Influencer marketing in the education sector!

Best Case:ORCA.nrw – Starting your studies with influencer power.

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You encounter students on campus, that’s clear. Prospective students, on the other hand, are hard to reach at the logical touchpoint of schools: the environment is fragmented, access for companies is limited, and processes are small-scale and sometimes cumbersome. That is why ORCA.nrw, the state portal for study and teaching, has chosen a different path to support young people in NRW early on and with pinpoint accuracy: via TikTok.

The platform is the daily meeting place for many students. As a channel, the platform combines reach with precise audience targeting and makes content visible where the community is already active. This way, information about free learning materials and study aptitude tests reaches the feed of the right target group directly, without complicated hurdles.

In this influencer marketing best case, ORCA.nrw shows how communication from the complex school context can be shifted into a lively, digital environment. The result: less wasted reach, higher relevance, and clear access to resources that make the transition to university easier – precisely at the moment when guidance and decisiveness are needed.

55%

14- to 27-year-olds use TikTok.

Influencer Marketing Best Case for Students!

Influencer Marketing Best Case for Students!

• Building trust through credible, personal content
• Support for students starting university studies in NRW
• Connecting people with free educational opportunities on an equal footing

The challenge

Bypassing the hard-to-access advertising environment of schools.

• Bypassing the hard-to-access advertising environment of schools.
• Target group: prospective students, pupils (upper secondary level and Abitur candidates)

The strategy

TikTok as an advertising channel!

• Direct address of the target group in their digital living environment
• Authentic communication of topics related to starting university studies
• Focus on low-threshold access to learning materials and aptitude tests

The solution

Leverage influencers’ authenticity!

• Influencer selection: 20 creators with content closely aligned to topics relevant to upper secondary school students and Abitur candidates
• Content formats: Everyday insights, tips for choosing a degree program, recommendations for learning materials

The result

»Students are particularly media-savvy and especially active on TikTok. Here, through collaboration with education influencers, we were able to address the young target group in an authentic, credible way and on an equal footing.«

Saskia Helbeck-Prepens,
Content Manager
ORCA.nrw

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DOOH on campus!

Moving images for maximum advertising success at the university.

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Digital out-of-home on campus brings dynamic content directly to the university and impresses with high visibility, low wastage, and rapid activation. The screens, pillars, and video walls shape high-traffic routes and become the most eye-catching and effective advertising media at entrances, lecture hall access points, in libraries, as well as in canteens and cafeterias.

With their presence in student life on campus, DOOH surfaces combine information, service, and brand messages in a particularly effective way. They reach students exactly where they make decisions, interact, linger, or are simply on their way to the next lecture. The mix of high-quality moving images, location-based placement, and context-relevant content ensures that messages are not only seen, but also noticed and remembered.

DOOH on campus is thus far more than a digital poster: it is a modern communication medium that works close to the target audience, can be used flexibly, and complements the university infrastructure with a vibrant, digital touchpoint. Whether employer branding, product communication, campaign launches, or event notices: DOOH creates attention where young people learn, live, and bring their digital mindset with them.

State of research and reach: convincing figures

DOOH at the university has now become a familiar sight. The tech-savvy target group of students in particular appreciates the dynamic advertising medium and benefits from the infotainment mix. But DOOH also has measurable successes on campus.

• Largest unified higher education DOOH network: With over 850 screens at 125 universities and universities of applied sciences, the Campus Screens network reaches the student target group nationwide at high-traffic locations.

• Affinity & Contacts: According to the Public & Private Screen Study, IDOOH shows that the university touchpoint has the highest affinity value among 14–29-year-olds. At locations with Campus Screens, 20,56 million gross contacts/month are reached and more than 1,16 million students per week (net).

_{Public & Private Screens (2022)}

The advantages of DOOH on campus:

• Striking and memorable: Up to 65″, Full HD/4K and animated spots are ideal prerequisites for attention-grabbing moving-image messages. Huge video walls, such as at Uni Bremen with a 4.41 m diagonal, make strong statements.

• Context and content mix: news from the university, infotainment and advertising in 5–6‑minute loops increase relevance and acceptance among students.

• Agile and programmatic: creatives can be changed with a mouse click; pDOOH enables automated delivery via leading SSPs (Hivestack, Broadsign Reach, Vistar Media, SSP1). The content can be targeted according to criteria such as location, time, and weather.

• Scalable and measurable: Impression multipliers and reach via IDOOH Public & Private Screens are a reliable basis for valid performance metrics.

»DOOH at the university offers advertising companies many advantages for addressing students in a targeted manner. A major plus is the agility with which advertising messages can be integrated and swapped out.«

Ioannis Voudouris,
Management
Deutsche Hochschulwerbung

Discover DOOH from the campus now!

Impressions of DOOH on campus:

BRENA: Making sustainability visible on campus!

How can societal transformation succeed on campus?

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By placing a strong focus on sustainability with the BRENA certificate already during the course of studies. The goal: to provide impetus for a sustainable future and empower students to take responsibility in society and the economy.

As an agency for university communication, we support such initiatives with full conviction. Sustainability and social responsibility are not buzzwords for us, but values we live by. That is why we are pleased to be a partner of the University of Bremen and the Studierendenwerk Bremen and to make BRENA visible on campus with targeted advertising.

Alongside classic poster advertising, we rely on digital solutions such as DOOH screens and the impressive video wall in the glass hall of the University of Bremen – attention-grabbing formats that effectively convey BRENA’s message.

Particularly noteworthy about the project: All four universities in Bremen are part of the network and contribute their expertise:

• University of Bremen
• Hochschule Bremen
• University of the Arts Bremen
• Hochschule Bremerhaven

BRENA is coordinated by the Virtuelle Akademie Nachhaltigkeit (VAN), which has been committed to education in the field of sustainability for years.
As an agency, we see it as our task not only to provide communications support for such projects, but to actively promote them. Because we are convinced: Sustainable transformation begins with visibility and awareness – and that is exactly where we come in.

Cooperation: Partners of herCAREER.

We have been a media partner of herCAREER in Munich for 10 years!

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With our targeted advertising opportunities on and around campus, we reach young talents where their professional journey begins. And it is precisely in this early phase that strong role models, inspiring personalities, and practical insights make the difference.

Our support for herCAREER comes from conviction: We actively advocate for equality and for reconciling family and career. These values are firmly anchored in our corporate philosophy. We believe that equal opportunities and flexible career paths not only strengthen individual life plans, but also sustainably enrich the economy and society.

That’s why we ensure that the message of herCAREER becomes visible – with poster advertising and digital out-of-home campaigns (DOOH) on university campuses throughout Germany. In this way, we reach students and early-career professionals directly in their everyday lives and create awareness for a trade fair that offers real prospects.

In 2025, it’s that time again: inspiration, empowerment, and new opportunities – on 9 and 10 October in Munich. Whether as a visitor or as a company: taking part is worth it!

Promotions on campus!

Direct contact with formats that resonate with the target audience.

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The campus is a place of exchange, curiosity, and also decision-making. Those who are present here reach young talents exactly where they learn, live, and find their bearings. Promotions on campus create direct encounters: authentic, dialogue-oriented, and measurable.

State of research: Impact of promotions in figures

That promotions on campus are well received by the target group is evident. But the positive effect is also scientifically proven.

• Visibility of promotions on campus: 66% of students have already become aware of a promotion at their university at least once, which is a clear indication of the visibility and acceptance of such measures. This is the conclusion of our annual survey “Studierendenbarometer”, in which STEM students throughout Germany are surveyed on various topics.

• Promotional items: According to the Werbeartikel-Wirkungsstudie (Dima study) commissioned by the Gesamtverband der Werbeartikel-Wirtschaft e.V., promotional items stand out with very low wastage. 91% of recipients of promotional items use them themselves frequently, on average once a day. This high advertising contact opportunity of the promotional item results in the highest recall values of all forms of advertising. The duration of the advertising effect is also convincing: 61% of the target group uses the promotional item for longer than 1 year.

_{Sources: Studierendenbarometer 2024 • Gesamtverbands der Werbeartikel-Wirtschaft e.V..}

The benefits of promotions on campus:

• On-campus promotion creates maximum visibility: Anyone who addresses students right in the middle of everyday university life, e.g. on main walkways, in front of the cafeteria, or near the library, encounters a high level of openness to new offerings and innovations. Proximity to relevant hotspots ensures targeted, immediate attention..

• On-campus promotion means dialogue on equal terms: In personal conversation, trust, relevance, and credibility emerge, both for brands and for employer brands that want to convey their culture authentically.

• Campus promotion reaches a precise target group: young, digitally savvy, with strong purchasing power – students are attractive to many industries: from telecommunications and lifestyle to finance and insurance. The outreach takes place without wasted reach exactly where the target group spends time every day.

• On-campus promotion engages all the senses: hands-on experiences such as touching, testing, and sampling turn messages into memorable experiences. This increases recall and speeds up the evaluation of products and services.

• On-campus promotions convert directly: Short distances lead to immediate actions such as registrations, app downloads, appointment bookings, or purchases. They often happen right at the promotional stand and with clearly measurable results.

• Promotion on campus can be staged flexibly: with activities such as the Coffee‑Bike, sampling walks or interactive experience areas, activations can be tailored precisely to purpose, location and time window and can be informative, playful or experience‑oriented, depending on the campaign objective.

“Would you like to convince your brand’s target audience? Then simply approach them directly: with on-campus promotions, you can start a conversation and leave a lasting impression.”

Adrian Weiß,
Corporate Communications
Deutsche Hochschulwerbung

Selected: 4 options for promotions on campus

Promotions on campus are your direct channel to the student target group. It sounds simple, but it holds so much more potential than just a folding table and two promoters approaching the young target group in passing. Here are four examples of how you can definitely stand out with your on-campus promotion.

🎒 Hand-to-hand distributions

Why: High reach and mobile outreach along central routes (cafeteria, library, lecture halls). Official descriptions explicitly mention hand-to-hand distribution as a form of promotion.
Suitable for: Sampling, voucher distribution, Recruiting‑Teaser.
Tip: Short „Hook“ + QR‑Code (2‑click application, sweepstakes) for direct response.

🍫 Product sampling

Why: „Try before you buy“ – sampling campaigns are common at universities and lower the barrier to trying something new. University websites explicitly list promotions/sampling campaigns as a form of advertising.
Suitable for: FMCG, FinTech‑App‑Onboarding (Free Trials), mobility offers.
Tip: Combine sampling with booth promotion (Taste‑&‑Talk) and DOOH teasers on campus.

☕ Coffee cart or ice cream cart

Why: Coffee (or ice cream) is a conversation starter and creates goodwill. A mobile coffee cart attracts students, gives them “waiting time” for exchange, and links your brand with immediate added value. The effect is directly tangible and visible: free coffee attracts the target group and generates attention; branding on the cart/displays reinforces the impression.
Suitable for: Employer Branding (low‑barrier conversations about entry & culture), product launches (sampling + short pitch), event promotion.
Tip: Cups/mugs with a QR code linking to the jobs page or landing page – coffee-to-go cups are also a strong reminder medium as a special advertising format.

🔐 Career Lounges

Why: Students want real insights, and direct conversations beat any job posting. Campus promotions are therefore ideal for talent outreach and employer branding.
Suitable for: Internships, working student jobs, trainee programs.
Tip: Bring young employees along as “role models”; micro-formats such as “ask-me-anything” or 10-minute sparring sessions.

Discover our promotions from the campus now!

Partnership with Kölner Haien

As part of our cooperation, we are the university marketing partner of the Kölner Haie!

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This year, too, we are once again a proud partner for the university marketing of the Kölner Haie and bring the fascination of ice hockey directly to the campus in Cologne.

The Kölner Haie are far more than a sports club – they are a piece of Cologne identity. For decades, they have shaped the city’s sporting landscape and, as a true traditional club, are firmly rooted in Cologne. Their history, their successes, and their passion make them an indispensable part of cultural and sporting life in the cathedral city.

Ice hockey itself is one of the most exciting spectator sports of all: fast, dynamic, and full of emotion. The atmosphere in the LANXESS arena is unique – here you can feel the energy, the enthusiasm, and the team spirit that connects fans and players alike. It’s no coincidence that the Kölner Haie are among the ice hockey teams with the highest average attendance in Europe. The presence on campus also helps students experience the fascination of this sport early on and become part of the large Haie community.

Our logo on the boards at the LANXESS arena is far more than just an advertising space for us: it symbolically represents our commitment and support for sport in the region – as an ideal platform for integration and participation.

Anyone who, as a first-year student, has ever started a new chapter in a big, unfamiliar city knows how important sport can be for orientation, community, and “settling in.”
We wish the Haie a successful season and look forward to many exciting games and unforgettable moments – on and off the ice!

Zukunft Personal 2025 in Cologne.

We’re all set for Zukunft Personal Europe 2025 in Cologne!

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In addition to exciting conversations and many great opportunities to connect with the skilled professionals of tomorrow, you can really step on the gas with us too! Demonstrate your skills in the racing simulator and secure one of our 3 attractive daily prizes for the fastest lap on the track.

The Zukunft Personal in Cologne is regarded as one of the most important platforms for HR decision-makers, recruiters, and everyone shaping the working world of tomorrow. This is where trends are set, innovations presented, and strategies discussed that leave a lasting impact on the industry. For us as experts in higher education marketing it is especially important to take in these impulses and pass them on—because how young talent is addressed on campus is changing rapidly. Whether new communication channels, employer branding strategies, or the expectations of Generation Z: we show you how you can successfully reach students and graduates today.

Many thanks again to the great team from BRS Motorsport e.V., the Formula Student team of Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, for the support!

We look forward to exciting conversations and to shaping the future of talent acquisition together!
📅 9–11 September | 🏢 Koelnmesse | Hall 4.1, Stand D.58

University marketing in Germany!

The higher education landscape in Germany is a very challenging advertising environment. We provide guidance and show everything you need to know about the advertising venue.

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The German higher education landscape encompasses far more than 260 locations and is extremely diverse. It is precisely this diversity that makes professional higher education marketing challenging for many companies. Every university and every higher education institution has its own structures, communication channels, and student groups that must be taken into account when planning campaigns.

Successful higher education marketing therefore means understanding the specific characteristics of individual institutions: from long-established universities in large cities to specialized universities of applied sciences in smaller regions. Each target group responds to different content, formats, and advertising measures.

In addition to the universities themselves, student services organizations also play a central role. Their dining halls, cafeterias and dormitories, as well as student catering offerings, provide numerous opportunities to reach students directly. This is complemented by digital platforms and social media channels, which have become indispensable in modern higher education marketing.

Here you can find more information about higher education marketing.

PDOOH at universities.

Campus Screens expands its programmatic DOOH network at universities!

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Deutsche Hochschulwerbung and UNICUM TV are further expanding their collaboration in the field of Digital-Out-of-Home (DOOH). The existing programmatic DOOH network of Deutsche Hochschulwerbung called “Campus Screens” (www.campusscreens.tv), which has already been available since 2022, is now being expanded to include UNICUM TV’s inventory. By mid-2026, more than 250 digital advertising spaces at universities will thus be available for programmatic booking.

The Campus Screens are located in high-traffic areas such as entrance and passageways, dining halls, cafeterias, campus shops, and student dormitories. Through collaboration with the leading Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) Hivestack, Broadsign Reach, Vistar Media, and SSP1, advertisers can book their campaigns via all common Demand Side Platforms (DSPs).

Joint reach measurement and sustainable campaigns

Since 2019, Deutsche Hochschulwerbung and UNICUM TV have been relying on the Private & Public Screen Study (https://idooh.media/marktforschung/), which is published by IDOOH, for reach measurement. With the expanded cooperation, not only does the network grow, but so do the possibilities for efficient and sustainable ad delivery. Both are certified as climate-neutral companies, so that the campaigns are also implemented in a climate-neutral manner by offsetting the resulting CO₂ emissions and using green electricity.

Ioannis Voudouris, Management Deutsche Hochschulwerbung:
“We are very pleased to take the next step in our trusting collaboration with UNICUM TV. With the integration of the UNICUM TV inventory, the pDOOH offering ‘Campus Screens’ continues to grow. Advertisers now benefit even more from the reach of the largest programmatically connected DOOH network at the university touchpoint.”

Joachim Senk, Managing Director UNICUM TV:
“The collaboration in the pDOOH sector under the name ‘Campus Screens’ creates an even broader presence at universities across Germany. The combination of scalability, programmability, and sustainability makes Campus Screens a unique offering in university marketing.”

Further information about Campus Screens: www.campusscreens.tv

Employer Branding at universities!

Areti Karathanasi provides companies with a guide for successful employer campaigns on and off campus.

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Skilled labor shortage, growth plans, innovations: companies are looking for suitable personnel for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, however, this search proves more difficult than hoped; the competition on the job applicant market is too strong and skilled workers are in too high demand. So what to do? Often it is a good step—and above all the right one for sustainable success—to train skilled workers in-house. Or to give young talents with a lot of theoretical specialist knowledge the opportunity to put this knowledge into practice within the company.

The strategies to retain students within the company already exist. The real art now lies in ensuring that these programs are also noticed by the skilled professionals of tomorrow.

Many customers therefore approach us and would like to address young talent directly at the university at an early stage and, ideally, win them over even during their studies.

79%

Companies use programs such as internships or practical semesters to be more successful in recruiting among the target group of students.

Guide to Successful Employer Branding at Universities!

Knowing your own goals

Many companies are looking for new staff. But that is often where the common ground ends, as the companies’ goals differ too much. While some are looking for young professionals, doctoral candidates, or graduates with relevant work experience for immediate entry into a management position, others may first want to get to know the candidates better through internships or thesis projects and further train them in their field. You need to define these goals for yourself, because depending on the objective, the marketing measures differ from one another.

Defining the right target group

If you are clear about your own goals, the next step is to define the target group. Here you can choose from many variables, such as the stage of study (first-year students, bachelor’s, master’s or graduates), the subject focus (such as mathematics, law or engineering) or the target region or university (greater Cologne area, Cologne universities, University of Cologne, A, B and C locations). I always advise my clients to think very carefully about their target group. Because if you have too vague an idea of whom you actually want to reach, you can quickly lose focus: In Germany, a total of just under 2.94 million students are enrolled at 423 universities in 263 university towns. They are spread across 83 departments, which in turn attend seminars and lectures in countless buildings on campus, study in libraries and study rooms, or eat lunch in one of the 958 canteens and cafeterias.

Gather knowledge about the target audience

With the defined target group and the universities where you want to reach them, the next step is to gather as much information as possible about the target group. How large is the target group that I can reach at all? Where exactly do the students spend time on campus? Which routes do they take to get to the university? Which cafeteria is closest to the right seminar buildings? With this knowledge, you can plan the campaign with the greatest possible success.

Plan the right campaign

There is no single suitable campaign, because the target group of students is far too heterogeneous. However, the great advantage of advertising at universities is that the affinity value is higher at no other touchpoint within the 14- to 29-year-old target group than on campus*, which minimizes wasted reach. The campaign on and, if applicable, next to campus should therefore be a mix of suitable marketing measures.

Background noise on campus

Students are on campus every day during the busiest phases of their studies. It is therefore not surprising that Employer Branding campaigns at universities and advertising measures on campus are particularly noticeable to them. According to a survey conducted as part of the Jobcampus MINT study in 2019, 83% of the students surveyed stated that they had noticed companies as employers on posters at the university. Notices on bulletin boards (77%), promotional activities (66%) and advertising on digital screens (55%) also achieved strong results.

Targeted campaigns at A-locations

Every company has target universities that it considers particularly prestigious or that are especially in focus due to their geographical proximity. At these so-called A locations, it is advisable not only to rely on a broad advertising presence within the target group, but also to take targeted action. Proven measures include, for example, promotions with direct added value, such as a coffee cart in front of the main building or an ice cream cart in front of the library. This is where you can strike up a conversation with your target group, and if you involve trained promoters and employees from your specialist departments, you can also engage directly with the talents on an equal footing.