Universities, freshers fairs and student areas
Marketing To Students On And Off Campus
Marketing to students means reaching them where they gather: the freshers fair, the student union, the walk between halls and lectures, and the shops and bars in the student quarter of a city. The first weeks of the academic year are among the busiest, when students are settling into new routines, finding the local services they will use and trying brands for the first time.
We supply student marketing teams across the UK: brand ambassadors, sampling staff, leaflet distributors, costume characters, game hosts and event staff. Marketing to university students works the same way whether it is one campus or a tour that visits a different university every day.
You tell us the universities, the dates, the hours and how many staff you want at each. A freshers tour across ten cities is handled as one booking, with one point of contact throughout.
Back to you usually within hours, with day rates, hours and on-costs broken down for every university on the tour. No hidden fees.
Assigned once the quote is signed off, with 24/7 support for the length of freshers.
Our operations team pick staff on skills, experience and location. Where campuses sit close together the same team often covers several of them.
Your briefing form becomes a tailored document covering the product, the student offer, the game and the key messages.
Right to work and ID verified. Employer and Public Liability cover for every campus date. DBS and food hygiene on request.
PAYE, tax, National Insurance and HR are all handled in house. Billing is agreed in your quote, before the work starts.
Shift reminders, geo-tagged check-ins and live attendance monitoring throughout the booking.
Built around what you need, discussed and agreed before the booking is confirmed, and set out in your quote.
Great service and response even to very last minute requests.
Rollover UK, verified client review
Staff we supply
Teams For The Fair And The Student Quarter
Marketing to students on campus and reaching them in the streets and venues around it are two different jobs. These are the five we staff.
Freshers Fair Stand Teams
Stand teams run your pitch at the freshers fair or in the union, where thousands of new students can pass in a single day, many of them actively looking for samples, offers and something useful.
- Representing your brand at the stand from doors open to close
- Delivering the student offer set out in your briefing document
- Handing out samples, vouchers and merchandise
Suits: banks and fintech, food delivery, telecoms, energy drinks, retailers
Campus Game Hosts
Game hosts run a mechanic that gets a crowd around the stand, such as a prize wheel, a Plinko board or a scratch card, and hand out the prizes on the spot.
- Inviting students to play and managing the queue
- Running the game and allocating prizes to your rules
- Sending winners on to the store, the app or the sign-up
Suits: fast food, snacks and drinks, apps, entertainment
Student Union Trial Crews
Trial crews give students the product to try in the union bar, the campus shop or the library cafe, which suits food and drink where the first taste decides the habit.
- Serving the product from a table or a tray inside the union
- Talking through the product and the student price
- Working to the times agreed for your campaign
Suits: chilled coffee, soft drinks, snacks, meal deals
Halls And Student Area Walkabouts
Walkabout crews work the streets between halls, campus and the student quarter, reaching students who never go near the freshers fair.
- Handing out printed offers and samples on the walk to lectures
- Working outside halls of residence at move-in weekend
- Appearing in costume where a character suits the brand
Suits: takeaways and delivery, gyms, nightlife, local retail
Freshers Tour Leads
Tour leads run a campaign that visits a different university every day through September and October, keeping the same brief and the same standard in every city.
- Coordinating the teams across the freshers calendar
- Keeping the schedule on track as the tour moves between cities
- Acting as your single point of contact for the tour
Larger campaigns
A Freshers Tour Across The Country
Freshers weeks overlap, so a national tour can be in Leeds, Nottingham and Manchester in the same week. Our event managers and campaign leads run the logistics for every campus and coordinate the teams.
Staff are matched to the brief by our operations team and drawn from our 40 UK hubs. If you would rather the same team travelled the whole tour, so there are fewer people to brief, say so in the brief and we will quote it that way.
Where we work
Cities We Have Worked Freshers In
Teams are drawn from our 40 UK hubs and matched to the brief, whether that means a team near each campus or the same team travelling the tour.
Student cities we have supplied teams to include:
We staff student campaigns UK wide, so a brief in any university city is covered the same way as one anywhere else.
Recent work
Student Campaigns We Have Staffed
Four campaigns delivered on and around UK campuses.
Freshers 2025
Nationwide Student Tour
Plinko games, scratch cards and giveaways across universities and student hubs.
3 cities
Spin To Win, Freshers Week
Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham, with prizes up to free chicken sandwiches for a year.
Thousands sampled
Chilled Classics On Campus
Supermarkets on university campuses and train stations across the country.
Tuk-tuk
Iced Coffee Sampling
A chilled sampling team covering university campuses, stations and city hubs.
Common questions
Questions Brands Ask Before Freshers
What Is The Best Way To Market To Students?
It depends on what you are selling and when. How to market to students is mostly a question of timing and place. The first three weeks of the academic year carry the most attention, the freshers fair reaches the most people in a single day, and the walk between halls and lectures reaches the students who never go near it. Tell us the campuses and the dates and we will quote the mix.
Do You Plan The Campaign, Or Only Supply The Staff?
We supply the staff. The marketing strategy to attract students is yours, and we build the briefing document around it so the team on the ground delivers your offer the way you wrote it.
Can You Reach Postgraduates As Well As Undergraduates?
Yes. Marketing to graduate students often means different places and a different time of year. Tell us who you want to reach and we will build the brief around it.
Which Universities Can You Cover?
All of them. We handle marketing to students UK wide from 40 hubs, so a brief at any university is covered the same way as one anywhere else. Send the campus list and we will quote it.
How Far Ahead Should A Freshers Campaign Be Booked?
As early as you can. Freshers weeks overlap across the country and the university calendar is set a long way in advance, so the dates are known well before most campaigns are. Send the campuses and dates and we will come back with an itemised quote, usually within hours.
Get a quote
Tell Us The Universities And The Dates
Send us the campuses, the dates, the hours and how many staff you want at each. We will return a fully itemised quote, usually within hours, with day rates, hours and on-costs broken down.
Further reading
Our Guides To Student Campaigns
Eight guides written from campaigns we have run on campus and in student cities. They cover where students are reachable, when to reach them and what works in each setting.
