Home Sampling and promotions
Sampling and promotionsSampling and promotions in students' hands.
Student sampling, campus promotions, bar and retail promotions and experiential campaigns at Irish colleges, staffed by students and reported on.
Student promotions, four ways.
- 01
Campus sampling
Product, samples or vouchers handed out on campus and at Freshers' fairs, where the college allows it.
- 02
Bar promotions
Student nights and promotion crews in the bars students already choose.
- 03
Retail promotions
Student offers, point of sale and promotion staff in shops near campus.
- 04
Experiential
Stands, stage shows and campus tours. Our campus tours visited ten colleges at a time.
- 05
Student promotion staff
Students who know the campus, briefed on your product and your rules.
- 06
Follow up
A QR code or an opt in WhatsApp list so a sample turns into a customer.
Sampling on Irish campuses since 2004.
Philip Marley's campaigns have included Rag week sampling tours, campus tours with stage shows, promotion teams and student print such as loyalty cards, vouchers and text to win flyers. See photos from those campaigns on our about page.
The lesson is simple: students try what is handed to them by someone their own age, in a place they already are. Put posters up first so they recognise the brand, then sample, then give them a reason to come back.
Sampling within the rules.
Each campus decides whether outside brands can sample, where and when. Many route requests through the students' union. Published policies such as DCU advertising policy and the University of Galway societies handbook bar alcohol promotion on campus.
If the follow up is a WhatsApp or text list, Irish law requires clear opt in consent and an easy way out in every message (Data Protection Commission, FAQ on consent for electronic direct marketing).
Planning a student campaign? Call or WhatsApp Philip on 087 054 9971, or email hello@studentlink.ie with the product, the audience, the cities and the timing.
Where can you sample to students?
On campus where the college or students' union allows it, at Freshers' fairs, in bars and shops near campus, and around student housing with the operator's permission. We confirm the rules for each place first.
Who staffs the promotions?
Students who know the campus. Student promotion staff, sometimes called brand ambassadors, are easier for students to talk to and know where the footfall is.
Can you promote alcohol brands?
Many campuses bar alcohol promotion, for example DCU and University of Galway. Alcohol brands usually work through bar promotions off campus, within the law and the venue's rules.
Is this experiential marketing?
Yes. Sampling, stands, campus tours and student nights are experiential marketing aimed at students. Our campus tours once visited ten colleges at a time.
How do we know it worked?
We agree the measure up front, such as samples handed out, sign ups or voucher redemptions, and report on it at the end of the campaign.
Got a poster run in mind?
Call or WhatsApp Philip on 087 054 9971 and he'll walk you through it personally.
087 054 9971Prefer to write it down? Use the form and you'll usually hear back within one working day.