August 19, 2015
Barnes & Noble College schools brands on what students want
The recent spinoff of Barnes & Noble College from Barnes & Noble is expected to open up a number of opportunities for the business, including further monetizing its understanding of college students and their shopping behaviors.
Yesterday, the company, which operates more than 724 campus bookstores on college and university campuses across the U.S., announced it was accelerating its marketing research platform to serve as a resource for business partners, including educational institutions, publishers and consumer brand companies.
The company gathers data and provides analytics on a wide variety of research topics gathered from online research panels of students and faculty. The company claims to have on-campus access to 5.3 million students and professors in the U.S.
"We are part of the social and structural fabric of our campuses, and it gives us a deep understanding of the nuances of each school’s culture. When that understanding is combined with the insights our market research platform provides, consumer brand marketers have what they need to build powerful, emotional connections with the millions of students we serve," said Marie Policastro, director, brand partnerships and market research, Barnes & Noble College, in a press release. "We partner and work closely with brands to ensure they engage with students in timely, relevant and inspiring ways, fostering long-lasting relationships that extend beyond graduation and deliver ongoing results."
Source: bncollegemarketing.com
According to Barnes & Noble College, discretionary income among college students will reach $163 billion this year. Better understanding and reaching these consumers is critical for marketers because these consumers tend to be both early adopters and trendsetters.
The company’s website lists brands it has worked with, including Chevrolet, Cosmopolitan, Garnier, KIND, Microsoft, Red Bull, Symantec and Wrigley.
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Shep Hyken
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Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Will Barnes & Noble College’s spinoff from Barnes & Noble be a positive or negative for its business? Does the company’s marketing research platform suggest opportunities for other retailers to develop and leverage their own insights?
Poll
I like that Barnes & Noble is pushing harder into the college market. It will help their brand awareness with the students coming out of college. Sometimes the success of the brand is an emotional tie to the past — as in our youth. Barnes & Noble is positioning themselves to keep their brand alive after the student graduates and enters into the “real world.”
Granted my recollection of college is fuzzy both because of the passage of time and the consumption of inexpensive beer while attending, but I don’t feel much brand loyalty for the book store that regularly charged me exorbitant fees for the purchase of text books and then paid me pennies for same upon return.
The market has changed a lot since I attended college and today, fewer college students are visiting college bookstores because of text book alternatives and digital downloads. Traffic between rush weeks continue to be an issue. So data will be the answer to profitability? The release implies that B&N College will be able to use its customer data to open revenue-driving activities. Book company becomes a data company? Sounds like a company trying to grab onto anything that will help it eke out a profit.
I won’t comment on the bizarre notion that spinning off part of a business—and thus depriving it of the talent and financial resources of the whole—will somehow “open up…opportunities,” other than to note the telling phrase “strong and consistent revenue stream” on BNC’s site, suggesting BN itself feels its own revenue in the future will be neither.
But back to the spinoffee: I question the $163B figure; once rent, food and textbook costs are deducted—though obviously BNC itself will profit from the latter—I think the amount available for “partners” will be much less. So this is probably seen as opportunity to jumpstart on building brand loyalties. I wish them and their partners well, but the effort may prove a challenge if students see BNC as nothing more than a bookstore.
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I like that Barnes & Noble is pushing harder into the college market. It will help their brand awareness with the students coming out of college. Sometimes the success of the brand is an emotional tie to the past — as in our youth. Barnes & Noble is positioning themselves to keep their brand alive after the student graduates and enters into the “real world.”
Granted my recollection of college is fuzzy both because of the passage of time and the consumption of inexpensive beer while attending, but I don’t feel much brand loyalty for the book store that regularly charged me exorbitant fees for the purchase of text books and then paid me pennies for same upon return.
The market has changed a lot since I attended college and today, fewer college students are visiting college bookstores because of text book alternatives and digital downloads. Traffic between rush weeks continue to be an issue. So data will be the answer to profitability? The release implies that B&N College will be able to use its customer data to open revenue-driving activities. Book company becomes a data company? Sounds like a company trying to grab onto anything that will help it eke out a profit.
I won’t comment on the bizarre notion that spinning off part of a business—and thus depriving it of the talent and financial resources of the whole—will somehow “open up…opportunities,” other than to note the telling phrase “strong and consistent revenue stream” on BNC’s site, suggesting BN itself feels its own revenue in the future will be neither.
But back to the spinoffee: I question the $163B figure; once rent, food and textbook costs are deducted—though obviously BNC itself will profit from the latter—I think the amount available for “partners” will be much less. So this is probably seen as opportunity to jumpstart on building brand loyalties. I wish them and their partners well, but the effort may prove a challenge if students see BNC as nothing more than a bookstore.