This new Packaged Facts report provides a comprehensive assessment of the college market in the United States, which totals 15 million students attending all institutions of higher education and includes a core segment of 5.5 million full-time students at four-year colleges and universities. The report offers a thorough analysis of the demographic characteristics of the college population, including geographic distribution, family income, employment patterns, ethnicity, and values and attitudes. Factors influencing market growth, including college enrollment projections, are reviewed, and the market impact of emerging trends such as the growing importance of distance education are assessed. The consumer behavior of college students is analyzed, with particular attention paid to unique aspects of the college student consumer profile including online shopping behavior and the use of credit cards. Following a review of college media that includes an assessment of the effect of the Internet on college newspapers, the report provides an overview of marketing and promotional strategies proven to be effective in the college market. Case studies of companies operating in the college market are presented. An appendix includes information about resources available to companies interested in the college market.

Companies in a wide range of industries—including telecommunications and financial services, food and beverages, apparel and footwear, and automotive—attach great strategic significance to the college market. Many firms use the college market to build lifelong loyalty with customers who are almost guaranteed to have above-average incomes and purchasing power when they enter the workforce after graduation.

However, the college market presents unique marketing challenges. College students are difficult to reach with traditional promotional methods because they are scattered among more than 4,000 campuses across the country. They are hard to find with direct mail because they are highly transient. There are few national print media that allow direct access to student consumers.

Identify diverse segments within the college population that are critically important to designing a successful marketing program. Learn the pros and cons of using grassroots marketing techniques on college campuses. Find out how e-commerce and a rapidly growing distance education movement are changing the structure of the college market and affecting traditional college marketing strategies.

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