They man display tables in Faunce House, tape up promotional posters and auction off free products at sports games. Their attitude is friendly, their tone is informative and their manner projects college-student cool. They're student promoters, hired by large commercial companies to promote their wares on college campuses around the country.
Companies such as Napster and Apple Computer use student promoters not only for advertising, but also to keep tabs on often unpredictable college trends and opinions.
Christine Fleming, a marketing manager for Napster based in Los Angeles, said that this is the first year the company has used students as promoters and that they are effective at promoting Napster on college campuses. Right now there are 20 students around the country working to raise awareness about Napster, a music downloading service that is free for Brown students living on campus this year.
The choice to use students to promote Napster came "out of a need" to extend Napster's workforce onto college campuses, Fleming said. Unlike efforts to market credit cards to students, she said, Napster's student promoters publicize a beneficial service.
Fleming pays student promoters a flat rate per semester for assignments such as setting up booths at large campus events, encouraging student governments to integrate Napster into campus programs and using radio DJs and school newspapers to raise awareness about the service.
In the hiring process, Napster often relied on recommendations from college administrations about particular students who had been involved in previous marketing campaigns and might have been interested in the promotion job. Napster also posts a job description and contact information on each participating college's career center Web site.
Geoff Stetson '07 first heard about the Napster promotion job through an online posting. He was one of 20 students nationwide hired by Napster at the beginning of this year. In order for Napster to keep track of his work, Stetson sends biweekly e-mail updates on his promotional activities to Fleming. He also receives weekly mass e-mails with promotional suggestions and updates.
Stetson said it is a little weird to work for a boss he has never met, but that it is fine with him. He enjoys the independence that his job entails. "I have the freedom to get work done when I have time to," Stetson said.
Far from selling Napster, Stetson said he is simply publicizing the service's existence on Brown's campus. "Napster's just a free service for Brown students. I'm not selling anything. That's why I say I'm raising awareness."
Jonathan Thompson '08 began work as an Apple promoter in spring 2005 after learning about the job through the Office of Financial Aid's Student Employ-ment Web site. He earns $10 an hour working for Apple and also has the opportunity to earn bonuses for projects well done.
Each week, he submits a detailed report on how many hours he has spent on his project and what his current project has entailed. Student promoters are generally expected to work 10 to 15 hours a week, and Thomson said Apple keeps close track of its promoters' hours and projects.
In addition to tabletop presentations of Apple products, Thompson approaches faculty about instituting Apple-friendly computer labs, hands out Apple fliers and distributes iTunes cards, which provide a free song download for any iTunes user.
The freedom he has in his work is one of the reasons Thompson enjoys his job. "(Student promoters) are given free rein to do what we want," he said. "Apple will provide posters and materials for projects, and we figure out the best way to promote it." This approach to promotion, called "viral marketing," operates under the assumption that potential consumers are more influenced if the information comes from someone inside their community, as opposed to commercial media.
With the University's newly instituted program of supplying free music downloading via Napster, Thompson said he must concentrate on iTunes promotion even more. He aspires to show that iTunes is used far more on campus, and that Napster being offered as the new campus standard seems "kind of silly."
