The pandemic is nearing its end, and provinces are gradually announcing school reopening dates. A battle for the campus FMCG market is about to erupt.
The campus market, with its relatively closed environment, concentrated consumer groups, and relatively high purchasing power, is a very important piece of the pie for the FMCG industry.
Capturing student consumption trends is equivalent to capturing the consumption trends of future mature consumers. By incubating consumers from their student days, we can cultivate the family-oriented consumer base of the future. Today, let's discuss more efficient incremental promotion methods for campus channels.
-01- A Simple, Crude, and Effective Method: Buying Out Stores
For campuses, target consumers are relatively fixed with low mobility, so the total volume of consumer goods is also relatively stable. Buying out stores is the fastest way to see results.
The core is: centered on existing sales points, by buying out these points and adjusting displays, we can enhance single-point selling power, thereby establishing a stronghold for product sales and squeezing competitors out of the campus through a gradual encroachment strategy.
1. Store Inventory and Analysis
A campus will have several terminal sales points, but each point's selling capability can vary greatly. Therefore, the key to attacking competitors and boosting sales is to lock onto TOP stores. If you can push competitors' products out of consumers' sight in TOP stores, the impact on competitors will be devastating.
Thus, the preparatory work should first involve a comprehensive inventory of all sales points' actual selling capabilities, customer relationship assessments, and a comparison of resources invested in our products versus competitors'.
2. Buying Out TOP Stores
After the inventory and locking onto sales points, the next step is to buy out these points. There are several principles for buying out:
1) Full-category buyout. Exclusive sales of products in the same category. This requires establishing a benefit chain to implement market intervention through campus relationships. It is easier to achieve in third-tier and below cities; the key is the benefit chain and customer relationships.
2) Main product exclusive sales. For example, a certain milk brand's specific SKUs are exclusively sold on campus. This is common; the key is the investment in fees.
3) Price band exclusive sales. For example, in campus food service channels, drinking water in the 2-yuan price band is only sold by a certain brand. The key is that the single-product profit is much higher than competitors'.
4) Key display position exclusive sales. For example, in campus supermarkets, the most attractive spots like floor displays and shelves are bought out to secure the first sales opportunity. The key is fee support.
3. Maximizing Display
After buying out TOP stores, the first priority is to set up displays immediately. First, ensure that the display area, position, and visual merchandising materials stipulated in the signed fee agreement are not reduced, and complete them with quality and quantity. Second, squeeze competitors' living space as much as possible. The core principles are:
- Full shelves for product display and sales; 2) Inventory displayed as floor stacks in the store for stocking and whole-case sales; 3) Related sales aids such as coolers, freezers, and small shelves around the checkout counter as multi-point display and sales areas.
4. Highlight Key Super Single Products
Every brand has a few products that represent sales or brand image. After maximizing display, the primary task is to continuously adjust the positions of single products to ensure good placement, large facing, and strong visual merchandising. For example, if a brand has two bestsellers, it is recommended that one bestseller takes the prime position this week, and the other takes it the next week.
It is worth reminding: The best position must be given to the best-selling product to make it easier for students to buy and generate more sales; otherwise, the market cost-effectiveness cannot support your ongoing efforts.
-02- Continuous Consumer Engagement Activities
One thing must be clear: Students are a special consumer group with good receptivity. If brand messaging is done well, it affects not only the individual consumer but, especially for students below university level, also their parents, siblings, and the whole family.
Amplify online voice for activity promotion, lock onto offline themes for activity promotion, organically combine online and offline, lock onto student fan groups, and convert fans into consumers.
1. Amplify the Influence of Celebrities
Many brands use traffic celebrities as spokespersons. When it comes to the value of celebrities, the place with the highest conversion rate of popularity to traffic is school. Students are a strong fan base for celebrities. Traffic celebrity merchandise implies invisible, multiplied potential sales. Combining products with celebrities will surely yield good sales. At this point, the core operation is to enlarge photos of the celebrity with the product and post them in every corner of the campus.
2. Conduct Offline Themed Activities with a Voice
Campus is full of youthful energy, so activity themes should align with it. For example: Girls' Day activities, campus sports meets, campus basketball games, group outings, etc. If the brand ambassador recently appeared on a variety show, replicating that at the event site is also an excellent theme.
It is worth emphasizing: The activity theme is about product empowerment and consumer attraction. The core value of the activity is to communicate the product's differentiated selling points to consumers through themed activities.
There are three points to note for campus themed activities:
1) Activity location: For promotional activities on campus, first choose a good location. Places where students frequently pass, such as the main routes to and from classes, intersections of dormitories, and near various gates, are quality locations. After initial selection, remember to consult and file with the relevant school management departments to obtain the school's consent.
2) Activity format should not be monotonous: Typical promotional activities either set up points to display products and distribute flyers, play introduction audio for on-site consultation, or offer samples and trials.
When conducting promotional activities on campus, since the audience is students, their thinking and hobbies are fashionable, and they like novel, beautiful, and interesting things. Promotional activities should incorporate these characteristics to choose appropriate methods and setups.
3) Weather selection and safety precautions: When choosing the date for promotions, be sure to check the weather forecast and avoid strong sun and heavy rain. First, transportation is inconvenient; second, few students will go out in such weather, and the effect will be greatly reduced.
Safety is the primary and necessary condition for any activity. During preparation and execution, pay attention to potential safety hazards of related items. When foot traffic increases, be especially careful to avoid accidents such as stampedes and crowding.
3. Persist with Regular Product Recommendation Activities
For example, if you sell instant noodles, set up resident promoters at the restaurant during breakfast, lunch, and dinner times, guard the noodle cooking shops, and conduct product promotion and consumer interception. Additionally, deploy key personnel in dormitory areas to capture the purchase wave after evening self-study.
4. Channels for Consuming Products with Long Shelf Life
Campus is an excellent channel for consuming products with long shelf life. Design promotional intensity well to attract group purchases by dormitory units. Periodically recall long-shelf-life products from the entire market to designated sales points and hold limited-time specials on weekends. This allows students to experience the product at a lower cost while maintaining the freshness of the overall regional market's inventory age.
-03- Create Model Stores and Radiate to Surrounding Markets
In a broad sense, campus channels can be divided into on-campus and off-campus channels. Off-campus channels mainly refer to sales points within a certain radius centered on the campus. To do well in campus channels, it is necessary to achieve unity inside and outside. The core is: create model stores on campus and radiate to surrounding consumer groups off campus.
1. Create Model Stores on Campus
Model stores are windows for brand promotion. In addition to product display and visual merchandising, they focus more on brand building. Common elements include store signs, interior column wraps, ceiling banners, and door wraps. These larger brand displays should focus on overall effect, highlight the brand's thematic image, and strive for a unified style, no dead corners, and comprehensive decoration.
With the Ministry of Education's requirements for "de-commercialization and de-branding" on campus, building brand stores is increasingly difficult, but opportunities always exist. For example, when stores undergo renovation, you can leverage the situation to permeate many brand elements.
2. Radiate to Surrounding Markets
The market around the campus essentially serves students. If the on-campus market foundation is solid, radiating to the surrounding area will naturally follow.
It is worth reminding: For off-campus channels, focus on consumer traffic generation during lunch and dinner times. During these periods, students will go out to stroll, eat, and buy randomly. Off-campus store displays should focus on "easy to see" and "easy to take." If conditions allow, set up small promotional tables and deploy in-store promoters during these times.
Final Thoughts:
Campus promotion is a slow process. Private schools are relatively simple and market-oriented, while public schools often involve more than just commercial behavior; distributor bosses need to personally negotiate relationships.
My Experience Summary:
1. Higher-priced products: Nowadays, brands launch new products with relatively high prices. For example, 550ml mineral water retails at 6 yuan per bottle. Prioritize promotion in high school campuses, preferably private high schools, as students at this level have the highest spending power, far exceeding university campuses.
2. Prioritize investment in military academies, prosecutor colleges, police colleges, etc.: These campuses are highly closed, making it easy to lock in exclusive sales and achieve high sales growth in a short time. Secondly, the core factor for university promotion is not whether the school is prestigious, but the total number of enrolled students.
3. Don't neglect junior high school students in free sample activities: If product features are successfully instilled, these students are most likely to influence their families, creating loyal consumers.
4. Don't underestimate kindergartens and primary schools: Especially during pick-up times when parents wait to pick up their children, there are many opportunities for market promotion.
Extended Reading:
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