If you want to get into college kids' limited coffers, you might want to make them LOL. Eighty percent of higher-education students remember ads that make them laugh, says research by textbook rentals brand Chegg.
"That said, the humor needs to be authentic to your brand and speak directly to your audience," noted Elizabeth Harz vp of business development at Chegg. "Students are quick to filter out messaging and creative that is trying too hard to be 'cool.' Students deride advertising that they attribute to 'a 40-year-old ad man trying to recapture his youth.'"
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company is set to reveal those and other findings today at Advertising Week based on its survey of more than 4,000 students. Here is a handful of other stats from Chegg's 30-page report:
- 88 percent of the students believe it's important for companies to give back to the community
- 84 percent said they evangelize brands that reward loyalty
- 49 percent who received a product sample on campus talked with their friends about it
- 61 percent follow a brand on social media
- 33 percent stream all their TV content
"This is the made-to-order generation," Harz said. "They customize their lives and their relationships with brands to a degree never seen before."
