Restaurant takeout and delivery service Food.com launched a marketing program designed
to reach college students where they live — on campus and online.
The program, which runs through December, includes a series of events,
contests and promotions as well as consistent exposure on campus and on the
Web. Spending was not disclosed.
The goals are two-fold, the company said, to build brand awareness for
Food.com’s service, and to support its restaurant customers with activities
that will raise
their visibility and stimulate sales.
Throughout the fall, Food.com representatives will be handing out samples of
local restaurant food on campus and during key campus events.
In addition to this and other on-campus promotional efforts, Food.com has
teamed up with YouthStream Media Networks to
implement an online and off-line
advertising campaign. YouthStream will facilitate exposure for Food.com
through flyers, postcards, posters and other non-traditional advertising
vehicles.
The campaign also includes offering students various sweepstakes and special
pricing
on IBM products, including the IBM Aptiva, ThinkPad, WorkPad and educational
software via a co-branded area on Food.com’s site.
“Today’s college students spend nearly $80 billion a year on goods and
services, but are increasingly difficult to reach,” said Angela Wilson
Gyetvan, vice president of marketing for Food.com. “They watch less
television, listen to less radio and read fewer magazines than other
population segments, so reaching them with our message required some
ingenuity. Our goal is to integrate Food.com into campus life, so when they
think about ordering out, they automatically get the job done online.”
Food.com has 12,000 participating restaurants nationwide and claims 550,000
members.
