How to market to students during finals week

There's no doubting that finals week transforms students into different types of consumers. Some words to define the time between thanksgiving break and christmas break are stressful, busy, swamped, hectic, tiring, and confusing. During this period of time, students are not only low on sleep, but also low on money and time. Running between classes and group meetings and presentations leaves little time for students to shop, even though the christmas season brings about one of the busiest shopping times of the year. 


So as a marketer looking for ways to increase brand recognition and company sales during the holiday season, what strategies are best for capitalizing on the stress of finals week for the college student population? 

1. Make purchasing your project or service easy and time efficient. 
If students don't have enough time to purchase your product, they won't. Consider opening your store for longer hours, having midnight sales, online sales to entice easy online shopping, or even a pop-up location closer to where the students are. 

2. As a restaurant, market yourself as a great study spot! 
If you don't offer free wifi throughout the year, consider offering it for finals week to entice students to use your location for a quiet study space. Students are more likely to purchase treats and a larger quantity of drinks while they are studying so capitalize on this by being the place where they study. Also, use social media sites to show students how your location can be used for the perfect study break or for a treat after a hard exam.

3. Make Jokes. 
When in doubt, make your advertising shareable. Delusional and tired students are the perfect candidates for jokes and memes, so add some humor to your marketing during finals week to add more buzz to your brand! The more students that can relate to your posts, the more shares you'll receive and the more students who will hear about your brand.

4. Be kind.
On campus communities do so much for students during the end of the semester to help them out. Universities offer free yoga sessions, free goodie bags, or even free time to de-stress with puppies, so jump on this act-of-kindness train too! Offer discounts to individuals with a student ID, or even a free treat with every purchase. Random acts of kindness are not quickly forgotten to students struggling through the week.

At the end of the day, capitalizing on the stress of finals week is all about offering marketing campaigns that are relatable and promotions that are beneficial. Tired students will splurge on your products and services if you show them how they can help through the stress!


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