CBN Campus Media – Blue Bite Partnership Expands Campus mTAG Magnet Program

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

CBN Campus Media, Oceanside, California-based provider of integrated static and digital media products on college campuses, and Blue Bite, New York, have expanded their partnership as they officially launch their Campus mTAG Magnet Program.

Blue Bite campusFollowing a successful pilot, the deployment will reach over 19,000 students on 20 campuses across the US.

In 2013, CBN Campus Media partnered with Blue Bite to install multimedia advertising on 93 college campuses across the United States with the intent of extending target-based advertising on campuses into a new realm of mobile interaction for students. As part of the broader Near Field Communication and Quick Response enabled mTAG rollout across the 93 schools, they launched an mTAG Campus Refrigerator Magnet Program in 900 dedicated student housing units across two university campuses.

Using Blue Bite’s proprietary mTAG, students were given the opportunity to receive dynamic, daily interactive content from the comfort of their dorms. mTAG interactions directed students to content and campaigns that were relevant to college students, including campus-specific information and announcements as well as marketing campaigns. The platform allowed brands like Adobe and content providers to target their audience and display user-specific campaigns based on the preferences of each student.

To motivate students to engage with the mTAGs, the campaigns included a series of promotions and giveaways. Daily Sweepstakes gave students the opportunity to win gift cards from a variety of brands like Starbucks, Chipotle, and favorite local shops. Other contests, like the ‘Selfie’ Sweepstakes and the Best Halloween Costume contests encouraged students to take selfies with their mTAG magnets to be entered to win additional giveaways and deals.

The pilot run of the Campus mTAG Magnet Program was tremendously successful garnering 1,000+ interactions (taps/scans). Local deals saw an 82% click-through rate and a 10% conversion rate. The ‘Selfie’ Sweepstakes saw a 62% click-through rate, while the Halloween Contest drew a 75% click-through rate.

Through CBN and Blue Bite’s collaboration, advertisers had exclusive and direct access to their target market, while providing students with valuable offers, content and information specific to their interests and the college demographic. These multimedia advertisements were located in dorms, student unions, cafeterias and other highly populated locations on campuses to achieve maximum impact.

Students were excited to receive the gift cards, showing true interest in the daily contests, and due to the immense success of the Campus mTAG Magnet Program pilot, Blue Bite and CBN Campus Media plan to implement the program at an additional 75 college campuses beginning Winter 2016. Included in this activation will be the use of Blue Bite esca beacons, which will be deployed throughout the college campuses. Students will be made aware of local discounts and offers through beacon notifications sent to their smartphones. This will provide an additional 80,000+ students access to exclusive and valuable content and give brands and content providers an even greater ability to reach their target audience at scale.


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