Spring Breakaway
(Promo) Brace yourself: Spring Break, that annual college rite, is about to start. But it will be more than the beer-soaked party of legend.
For one thing, more than half of this year’s revelers will be women, according to a recent poll by MTV. Not all will be rowdy.
And there’s been a change in the itinerary. Whereas students once swarmed to Fort Lauderdale, FL, they are now heading to multiple locations, making it harder for marketers to keep up.
Case in point: Hawaiian Tropic. The firm will be on hand in nine venues this year, including Key West and Panama City Beach, FL and Cancun, Mexico.
“Spring Break has changed, and we follow Spring Breakers as they move to different locations,” says Jeff Lalanne, vice president, corporate partnerships and promotions for Hawaiian Tropic. “The fragmentation has caused us to become better marketers.”
Then there’s Sunsilk, which is making its first foray into the Spring Break market. It, too, will go to nine locations, ranging from Panama City Beach to Cancun.
“At first, Spring Break initially was not in the plan, but we decided to add it in,” says Tiffany Kurtz, brand marketing manager for Sunsilk. “We know what our girls are doing at Spring Break — they are going to have a good time.”
True. And the girls will need trucks to transport all the swag they are going to get.
Roughly $85 million will be spent this year on marketing during Spring Break, a 13% increase over 2006, according to a forecast from marketing and media agency Brand Connections. And much of it will go into sampling and other promotional activities.
As they have in the past, the beer brands will be there in force. But so will Gillette, Bic, Ice Breakers, Crest, McDonald’s, and many others.
“Marketers realize that this is a rare opportunity where they can speak to a target group of their consumers,” says Brian Martin, CEO of Brand Connections.
How will they speak to them?
Hawaiian Tropic, which increases its Spring Break budget 15%-20% every year, will spend $300,000 this season on its campaign, during which it will send brand ambassadors to various spots. One of their jobs: To spray Hawaiian Tropic sun block onto young bodies.
The reps, some of whom are featured in branded calendars, will also hand out tens of thousands of samples and dollars-off coupons. And they will host autograph signings, bikini contests, and block parties.
In addition, the company will promote a sweepstakes awarding 21 winners with a trip to one of three Spring Break destinations next year: Cancun, the Riviera Maya, or Puerto Vallarta. The contest kicks off this month at HawaiianTropic.com and runs through August.
And how will Hawaiian Tropic keep itself top of mind after the party is over? Through premiums like beverage coolies and sports bags.
“You don’t want kids to feel like you are selling anything,” Lalanne says. “We want kids to understand we are giving them things. We try to have fun and let them leave with a good experience.”
For its part, Sunsilk plans to distribute freebies at hotel registration desks. It will hand out 1 million sample packs of shampoo, conditioner and hair cream and 2.2 million dollars-off gift cards. The goal? To get students to try the products, or even better, buy them.
“Spring Break is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of markets heavily populated with our target,” says Shelbie Preger, account director for Sunsilk at OgilvyAction.
And Procter & Gamble’s Secret, which never misses a marketing opportunity, will hand out 1.6 million samples of its new Kuku Coco Butter deodorant and body spray line.
In some locations, Secret will throw Tiki Parties on the beach. But these will be tame — students will be plied with nonalcoholic smoothies and offered samples and temporary tattoos.
The kids can also have their photos taken. And they can retrieve the images at Secret.com by submitting their e-mail address.
“Sampling in hand helps,” says Jay Gooch, external relations manager for Secret. “But it’s really all about coming up with something that is really engaging and catching their eye on the beach.”
Some of this requires a year-round effort — and relevant communications. Secret will distribute 800,000 postcards that look like VIP invitations. The purpose? To get kids to events.
And Brand Connections is helping companies contact students via text message. Kids who sign up to receive the alerts will be given a code at the hotel that they can use to skip to the front of a line or get priority access to a club.
All sources agree, of course, that Spring Break has changed since the days when it was simply an “Animal House” event in Fort Lauderdale.
Indeed, Fort Lauderdale got so tired of the antics and property destruction that officials passed a law 20 years ago restricting parties. And its Spring Break numbers plummeted as it rebranded itself as a family-friendly destination. The same thing happened with Daytona Beach, FL.
Panama City Beach still welcomes students, but the numbers aren’t what they used to be, says city manager Richard Jackson. And why? Because the condominium boom has led to a reduction in the number of hotel rooms available, he says.
So where are the kids going? Most still go to beach towns like Panama City Beach and South Padre Island, TX. But some have switched to Las Vegas and Lake Havasu City, AZ. And others prefer cruise ships or ski resorts such as Lake Tahoe and Killington, VT.
To make it even more challenging, 72% now leave the country altogether, compared with 28% who stay in the U.S., MTV says. Mexico is expected to get 40% of this year’s Spring Break crowd, according to StudentCity.com, an online student travel planning company.
And this suits some marketers fine. For example, brewers who face restrictions in the U.S. have much more freedom beyond the borders.
“Internationally, you see every liquor company and beer brand giving out free samples on beaches,” says Matt Britton, chief of brand development for Mr. Youth, which does not work with alcohol clients. “The drinking age is 18, so why wouldn’t they do that?”
“There’s a lot more opportunity out there,” says Michael Palmer, executive director of the Student and Youth Travel Association. “Young people today don’t see barriers to travel that previous generations did.”
But even some marketers are put off by the well-documented hijinks. “This is not always something that brands want to tie themselves to,” says Jason Bakker, director of marketing for Campus Media. “Some of the more conservative, traditional brands may not want to be associated with stuff that happens at Spring Break.”
Other brands doubt it will do anything for them. Verizon Wireless prefers this year to target students on campus and at block parties.
“We don’t think [Spring Break] is the most effective means to reach this audience,” says David Ortiz, multicultural and youth public relations manager for Verizon Wireless. “We’ve done our homework, and we’ve researched it. It’s not the best bang for our buck.”
But Spring Break does produce for some brands, including some that are not associated with wild partying. The U.S. Army has found success in Panama City and South Padre Island and is headed back.
It sets up a large exhibit where it hands out information about Army life. Outside, students can try their luck on a mechanical bull. Or they can climb a tower, run through an obstacle course and play pool. Reps will hand out thousands of branded premiums, including beach towels, visors, hats and T-shirts. Last year the Army generated 8,000 more leads than it did in 2005. But it won’t say how many of those young people enlisted.
This year, the Army will add an interactive component to the mix with the Virtual Army Experience. Players participate in a video game, America’s Army, standing in a Hummvee to execute their mission on flat-screen TVs.
“The relationships developed onsite allow the Army to continue the dialogue well beyond the Spring Break season,” says Peter Office, executive vice president, live events, Momentum Worldwide, the agency handling the event. That last point is what Spring Break marketing is really all about. How do you stay in touch after the three weeks in March are up?
“It’s a challenge for marketers to carry loyalty home,” Bakker says. “Overcoming that challenge will take some post marketing follow-up. Give students something they can use, whether it’s a coupon or some sort of freebie that is not only relevant to them, but useful.”
“You can’t possibly reach all of the kids,” Brand Connections’ Martin adds. “Brands not only want to reach students where they are going, they want to reach them in more ways than just on the beach.”
The other challenge is determining return on investment. Some brands measure coupon and gift-card redemption rates. Some examine retail sales increases and PR. Many firms are happy if they attract students during this formative stage of their lives.
Yes, there are problems. Yes, you could get some bad publicity if the students get too wild.
But Spring Break “always has been and will be a place for effective marketing campaigns,” Palmer says.
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