Next Stop on the Campus Tour: Quad Mall

by nicole ~ August 29, 2008

According to this article in today’s Wall Street Journal, some college and university quads might look a little more like shopping malls as students return to campuses across the country this fall. In order to build brand loyalty, several retailers will be setting up “pop up” stores on campus to sell directly to students.  Some of the brands already taking part are flip-flop maker Havaianas, Victoria’s Secret Pink line and Kiels. While some schools have embraced this idea, others have not. 

The Wall Street Journal states:

“Schools sometimes reject the pop-up stores for scheduling reasons or because they don’t want the brands to compete with their own stores. San Diego State University recently said “no” to Havaianas because it didn’t want to lose sandal sales at its own store. Pink, which visited the University of Alabama in February, was told it couldn’t come back during the football season partly because its fleece clothing and sweats would compete with clothing sold by the school’s store, though it could return in the spring.”

On a more positive note:

“Companies generally make a donation to the school, campus bookstore or student organization that sponsors their visits, which means hosting the stores can help raise funds for student groups.”

While I agree that college students are a great market for these brands, actually setting up shop on campus seems a bit much to me.  What happened to using the quad to catch up with friends, study on a sunny day, or play a game of Frisbee? There are already so many avenues for marketing and branding on campuses, but to actually set up shop seems to take away from the educational environment, if you ask me.

In a recent post I noted that Tide’s new Swash brand might benefit from campus marketing, but I think there is a difference between handing out samples during a college fair, and setting up a portable store as the Wall Street Journal article describes.

Looking back to my own college experience, I recall the excitement I felt when Dunkin Donuts started opening shop on campus and in classroom buildings. Perhaps this isn’t much different?  What do you think?

Nicole Amato is an Account Executive at Mediashop PR and a graduate of Northeastern University with a BA in Journalism.