For those who are not new to North America, I’m pretty sure you guys have heard about American Eagle Outfitters or have shopped there before. But have you guys wondered, other than being a shopper, what is another way that you can be affiliated with this retail clothing store? You can be a a student rep, responsible for peer-to-peer marketing.
According to USA Today’s interview with Paul Himmelfarb (managing direction at Youth Marketing Connection), “college students are wary of old-school marketing.” In my opinion, this is true because how many college students actually pay attention to flyers and posters? With the increased reliance on the Internet for entertainment, TV ads aren’t very effective either. This is probably the reason why American Eagle Outfitters have recently hired over 10,000 student reps in America, and are paying them up to $1500 per semester with cash and products. This is known as peer-to-peer marketing. In early September, the company even sponsored free car-to-dorm-room services on move-in days.
Personally, I think that this kind of marketing is a very interesting way to position a brand into a college’s students minds. In class we’ve learned that with the overload of information, it is important to be the FIRST to position a product in consumers’ minds. Therefore, I think that it would be really cool if Vancouver has similar opportunities for students to become reps for a certain brand: it’s a win-win situation – the company sells its products and students make money!