Marketing to High School Students: Advanced Strategies for Maximum Impact
Engaging with high school students, a dynamic and ever-evolving consumer group, presents unique challenges and opportunities for marketers. This demographic is notorious for its rapidly shifting preferences, demanding a continual reevaluation and adaptation of marketing strategies. However, their role as early adopters and trendsetters makes them invaluable as initial consumers, potentially catalyzing significant sales boosts. Their ability to shape and influence trends is unparalleled, but tapping into this market requires a nuanced understanding of their behavior and preferences.
At PlaceBased, we pride ourselves on our extensive and ongoing commitment to pioneering consumer research. This journey has significantly sharpened our skills in forming meaningful connections between brands and the younger generations, most notably Generation Z. Our approach is deeply rooted in innovative and proprietary research methodologies that enable us to understand and tap into the unique preferences, behaviors, and trends of this demographic. Our strategies are meticulously designed and tailored, not just to reach this young audience but to strike a chord with them, ensuring that our campaigns don't just engage but also leave a lasting impact. This focused approach is what drives the success of our campaigns, ensuring that they resonate with Generation Z on a level that is both authentic and effective, thereby fostering a genuine connection between these young consumers and the brands we represent.
Deep Dive into Gen Z Insights
To effectively market to high schoolers, it's crucial to understand them deeply - their identity, interests, media engagement, lifestyle, and what resonates with them. Our extensive research on Gen Z provides a comprehensive understanding of this demographic. Gen Z, characterized by their pragmatism, diversity, independence, and brand-like management of their online presence, demands a unique approach. They expect brands to integrate seamlessly into their lives, echoing their values and communicating in a manner that resonates with them.
A vital aspect of understanding Gen Z lies in recognizing their role as trend pioneers, always looking for the newest products, personalities, and technology.
Enhanced Strategies for Impactful Marketing to High Schoolers
In-School Media Boards:
In-School Media Boards, especially with the resurgence of in-person learning, represent a significant opportunity for impactful advertising within the educational environment. The effectiveness of these media boards stems from their strategic placement in high-traffic areas of schools across the nation, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement with a captive, youthful audience.
These boards are positioned where students frequently gather or pass through, such as cafeterias, hallways, and common areas, making them an unavoidable part of the student's daily routine. This consistent exposure increases brand recall and fosters familiarity, two critical components of successful advertising.
2. Social Media Engagement:
Understanding the digital landscape and the predominant platforms teenagers use is crucial for effective engagement and communication. Popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat have a massive following among teens and offer varied ways for brands to connect with this demographic. TikTok, known for its short-form video content, is particularly effective for creative, trend-driven campaigns. With its emphasis on visuals and stories, Instagram allows for more polished and curated content. Snapchat, favored for its ephemeral nature, is ideal for creating a sense of immediacy and exclusivity with its content.
However, the digital landscape is ever-evolving, and staying ahead requires exploring emerging channels. Platforms like Twitch, HouseParty, Discord, and YouNow are gaining traction among younger audiences and offer unique opportunities for engagement. Twitch, primarily a live-streaming platform for gamers, has expanded to include various content, allowing for real-time interaction and community building. HouseParty, a group video chat platform, provides a more intimate and personal way to engage users. Initially popular among gamers for its communication tools, Discord has grown into a community space for various interests, making it a fertile ground for targeted and niche marketing. YouNow, a live broadcasting service, offers a platform for real-time interaction and audience engagement.
3. Mobile Device Targeting:
This leverages a critical insight: high school students are almost constantly connected to their mobile phones. This constant connectivity presents a unique opportunity for highly effective and targeted advertising campaigns. By utilizing mobile targeting, brands can deliver tailored advertising content directly to students' mobile devices, ensuring a higher chance of engagement and interaction.
The effectiveness of mobile device targeting is significantly enhanced by the ability to geofence or target within specific geographical boundaries, such as school premises. This means that when students are in school, they can receive contextually relevant advertising that aligns with their immediate environment and activities. This level of precision in targeting ensures that the content is timely and more likely to resonate with the student's current experiences and needs.
4. Video Streaming Content:
The rising preference of Generation Z for short-form video content on platforms like YouTube represents a significant shift in media consumption habits, necessitating a strategic approach in content creation. Gen Z's affinity for platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, where short, engaging videos are the norm, highlights the need for content that is concise, highly captivating, and relatable.
To effectively tap into this trend, brands should consider tailoring their content strategies to align with the preferences and behaviors of this demographic. This includes creating short, visually appealing videos that convey a message quickly and engagingly. The content should be crafted to be shareable and resonate with the values and interests of Gen Z, often involving humor, creativity, and a genuine tone.
5. Influencer collaborations:
These are a powerful way to engage with Gen Z audiences in video streaming content. Gen Z trusts influencers they perceive as authentic and relatable, making them more receptive to messages conveyed through these personalities. Brands can partner with influencers who already have a strong following among Gen Z audiences to create content that feels personal and genuine. These influencers can help craft messages that speak directly to the interests and values of their audience, thereby enhancing the brand's reach and impact.
Engaging High School Students at Their Price Point
This is a crucial aspect of marketing effectively to this demographic. High schoolers, often with limited personal income, are particularly sensitive to pricing and value. This sensitivity makes strategies like offering free samples, targeted discounts, and tailored in-school promotions highly effective in capturing their attention and influencing their purchasing decisions.
Free samples are a powerful tool in introducing new products to high school students. These samples allow students to experience the product firsthand without financial commitment, which can be a significant barrier for this age group. This direct product engagement often leads to increased interest and a higher likelihood of purchasing the product in the future, especially if they find the product appealing or valuable.
Targeted discounts are another effective strategy. High school students often look for deals and discounts, particularly for products that align with their interests and needs. Special discounts can make products more accessible and appealing to this price-conscious group. For instance, discounts during back-to-school seasons, holidays, or other relevant times can increase the likelihood of purchase.
Inclusive Marketing: Embrace Diversity at High Schools
High schools are vibrant communities with students from varied backgrounds. Recognizing this diversity is the first step in creating effective OOH ads for high schools. It involves understanding cultural nuances, language preferences, and the unique challenges different student groups face. In addition to targeting a diverse student body, incorporating bilingual creatives is a powerful strategy in place-based advertising, mainly when catering to Hispanic and Asian Pacific Islander (API) audiences in high schools. Utilizing bilingual messaging demonstrates cultural sensitivity and inclusivity and enhances engagement among students who identify with these linguistic groups. This approach can involve using dual-language ad creatives or crafting culturally resonant content that genuinely reflects the experiences and values of these communities.
Similarly, for African American communities, creating BIPOC-facing creative content is crucial. This involves developing advertising material authentically representing the African American experience, using imagery, language, and themes that resonate deeply within this community. Such tailored content acknowledges these student groups' unique cultural identity and heritage, fostering a deeper emotional connection and a sense of being seen and understood. By implementing these targeted strategies, place-based advertising in high schools becomes more than just a marketing effort—it becomes a platform for cultural engagement and representation, significantly enhancing the impact and relevance of the brand among these key demographic groups.
The cornerstone of successful high school OOH advertising lies in its ability to embrace and reflect diversity. This involves creating inclusive, representative ads that resonate with the myriad of cultures, languages, and experiences in a high school setting.
By acknowledging and celebrating the diversity within high schools, OOH advertising can capture attention and build respect and trust among young audiences, paving the way for more meaningful and impactful brand relationships.
Inclusive Marketing: Remembering the Parents
While focusing on high school students, it's crucial not to overlook the influence of their parents. Parents play a significant role in teen spending decisions, amplifying the overall buying power of this demographic. Therefore, campaigns should also resonate with parents, addressing their concerns and aspirations for their children's future, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reaching out to parents through guidance counselors in high schools is an innovative and strategic approach to place-based advertising. Guidance counselors are pivotal in the school ecosystem, often as a bridge between students, parents, and the educational community. By collaborating with these counselors, brands can effectively communicate their messages to parents in a trusted and relevant context. This method allows for disseminating tailored information that resonates with parental concerns and interests, especially regarding their children's education, health, and future opportunities. Such a partnership ensures that advertising content is seen as informative and helpful and gains credibility due to the endorsement from a respected and influential school authority. This approach is efficient for brands that offer products or services directly related to educational support, health, and wellness, or career planning, aligning seamlessly with the guidance counselor's role in supporting students' overall well-being and future success.
PlaceBased’s extensive experience marketing to teens equips us with the knowledge and tools to create impactful campaigns. Our strategies are designed to reach and engage with high school students, ensuring your brand makes a lasting impression in this dynamic market.
Measuring the Impact of High School Advertising
Measuring the effectiveness of marketing strategies in high schools is crucial for understanding the impact and return on investment of these initiatives. This assessment typically involves a blend of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Quantitative data can be gathered through engagement rates, such as the number of students participating in a campaign, response rates to calls to action, or specific promotional codes. Additionally, tracking sales or website traffic changes during and after the campaign provides tangible evidence of its success. On the qualitative side, surveys and feedback forms can be invaluable in gauging student and parent perceptions of the brand and the campaign's relevance to their needs and interests. Social media engagement and sentiment analysis can also offer insights into the campaign's reception among the student body. By combining these approaches, marketers can paint a comprehensive picture of how their high school marketing efforts resonate with this unique and influential audience, enabling them to refine and optimize future campaigns for even more significant impact.
1. Case Study: "Hydration on the Go" Aquafina
High school students, particularly those involved in sports and extracurricular activities, are often on the lookout for convenient, healthy hydration options. Recognizing this, Aquafina launched the "Hydration on the Go" campaign, a strategic initiative targeting high school students.
The campaign centered on providing free Aquafina water bottle samples at high school sporting events, including football games and track meets. In addition to the free samples, Aquafina offered exclusive discounts for future purchases, accessible through QR codes printed on the labels of the sample bottles.
The campaign was a tremendous success, significantly increasing brand awareness among high school students. Post-campaign surveys indicated that students appreciated the brand's presence at sporting events, associating Aquafina with healthy hydration and active lifestyles. As a result, Aquafina saw a marked increase in sales in the regions where the campaign was active, particularly among high school-aged consumers.
Moreover, the campaign fostered a positive brand image, as students and parents appreciated the brand's support of school sports and its emphasis on healthy living. The "Hydration on the Go" campaign boosted sales and established Aquafina as a preferred brand among health-conscious, active high school students.
2. Case Study: “Student Discount” Apple
Apple Inc. launched the "Apple Student Discount" program for high school and college students. This campaign offered special pricing on laptops, iPads, and other products essential for education. Apple also included freebies like Beats headphones or gift cards with certain purchases to make this more appealing to high schoolers. Apple successfully targeted the price-sensitive student market by offering these discounts and free products. The program was extensively promoted through online platforms and direct school marketing, significantly increasing Apple product usage among high school students. This strategy boosted sales and helped build brand loyalty among younger consumers, setting a foundation for future consumer relationships.
Teens Notice OOH Advertising
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising, including advertising aimed at teenagers, has recently shown significant effectiveness and growth. According to a survey by the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) and Morning Consult, 88% of adults notice OOH ads, and nearly 80% of those who notice these ads are inspired to take action. This high level of engagement indicates that OOH advertising effectively captures consumers' attention, including the teen demographic.
Furthermore, the OOH advertising sector experienced substantial growth, particularly in the latter part of 2021. The fourth quarter of that year saw a revenue increase of 37% in the OOH industry, as reported by the OAAA. This growth trajectory suggests that OOH advertising is recovering post-pandemic and adapting successfully to the new normal of consumer behavior and engagement.
These statistics reflect the potential and effectiveness of OOH advertising, especially in high-traffic areas like high schools, with a concentrated audience of teenagers. The high engagement rates and the recent growth in OOH advertising revenue highlight the opportunity for impactful advertising in these settings.
In conclusion, advertising in high schools presents a unique opportunity to reach and influence a critical segment of future consumers. By understanding high school students' dynamic and diverse nature, brands can create tailored, impactful campaigns that resonate on a deeper level. The key to success is crafting messages that capture attention and speak to this young audience's values, experiences, and aspirations. Whether through innovative technology, socially responsible initiatives, or culturally inclusive content, the strategies employed in high school advertising can forge lasting connections and build brand loyalty. As we explore and understand this ever-evolving landscape, the potential for meaningful engagement and the influence of well-executed high school advertising campaigns remains immense, setting the stage for a future of insightful and practical marketing practices.
To learn more about high school advertising, let’s connect.
