Marketing to Graduating College Students: How Brands Can Win During Graduation Season
Graduation season is more than a milestone. It’s a spending reset. Each year, millions of students transition from campus life into careers, new cities, and financial independence.
That transition triggers one of the most significant purchasing shifts in a young consumer’s life. And for brands, this represents a powerful and often underutilized opportunity.
Brands that show up in the right environment at the right time can build loyalty that lasts well beyond the diploma.
Why Graduation is a High-Intent Buying Moment
As students move from campus life into careers, relocation, and independent living, their purchasing priorities shift rapidly.
Categories that previously held limited relevance, now become immediate considerations.
These include:
Professional wardrobes and workwear
Laptops and productivity tech
Banking and credit products
Insurance and automotive services
Apartment furnishings
Moving services
Subscription services
Travel and luggage
These are researched decisions tied to identity and independence.
In fact, our internal survey reveals that 86% of student shoppers browse online without purchasing - using digital platforms as planning tools before committing.
Graduates are intentional buyers. The brands that enter their decision-set early, win because a trusted environment enables the connection.
Why Context Drives Performance
Digital scale alone does not guarantee influence for high-consideration purchases, especially for the Gen Z/ student demographic.
During graduation season, students are deeply engaged inside official university and bookstore ecosystems. These are environments tied to institutional trust and transactional behavior.
Follett Media Network operates within this ecosystem:
FMN reaches 6M+ college students
61M+ annual online site visits
9M+ in - store and online transactions
1,000+ campus and digital stores
These engagements are task-driven and conversion-oriented.
For categories such as financial services, QSR, telecom, automotive, home, subscription platforms, and technology, proximity to these trusted environments meaningfully increases the probability of consideration and action. This is not passive scrolling. This is high-attention, milestone-driven engagement.
And the results prove it.
Case Studies: How Brands are Winning across Categories
QSR & Food: National Café brand
Goal: Drive sales and increase visibility for campus and near campus café locations.
Execution:
Geo-targeted email campaigns reaching 1.5M+ students
Special student offers across web orders and in-store purchases
QR-enabled in-store signage
Trackable digital banners across campus bookstore sites
Results:
44% average open rate
10X+ revenue from initial investment
10,000+ coupon redemptions
3M+ Gen Z impressions
For QSR brands targeting graduates transitioning to busy professional lifestyles, this model demonstrates measurable ROI during high-intent campus moments.
CPG & Sampling: Global candy brand
Goal: Increase brand awareness and drive in-store sales.
Execution:
500K+ reach email campaign
Web order sampling
In - store distribution across 240 bookstores
Social ambassador amplification
Results:
39% open rate
1.71% CTR
250K samples distributed
21% in - store sales lift vs. prior year
Graduation season presents strong sampling opportunities, especially when students are visiting stores for regalia pickup and final campus purchases.
Subscription & Direct-to-Consumer: Global Mealkit brand
Goal: Increase engagement and drive subscription growth with a student offer.
Execution:
Dedicated email campaigns
450K+ inserts distributed
In - store signage across 600+ stores
Results:
35% average open rate
3M+ emails sent
Multi - year partnership expansion
For graduates moving into first apartments, meal kits, for example, represent a lifestyle solution, thereby making graduation season an ideal entry point.
Media & Financial Intelligence: News and Media company
Goal: Build awareness and promote student subscription offers.
Execution:
Monthly targeted email campaigns
Over 300K students reached per semester
Free subscription creatively tied to student lifecycle
Results:
3% CTR
300K+ average students reached per semester
Graduation season is particularly relevant for media, financial services, and professional development brands as students prepare for career transitions.
Retail & Lifestyle: National Home Improvement Brand
Goal: Support back-to-school dorm and home purchases via pop-up retail.
Execution:
Dedicated email campaigns
In-store pop-up shops
Targeted signage
Results:
38% average open rate
2M students reached
While activated during back-to-school, this model translates directly to graduation season, particularly for first-apartment and relocation needs.
What these Success Stories Prove
Across categories, Follett Media Network campaigns consistently deliver:
35-44% email open rates
Measurable coupon redemption
Sales lift
Sample distribution at national scale
Geo-targeted reach
Closed-loop performance tracking
Graduation season amplifies these outcomes because of:
Engagement spikes
Store visits increase
Emotional relevance is high
Life-stage purchases are underway
A Graduation Media Plan for Brands/ Advertisers
Phase 1: Planning & Evaluation Window (Weeks -6 to -3)
Objective:
Enter the decision set while graduating students are actively evaluating post-grad purchases.
Primary Touchpoints:
Dedicated Targeted Email (Student Segment)
National or geo-targeted senior audience
High-attention, direct-response channel
Clear tracking for CPA and RoAS
Dedicated email consistently drives measurable engagement, with average open rates in the 35–44% range across campaigns.
High-Impact Homepage & Category Display
Homepage banners
Graduation, technology, gifting, alumni categories
Targeted placements aligned with transactional pages
These placements capture students already in purchase mode.
Programmatic Extension / Audience Amplification
Reinforce exposure beyond the bookstore environment
Increase frequency during research period
Budget Structure (Phase 1 Example)
40% Dedicated Email
35% On-Site High-Impact Display
25% Programmatic Extension
This phase builds qualified traffic and early conversion signals.
Phase 2: Graduation Peak (Weeks -2 to +1)
This is the highest engagement period with cap-and-gown pickup, family visits, final campus transactions.
Objective:
Drive immediate conversion and redemption.
Primary Touchpoints:
Order Confirmation Page Placement
Captures attention immediately after graduation-related purchases
High visibility, low distraction environment
Graduation Zone In-Store Signage
Cap-and-gown pickup areas
High foot-traffic register zones
QR-enabled measurable engagement
Sampling / Bag Inserts
Physical reinforcement during emotional milestone moments
Particularly effective for CPG, fintech apps, subscription trials
Physical media options are scalable nationally and trackable through redemption and QR-based attribution.
Budget Structure (Phase 2 Example)
35% On-Site Confirmation & Premium Display
35% In-Store Activation & Inserts
30% Email Reinforcement Flight
This phase prioritizes direct response and short-term revenue lift.
The Parent Opportunity
Parents are materially present during graduation season.
They engage during:
Regalia purchases
Diploma frame orders
Gift transactions
In-store visits during commencement weekend
Parents often control or influence spending in categories such as:
Travel
Financial products
Insurance
Automotive
Home furnishings
Graduation gifts
FMN’s ecosystem reaches beyond students to include parents and alumni audiences.
Our survey data indicates strong parent interest in value-driven programs and loyalty initiatives.
Here are some Parent-focused touchpoints:
Graduation-related email segments
Confirmation page placements tied to merchandise
In-store signage during family-heavy weekends
Gift-focused digital placements
For higher-ticket categories, parent targeting can materially improve conversion rates and overall RoAS.
Why this Structure Drives RoAS
High-performing graduation campaigns share common characteristics:
Alignment with predictable behavioral peaks
Presence within trusted transactional environments
Omnichannel reinforcement (email + digital + in-store)
Measurable attribution through clicks, codes, and redemptions
Segmentation between student and parent audiences
FMN’s scale allows brands to activate nationally while maintaining contextual relevance.
Contact us to start your graduation campaign.