Michael Emilio

Spring break = Parties.

And a marketer’s dream.

Think about this: Thousands and thousands of college students from the end of February to the later days in April pack the streets, clubs, and bars of locations such as South Beach, Miami Beach, Daytona Beach, Panama City Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.

Why Spring Break Should Be a Marketing Target For You

Marketer’s are using this hot yearly event to put their products in front of the eyes of these young affluent college students. Presumably, these students have large amounts of disposable income (all thanks to mom and dad back home). And you know how much college students love those impulse buying decisions.

“Basically, we’ll give away all four coolers at this spot. We’re doing 600 bottles a day,” says Gabriel Garcia of TrueBlue fruit juice. Her company was giving away massive amounts of the juice drink to pedestrians on Ocean Drive in South Beach.

Why College Students Are Excellent Marketing Targets

What it boils down to is this: Get some crazy college kids, with wads of money which they know they want to spend, and in a hot spot like South Beach - you have the makings of a massive method of product promotion and service marketing. College students on these spring break trips likely will have large amounts of spare cash for their vacation and are more likely to spend this cash than other types of tourists.

Another great aspect about doing this spreak break marketing in a hotspot like South Beach is that these visitors will likely be a trend follower and trendsetter - bringing friends along and involving them in their buying decisions. More bang for your marketing buck.

“I think Miami is probably one of the most aspirational destinations for spring break. This is an influencer that goes there,” says Sara Tervo, spokeswoman for Pink of Victoria’s Secret.

If we take Pink as a marketing example, they recently hosting a spring break VIP event at the Raleigh Hotel her in Miami Beach. Their method was to hand out Pink trademark stuffed dogs to winners of contests they had poolside. With about 3,000 people attending the event - and a huge portion of that being women in their early 20’s (which is Pink’s target audience) this was a boon to get their brand out there.

“We target certain lifestage moments, knowing spring break is a big one in that girl’s life,” says Tervo.

If we break this down to its power as a marketing tool, we can tell the difference between this type of promotion and the typical hotspot promotion of handing out flyers. Flyers are pure marketing hype - no true intrinsic value to the marketing recepient. However, by handing out free items, customers will be LINING UP to get their hands on YOUR product.

“Most of what they hand out are the fliers,” says Krissy Skaei, a South Beach tourist from Missouri State who received a TrueBlue bottle. “It’s good to get something that’s useful.

Taking Spreak Break Marketing to the Streets

Some companies charge huge amounts of money to coordinate promotion events like this. A Sunrise company named Good Time Boys Productions charges as much as $4000 a week to promote a product for you. Of course, you’ll have to spring for the cost of the free products you’ll be giving away.

In order to see if giving away free product will be useful for you and your business, you might want to think about your product. If your product is too expensive to give away why not take a page from Pink and give away a stuffed toy of your mascot - or even just a teddy bear with your company’s name or website on the front. If your product or service is inexpensive - and it’s a product that the consumers you are targetting with your giveaway will want - try to give a less expensive version of the product or a demo version. This can lead to future sales and future revenue streams. Most importantly, target the right customers! Don’t give away free donuts at a pool party where everyone has ripped arms and washboard stomachs - an energy drink promotion at a spot like this though, would be perfect!