Promotions on campus
Promotions on campus!
Direct contact with formats that resonate with the target audience.
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.
- 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.
- 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. 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!
