Today we have a sponsored post from ABS (All By Students) Notebooks, one of the sponsors from the 2008 Ypulse National Mashup in San Francisco. This is the first of a couple of posts they paid for as part of their event and site sponsorship. If your company is interested in becoming a Ypulse sponsor, please contact Charles Pelton.

Brands Help Students Take Note

This back-to-school season, students will find some extra cash in their wallets thanks to the free-school supplies initiative spearheaded by the student-started company All By Students (ABS). Campuses like Harvard, MIT, NC State, and Arizona State are connecting with brands like General Mills, AT&T, Warner Bros., Volvo, Saturn, Sears, GEICO, 3M, and Palm to offer over $20 million in free multi-subject notebooks to students. In the economic times of late, brands see the need to show consumers they understand student's heightened economic struggles. ABS provides a way for brands to help schools show love to their students by giving away a free, useful product while still getting branding and ROI from an ad campaign.

The idea for this collaboration all started in 2006 on Northwestern's campus outside Chicago, where two students recognized brands were spending money to reach college students on products they didn't need. Fast-forward to today and ABS is responsible for over a million thankful students nationwide saving money on a school necessity.

Each book includes enough note-taking pages for an entire semester's worth of notes. Eleven branded pages act as subject dividers and covers. These pages include brand promotions and discounts on products and services students use. The benefit for brands being that students are exposed to their campaigns while in the classroom – a highly captive environment – and are exposed to these messages every single day over the course of a full semester. Furthermore, the first eight pages of the book act as a resource guide for students, with schools inserting key information like campus maps, schedules, and contact info. This makes it not just a notebook, but a valuable resource guide that students will want to keep and use.

The program's success is a result of brands continually seeking innovative and creative ways to reach students. It's a program by students for students. Students saving $20 million in school supplies while helping school administrations cut budgets and getting brands positive exposure in the most coveted demographic.

Ah, to be young again…

Categorized under: Collegians

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