have stylists on hand to give students hair tips, and it will host a singing-in-the-shower karaoke contest.
Despite the efforts of local authorities, there's obviously drinking going on at these beach parties, some of it by minors. But beer and liquor companies are barred from handing out samples on the beaches.
But they can still have a presence at the beach parties, handing out branded items such as T-shirts or Frisbees.
In some cases, beach promotions are a part of a larger overall campaign that targets kids throughout the entire day.
For example, an energy drink might deliver samples to students’ hotel rooms in the morning, then host an interactive contest on the beach later that day. That night the beverage might be the main ingredient in a discounted drink night at a nearby bar or club.
Markets
According to agencies, the most popular U.S. spring break destinations are Panama City Beach, Fla., Daytona Beach, Fla., South Padre Island, Texas, and Lake Havasu, Ariz.
Numbers
Last year 32 percent of college students planned to take a spring break trip, equaling about 5 million students, according to market research firm Youth Trends.
The most popular destinations attract between 300,000 and 350,000 students annually during spring break season, according to local city estimates.
Students plan to spend $619 on their spring break trips this year, according to Youth Trends, up from $572 last year.
How it is measured
Campaigns are measured depending on what is being sponsored.
For example, impressions can be tracked by counting how many samples are given out.
Brands can also track web interaction if there’s a social networking or online component to the campaign where students are directed to log on to a web site.
What product categories do well
Ad categories include soft drinks, alcohol, packaged goods, candy, snack foods, personal care products, entertainment, video games and insurance.
Demographics
According to the American Council on Education, 57 percent of college students are women and 43 percent are men.
Their median age is 20.3, according to Youth Trends. Four percent have a full-time job, 63 percent work part-time and 33 percent don’t work at all.
According to the report, students have average $230 per month in discretionary funds between what they earn at their jobs and other sources, such as their parents.
Making the buy
Large-scale campaigns, such as becoming the title sponsor of a musical stage, can take years of planning. The proper city permits must be secured, and the stage must be approved by nearby hotels, restaurants and bars that own beachfront property.
For most other campaigns agencies recommend advertisers begin planning eight to 10 months in advance. The latest possible date advertisers can begin planning a beach campaign is November in order to get all the details locked in by January.
A low-end campaign that involves a simple booth or small street team can start at $30,000. Larger-scale promotions that span multiple markets can cost up to $1 million.
Who’s already at spring break
Recent spring break advertisers include Coca-Cola, Victoria’s Secret, Trojan, Red Bull, Papa John’s, Hawaiian Tropic, State Farm, Geico, U.S. Army, Sony, AT&T, Verizon and Dell.
What they’re saying
“When students are there for many days at a time, you have an opportunity to put them in a brand immersion situation. They interact with the product, they sample it, they get some to take back with them, and they leave you a cell phone number or email address for a contest registration. You have the exact audience you want to capture in a captive situation to immerse them. And it has that long-lasting impact.”–
Steve Atkins, president of The Atkins Group
Web site info
Panama City Beach
http://pcbeachspringbreak.com
Daytona Beach
http://www.daytonabreak.com
South Padre Island
http://springbreak.sopadre.com/main/index.php
Lake Havasu
http://www.azspringbreak.com
Alloy Media + Marketing
http://www.alloymarketing.com
The Atkins Group
http://www.theatkinsgroup.com
Fuse Marketing
http://www.fusemarketing.com
Sniper Marketing
http://www.snipermarketing.net
SunQuest Promotions
http://www.sunquestpromotions.com
The Passion Group
http://thepassiongroup.com
Spinnaker Beach Promotions
http://sbpromos.com/aboutus.php
Youth Marketing Connection
http://www.youthmarketing.com
Campus Solutions
http://campussolutionsinc.com
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