The Top 5 universities in New England are:
- Boston University
- Harvard University
- UMass Amherst
- University of Connecticut
- Northeastern University
Boston University
Boston University has a total enrollment of 32,123 and an undergraduate enrollment of 18,420. The 5 most popular majors are Business Administration and Management, Communication, Economics, Psychology, and Health Management. Despite being the largest school in New England, 62% of its classes have fewer than 20 students. 70% of students live in college housing and 30% live off-campus. Boston University is also highly sports-oriented and has many successful teams like soccer and ice hockey.
Now, if a business were focusing on this University for a new campaign to promote their brand or products we would recommend focusing on Out-of-Home advertising. By having advertisements on kiosks, bus shelters, etc. they will reach even more than just the target demographic. This is because BU is in the center of a major city, so those traveling through Boston will also see the advertisement.
Harvard University
Harvard has a total undergraduate enrollment of 9,101 and a total enrollment of 27,479 and is located in an urban setting in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard’s classes tend to be on the smaller side, creating a more personal learning environment with 74% of the school’s classes having fewer than 20 students. A few of the most popular majors you’ll find at Harvard are Social Sciences, Computer Science, Biology, Math, and History. Unlike many schools in which students move off-campus after their first or second year, 98% of Harvard’s current student body live in college housing. Aside from the great academic opportunities, Harvard also offers a wide variety of Varsity, Intramural, and Club Sports. Their outstanding academic quality and all other great things offered on campus have earned them the #1 spot in Best Value Schools. Harvard also has a highly diverse student body with 48.6% racial-ethnic minorities.
Since this University does pride itself on the small classrooms, your business could optimize on those close connections and use a Brand Ambassador approach to the campaign. Whether it is having the Brand Ambassador hand out flyers, putting up posters, wall clings, or distributing door hangers, the connection from the students would make the campaign that much more successful. Also, if you want to target a specific demographic, you could have the Brand Ambassador focus on the primary demographic only.
UMass Amherst
The University of Massachusetts-Amherst has a total enrollment of 26,986 students and 22,291 of those students are undergraduate students. The school has 49.5% of its classes with less than 20 students. The most popular majors at UMass include Business, Management, Marketing, Social Sciences, etc. About 63% of students live in college housing and 37% live off-campus. At UMass it is easy to find the sport for you; football, basketball, hockey, etc. As well as the over 200 student organizations offered on campus.
Having to advertise on this massive campus could seem difficult to get impressions throughout the whole University. However, going with a bus advertisement (Bus King, Queen, or Tail advertisement) would be very effective at obtaining the most impressions throughout the whole campus.
University of Connecticut
UConn is home to 26,847 total students 19,104 of them being undergraduates. It is located in Storrs, 30 minutes away from Hartford. The school offers more than 450 clubs and organizations and over 30 sororities and fraternities. UConn’s basketball teams are especially popular, however, there are more sports to choose from. Although freshmen don’t have to live on campus, more than 70% of undergraduate students do. The most popular majors are Economics, Psychology, Speech Communication and Rhetoric, Nursing, and Biology.
Having such a prominent Greek Life is something a business should utilize if they can. Having a sorority or fraternity post or use any of your products after you have given them a “drop-off” of materials means that you get to utilize them as student influencers. The great thing about utilizing greek life is that they will then promote your product/brand. They may do this by posting on social media, or through talking with their peers.
Northeastern University
Northeastern’s total enrollment is 21,454 and 13,888 are undergraduate students. Throughout their time at Northeastern, students gain work experience by completing a least one professional co-op and they have more than 2,000 employers to choose from around the world. Students can decide whether they want to complete their degree in four years, with two co-ops, or five years with an additional co-op. The school offers over 400 clubs and organizations including over 30 sororities and fraternities. There are also a variety of sports offered in varsity, club, intramural. Students are required to live on campus during their freshman and sophomore years. The most popular majors at Northeastern are Business, Management, Marketing, Engineering, etc.
While planning a campaign for a school such as Northeastern, it would be best to focus on event marketing. With so many clubs and greek houses, your business will have ample opportunities to sponsor an event, purchase a table at an event, etc. From those events, you’ll be able to get a large covering of students.
