Campus Celebrities : Off Campus Media

 
 
Interested in getting some real life marketing experience and having a say on what your campus promotes? Apply to Off Campus Media and see how you can help create and integrate new products on campus through innovative ways. This week’s Campus Celebrity, Off Campus Media, has two divisions, Campus Ambassador programs and Moving Off Campus.  Ambassador programs promote companies, such as Nawgan, that are seeking a younger demographic. OCM’s Moving Off Campus helps students find off campus housing. HC caught up with a recent WashU alumnus, Jake Bernstein, who is now a member of the Business Development and Account Management teams at OCM to find out what’s going on with Off Campus Media.
 
HC: What is Off Campus Media?
 
JB:Off Campus Media is a marketing company that helps businesses who are trying to reach college students. We help clients through a combination of Internet marketing (search engines and social media) and our national Campus Ambassador network now touching nearly 80 campuses across the US. OCM works with Ambassadors to implement and develop campaigns specific to their campus – this not only makes programs more relevant to students, but also allows Ambassadors to gain valuable real-world marketing experience.
 
Everything OCM does for clients it in fact does for its own website MovingOffCampus.com, now on pace to help nearly one million college students find apartments off campus. We are very much invested in the solutions we offer clients because we depend on them for our own success.

HC: When and how did OCM start?

JB: Mark Sawyier a WashU graduate in 2007 started the company with MovingOffCampus.com in 2007, a website designed to help college students find apartments off campus. From there, the company incorporated social media, search engine and Ambassador marketing initiatives to grow the website. These services were then offered to clients.
 
HC: How did Movingoffcampus.com morph into OCM?

JB: We realized that the more relevant ways a client can reach college students, the better. All of OCM’s clients have something of value to college students, OCM and its Ambassadors help them best communicate that online and on-campus.

HC: How many campuses do you work with now?

JB: As of now our national ambassador network spans nearly 80 campuses.

HC: How did you build that network?

JB: We have a standard recruitment marketing process but also use our existing Ambassadors to generate referrals.

HC: What do you look for in your campus ambassadors?

JB:We like our ambassadors to be well-connected students on-campus, tech-savvy, avid social media users, outgoing and charismatic individuals, and a part of many student groups on campus.

HC: Do you have to be a certain year to apply?

JB: It depends on the project but in general we look for candidates of any age or year in school.

HC: How are your meetings run?

JB: We use technology to make remote collaboration effective and efficient. Skype, Basecamp and instant messaging are just some of the tools we use to maintain communication. The focus of our meetings is to discuss what we have gotten done, what’s still out there and what other ideas/input our Ambassadors have about their project or campaign. We’re always looking for new ideas and perspective.

HC: What companies do you look for?

JB:Our company works with a diverse set of clients: from local businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Our feeling is that a diversity of clients creates diversity of experience, which benefits everyone.

HC: How do you think OCM benefits its student employees?

JB:We have found that by making our Ambassadors’ learning and overall experience the #1 priority, we produce the best results for our clients. We take the time to help Ambassadors understand the strategy and impact behind what they are doing across a variety of tactics – social media, search engine and guerrilla marketing to name a few. As a result, Ambassadors feel real ownership for the success of their project. One could say I am living proof of the benefits that OCM can provide – I’ve learned a lot and progressed from an Ambassador to full-time employee.

HC: What are your goals for next year at WashU?

JB:We’re always looking to expand our Ambassador team and our project base at Wash U. It’s where we got started and we always want to have strong involvement from the WashU community.