Student brand reps in demand

商家进驻高校 校园代理走俏

导读：面对广大的校园市场，学生们自己无疑是最好的推销人员。几年前，校园品牌大使(campus brand ambassador)还是一个全新的概念。而现在很多商业公司都将触手伸到了校园之中，利用学生资源来推销产品，企图占领这个蕴藏无限空间的巨大市场。

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校园代理Internet

When US’ Duke University sophomore Christian Drappi sees someone using a Square (an electronic payment service) credit card reader, he pulls out his phone, snaps a picture and uploads it to Twitter.

当美国杜克大学二年级学生克里斯蒂安?德拉皮（音译）看到一些人在使用电子支付服务Square信用卡读卡器时，他便掏出手机快速拍下照片并上传至推特网上。

“It kind of spreads like wildfire through Twitter,” said Drappi, who is a campus brand representative for Square. Started by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, the company makes miniature credit card readers for smartphones.

“通过推特，它就像野火一样传播开来，”德拉皮说，他是电子支付服务Square的校园品牌代表。Square公司由推特网创始人杰克?多尔西创办，该公司针对智能手机开发出微型信用卡读卡器。

Companies are increasingly using college campus brand ambassadors to spread the word about their products.

越来越多的公司开始招用校园品牌大使来推广他们产品的相关消息。

These representatives often rely on word-of-mouth tools like social media to publicize the company and any promotional events they host.

这些代理人常常依赖于社交媒体这样的口碑营销工具，来扩大公司知名度和并宣传该公司的各种营销活动。

Though the brand ambassador is no stranger to the college marketing scene, social media are changing how these representatives interact with their peers and how effectively their message is communicated.

尽管品牌大使对于高校营销圈来说不再是什么新鲜事了，但社交媒体正在改变着这些校园代理们与他们同龄人之间的交流方式以及他们传播信息的有效程度。

Companies like Red Bull, Microsoft, Verizon and Twitter all have campus ambassadors dedicated to spreading good news about the brand.

像红牛、微软、无线运营商威瑞森和推特这些公司都有自己的校园大使，他们致力于推广自己品牌的好消息。

Campus ambassadors approach students groups, local merchants and other prospective users to demonstrate how the card reader works and its advantages over traditional machines, Adam Bassett, who runs the SquareU program said.

正在运营“SquareU”项目的亚当?巴西特表示，校园大使可以走近学生群体、本地商人和其他的一些潜在客户，来演示读卡器的操作方法及其超越传统设备的优势所在。

The gig–technically an internship–pays $600 (about 3,814 Yuan) per semester, with bonuses based on the number of customers students sign up.

这种临时工作严格意义上来说算是实习，其报酬为每学期为600美元（约3841元人民币），此外还可以根据签约的学生客户数量获得提成。

Jane Hall from University of North Carolina (UNC) said she was encouraged by Square to use Twitter to help publicize the product.

来自北卡罗来纳大学的简?霍尔(音译)说，正是Square公司鼓励她利用推特来提升产品的知名度。

“It’s a lot easier to do through a student than from someone in San Francisco,” said Hall, a junior majoring in advertising who wanted the internship to help build her resume.

“在旧金山，学生来做这一工作要比其他任何人得心应手得多，”霍尔说，她是广告专业大三学生，想借助这次实习机会来为自己的简历锦上添花。

Cord Silverstein, executive vice president of interactive communications at the Raleigh advertising agency Capstrat, said social media have made it easier than ever for college students to share opinions on a product with their peers.

科德?希尔贝尔斯坦（音译）是北卡罗来纳州罗利市Capstrat广告公司交互通信业务的执行副总裁，他说社交媒体为大学生们与同龄人分享对同一产品的看法提供前所未有的便利条件。

Companies who take advantage of this have a significant edge in reaching the student market segment, he said.

他称，那些善于利用这一点的公司们在进入学生市场这一举措上占有绝对优势。

“Someone’s peer, someone they respect, like a student or a professor, these people are having much greater impact and influence on what college students think, like and don’t like, because they trust their opinions,” Silverstein said.

“同龄人，或是自己尊敬的人，例如一位同学或一位教授，这些人在大学生的思想，喜好和厌恶等方面存在更大的作用与影响。因为学生们信赖他们的观点，”希尔贝尔斯坦说。

Kimberly Summers, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill works as the campus ambassador for American Eagle Outfitters’ campus ambassador program. There she runs the Facebook profile “AE Student Union” for the program.

金伯利?萨默斯（音译）是就读于北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的大三学生，她担任美国鹰牌服饰校园大使项目的校园代表。在那里，她主要负责该项目在Facebook上名为“鹰牌学生联盟”的主页更新。

The group’s most recent promotion was the “Drop Your Jeans” event, which offered students a chance to donate their denim in return for a store coupon and an opportunity to win an American Eagle gift card.

该集团最近推出了名为“丢掉你的牛仔裤”的促销活动，它给学生提供一次用牛仔裤换店铺优惠券并能赢曲美国鹰牌礼品卡的机会。

“A lot of people heard about it through the Facebook page,” Summers said. “We can see the impressions, how many people actually saw it, so we know how much influence we have. It’s really great.”

“很多人通过该Facebook主页听说这个消息，”萨默斯说，“我们可以看到其影响力以及真正浏览它的人数，由此我们知道自身具有多么强大的影响力。这真是太棒了。”

Cathy McCarthy, who heads the campus ambassador program for American Eagle, said the company has brand representatives at 48 schools in 31 states and Washington, DC.

美国鹰牌校园大使项目负责人凯西?麦卡锡（音译）表示，在位于31个州以及华盛顿特区的48所学校中，美国之鹰公司都拥有其品牌代表。

When looking at ambassador applications, McCarthy said the company looks for outgoing students who are social-media savvy.

该集团最近推出了名为“丢掉你的牛仔裤”的促销活动，它给学生提供一次用牛仔裤换店铺优惠券并能赢取美国鹰牌礼品卡的机会。

For the retailer, whose clothing targets college students, the ambassador program is an ideal fit.

对于一个将大学生群体作为目标销售人群的服饰销售商，这一校园代表项目实属天作之合。

“Three or four years ago, brand ambassadors on campus were a novel idea. Now companies have them everywhere. There’s only so much mindshare to capture,” McCathy said.

“三四年前，校园品牌代表还是一个新奇的想法。而现在，各大公司在各地都拥有自己的校园品牌代表，这可以获得巨大的品牌影响力。”麦卡锡说。