WHIPSMART CONTENT

In 2018, I launched Whipsmart Content, specializing in real estate copywriting and content for designers, artists and brands. Below, you’ll find a few of my long-form pieces available online.

JERSEY CITY'S HIDDEN GEM: THE SOCIABLE SOUTHSIDE

AT HOME WITH THE BARNES FAMILY

RENOVATING 354 OGDEN AVE: A JERSEY CITY DIAMOND ON A BLUFF

MARKETING/MARKET RESEARCH PRESS MENTIONS & RELEASES

In my previous life I was a marketer and market research for a niche market media company specializing in the college, military, multicultural, senior and LGBTQ markets. In those roles, I had the opportunity to act as a trusted authority on niche marketing and non-traditional media. A few of my press mentions and press releases from that era are below.

New York Times

The Daily Californian

Media Post - Marketing Daily

AdWeek

Media Life Magazine

PRESS RELEASE:
re:fuel Launches Website Touting the Importance and Value of Newspapers 

NEW YORK, July 9, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- re:fuel – a leading media and promotions firm – is pleased to announce the launch of IHeartNewspapers.com, an online resource for newspaper research and information.

IHeartNewspapers.com's content is designed to promote the positive impact that newspapers have on readers and to illustrate the value of newspaper advertising to marketers. The site will feature coverage of breaking industry news and trends, in-depth proprietary research and profiles of featured newspapers. The content will also be available on the site's Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages.

"For too long, reports have focused on the downfall of newspapers in the U.S. In actuality, newspapers continue to be a sought-out and trusted medium. In fact, more than 160 million people read newspaper content each week," states Chris Cassino, President of re:fuel Media Group. "We're excited to launch an online destination that can educate and inform advertisers and readers about the continued positive impact of newspapers."

Greg Anthony, Chief Revenue Officer for re:fuel Media Group, adds, "We developed this site to emphasize the essential role newspapers play in effective media plans. Through both print and digital formats, newspaper advertising reaches the target consumer throughout their day, alongside content they enjoy, in a manner that doesn't block or intrude."

"We look forward to IHeartNewspapers.com's ability to deliver relevant updates to potential advertisers and to support the vital newspaper industry," concludes Cassino.

ABOUT RE:FUEL

re:fuel is a leading marketing firm connecting a wide range of brands with niche consumer segments through scalable and impactful media and promotions solutions. With decades of expertise serving youth, multicultural, military and local audiences, re:fuel deploys brand campaigns that speak to these consumers in their world, throughout their day. re:fuel has locations nationwide, with headquarters in New York City, and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, CA, Harrisburg, PA, and Cranbury, NJ.

Media Contact:
Tammy Nelson - VP, Marketing & Research
646-571-2656

PRESS RELEASE:
Tech-Savvy College Students Are Gathering Gadgets, Saying Yes to Showrooming and Rejecting Second-Screening

NEW YORK, June 13, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This Fall nearly 22 million college students will head back to campus to kick off the 2013-2014 school year. This is the largest assembly of college students ever to arrive on campuses, and they'll do so boasting immense buying power, wielding a vast arsenal of gadgets and relying on mom and dad more than ever. Today, re:fuel, a leading media and promotions firm, has released findings from its 13th annual College Explorer survey, powered by Crux Research. The largest annual study of its kind, the 2013 edition offers perspective on college student spending, technology ownership, online behavior and media consumption.

SPENDING IS STEADY

After a 40 percent leap in discretionary spending reported in the 2012 College Explorer, total college market spending has remained steady in the 2013 edition. This year, college students control a massive $404 billion in total spending power, including $117 billion in discretionary purchasing and $287 billion in non-discretionary spending (those dollars allotted to tuition, room & board and school supplies). These figures hint at economic recovery, at least in the college sector, with a 12.5 percent jump in total spending and a robust 30 percent increase in discretionary spending during the last five years.

While per-student academic spending contracted in the last two years – from an all-time high of $14,469 per student per year in 2011, to $13,178 in this year's study – tuition costs are still 36 percent higher than they were just ten years ago. In order to meet these costs in a time of economic uncertainty, students and parents have sought out more scholarships and financial aid (up 6 percentage points from 26 percent in 2003 to 32 percent in 2013), while paying for less of the tab from their own pockets (down 10 points from 52 percent in 2003 to 42 percent in 2013). And while the percentage of school costs covered by loans has remained steady at 21 percent, it's clear that 21 percent is of a much higher total college bill. In fact, 73 percent of students surveyed in the 2013 College Explorer expect to graduate with some amount of student loan debt, with the average loan amount pegged at $16,904. What's more, students expect to take nearly eight years (7.8) to pay off that debt.

When it comes to discretionary spending, food reigns supreme among students. A full 36 percent (or $42.1 billion) of total annual discretionary spending is dedicated to food purchased in grocery stores ($21.1 billion), at convenience stores ($7.9 billion) and in restaurants ($13.1 billion). Automotive (including car payments, insurance, maintenance and gas) is the second largest category for student discretionary spending at $17.5 billion, followed by apparel at $13.1 billion.

When asked what they expect to earn after graduation, this year's respondents forecasted earnings dipped slightly to $48,788. However, students seem more optimistic about the importance of their educational endeavors with a full 70 percent of students believing that college will pay them back financially in the long term up from 64 percent who said so last year.

ONLINE COURSES. ON-CAMPUS LIVES.

It's no surprise that students are taking advantage of online courses to obtain their degrees. In fact, the number of students taking at least one course online has jumped 96 percent (from 23 percent to 45 percent) in the last five years. Those students taking online courses are enrolled in an average of two per term.

"When speaking to college students about online classes, we do hear mixed reviews," says Tammy Nelson, Vice President, Marketing & Research at re:fuel. "While students appreciate the flexibility online classes afford, many also struggle with managing coursework when they don't have regular assignments or meetings. Students who need additional assistance to grasp course material also struggle to find help when professors and fellow students are available only in the digital world."

Despite the increase in online coursework, however, students continue to spend a significant amount of time on their college campus. On average, students spend 10.2 hours per day on campus during the week and 6.5 hours per day on weekends. John Geraci, President/Founder of Crux Research notes, "While we expect to see a net increase in the number of online courses students take in the future, the campus environment remains the main hub of daily life. Students taking online classes must often visit campus to obtain materials, join study groups or do research – not to mention the myriad recreation, shopping and entertainment venues available at colleges today – making campus an ideal, communal place for brands to connect with college consumers."

TAKEN WITH TECHNOLOGY

Students added one-half of a device to their arsenal of technology since our last College Explorer study, bringing their total to an average 6.9 gadgets per student. Topping the list is the ubiquitous laptop, owned by 85 percent of students. Smartphones moved up to the second slot for the first time and are now owned by 69 percent of students. Feature phone ownership, meanwhile, has slid to 33 percent among this tech-savvy set. Rounding out top-owned technology are video game consoles (68 percent), MP3 players (67 percent) and printers (62 percent). When asked what devices they intend to purchase in the coming year, once again, smartphones are the frontrunners with 31 percent of students planning to acquire one.

With this level of adoption, it's no surprise that technology is facilitating academic chores. Students rely on their laptops for schoolwork; 70 percent use them for research and coursework and 47 percent regularly employ them for classroom note taking. Even tablets and smartphones are being pressed into service in the classroom. Thirty-three percent of tablet-owning students regularly use them for work/research, 33 percent for taking notes and 37 percent for reading electronic textbooks; 13 percent of agile-thumbed students report using their smartphone for note taking.

Despite their tech-loving ways, however, students also embrace more traditional means of learning. Far more students (79 percent) report that they typically take notes with pen and paper, than with devices. Additionally, traditional printed textbooks continue to dominate despite sharp increases in tablet and e-book reader ownership. More than half (59 percent) of the 6.9 textbooks acquired each term are obtained in a printed format, compared to just 19 percent acquired digitally. "It seems that highlighted passages, notes scribbled in margins and dog-eared pages are tried-and-true study methods that will last well into the 21st century" reports Nelson.

ENTERTAINED AND INFORMED

But don't let all that studying and hard work fool you, students still love to have fun. In fact, they spend a significant amount of their daily 14.4 hours of multitasking on across devices in pursuit of entertainment. Sixty-four percent of students regularly watch TV in real-time on a television set, and 20 percent do so on computers. Downloaded TV content is consumed primarily on computers (43 percent) and tablets (28 percent), while movies are consumed across devices with half (51 percent) of students watching movies on televisions, 52 percent doing so on computers and 30 percent of tablet-owners doing so on tablet devices. And when it comes to their most coveted mobile apps, entertainment – including games (73 percent), music (67 percent) and social networking (64 percent) programs – dominates the field.

With such fervent pursuit of entertainment content on multiple devices, one would expect students to be fans of the emerging second-screening phenomenon – the use of additional devices to enhance the television experience. And while 49 percent of students report daily usage of a second screen while watching television, their activities on those additional screens would be more aptly described as multitasking. Sixty-three percent are using Facebook or Twitter, 58 percent are surfing other online sites, 50 percent are playing games and 37 percent are doing school work. True second-screening, or "social TV" activities fall much further down the scale with 18 percent researching the content they're viewing, 17 percent seeing what their friends are watching and 7 percent responding to on-air polls.

"Showrooming," or the act of researching a product while in store, on the other hand, is quite popular, and influential, among mobile pupils. Seventy-five percent students who own a smartphone or tablet report using it to conduct research while shopping in bricks and mortar stores. Seventy-four percent of them went on to purchase something at the store, 38 percent were motivated to shop somewhere else (whether that destination was on or offline) and 32 percent were influenced to purchase a different brand than the one they'd been considering.

Nelson adds, "While brand-sponsored second-screening or social TV content may not make the grade, marketers should expect that students will conduct purchase research on-the-fly and that they will be well-equipped to do so."

HOW SOCIAL IS SOCIAL?

College students continue to be avid social network users, but not all sites are created equal in their eyes. Facebook is the clear leader with 86 percent of students reporting they use the site regularly, up five points from last year. Twitter, in second place, ticked up 8 percentage points to 38 percent. Instagram made a strong debut on the 2013 College Explorer list with 30 percent of students reporting regular use. Google+ was the only site to show declining use, down to 29 percent from 32 percent last year.

When it comes to how students use so-called "social" networks, one must consider whether the most important features, according to students, are really all that social. Forty-six percent report that staying up to date with celebrity news is extremely/very important, followed by sharing links to their own websites/videos/blogs (36 percent), staying up to date with brands (34 percent) and sharing locations/activities with friends (29 percent). A mere 17 percent rate looking at friends' photos as extremely/very important, 16 percent place that level of importance on discussing information with friends and 16 percent say the same for staying up to date with friends.

Ads on social sites are also unpopular. Thirty-two percent of students say they avoid advertising on social media sites. Other ad types they consider intrusive such as text message ads (32 percent avoid opt-in text messages, 49 percent avoid non opt-in) or that block content (38 percent avoid pre-roll ads) are also among the most avoided ad types. On the other end of the spectrum, among tactics more welcomed into students' lives, College Explorer results continually find tactics that deliver value, such as sampling efforts (just 15 percent avoidance) or sponsored events (17 percent), or that are integrated into their immediate environment, like on-campus signage (15 percent) or campus newspaper ads (17 percent), have the lowest levels of avoidance.

What is the least avoided method of learning about new brands and products? Word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family are nearly universally accepted by students (9 percent avoidance). Further illustrating the importance of mom and dad, students report that they connect with their parents an astonishing 31.1 times every week, including 9.1 times via social media. Perhaps that makes family the most important social network of all for today's students.

"As students both expand and re-evaluate their social networks, they continue to make decisions on which information is important to them – which messages they'll welcome and which they'll avoid. Mom and dad, however, continue to be their main source of information, advice and approval throughout the college years. Marketers can be part of this process of self-discovery and growth by providing relevant and valuable engagement on campus during this incredible life stage, and by looping in mom and dad whenever possible," advises Nelson.

COLLEGE EXPLORER METHODOLOGY

The 2013 re:fuel College Explorer was fielded by Crux Research online in January - February 2013. The study gathered the opinions of 1,528 college students between the ages of 18-34. Respondents are current college students who take at least one course on a physical campus (i.e. are not pursuing online education exclusively).

The sample is drawn primarily from a leading online panel which includes millions of cooperative respondents. Potential respondents are drawn at random within targeted age and gender quotas from the panel. Respondents included 1,122 full-time/394 part-time students; 426 2-year students/899 4-year students/191 working towards a graduate degree; 1,117 college students aged 18-24 and 399 college students aged 25-34.

Data points in the report, unless otherwise noted, are representative of U.S. college students ages 18-34. With probability samples of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. college student population had been polled. This online sample is not a probability sample.

Quota targets are set using information from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES populations for types of students (full-time/part-time, 2-year/4-year, undergraduate/graduate), as well as demographic information from the U.S. census, are used as weighting targets.

Additional directional input and commentary provided by re:fuel Reporters, re:fuel's panel of current college students.

ABOUT RE:FUEL

re:fuel is a leading marketing firm connecting a wide range of brands with niche consumer segments through scalable and impactful media and promotions solutions. With decades of expertise serving youth, multicultural, military and local audiences, re:fuel deploys brand campaigns that speak to these consumers in their world, throughout their day. re:fuel has locations nationwide, with headquarters in New York City, and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, CA, Harrisburg, PA, and Cranbury, NJ.

ABOUT CRUX RESEARCH INC.

Crux Research is a market research firm that partners with clients to develop winning products and services, build powerful brands, create engaging marketing strategies, enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, improve products and services, and get the most out of their advertising.

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, Crux connects organizations with their customers in a wide range of industries, including education, consumer goods, media and advertising, technology, retail, business-to-business, and non-profit.

To learn more about Crux Research, visit www.cruxresearch.com.

Media Contact:
Tammy Nelson - VP, Marketing & Research
646-571-2656

PRESS RELEASE: 
hustle promotions & Bad Panda Entertainment Offer Brands a Unique Way to Reach High School/College Students

NEW YORK, April 9, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- hustle promotions, a leading experiential marketing agency is partnering with Bad Panda Entertainment to execute two national music tours targeting high school and college students in the fall of 2013. Three sponsorship levels will allow brands the opportunity to integrate their messaging into the concert experience and drive awareness among the influential yet hard to reach high school and college demographics.

The high school music tour consists of concerts in Jacksonville, FL and Miami, FL, which will take place at local venues with seating capacity of 3,000 to 6,000 and will feature three performing acts – a local or regional opening band, a national artist and a commercially popular headlining artist. Local high school students will have the opportunity to get involved by selling concert tickets; $5.00 from each sale will support their school's music program.

The college tour consists of 20 concerts that will take place in September and October at large colleges in the midwest and eastern regions of the U.S., including Central Michigan University and Rutgers University. Sponsorship levels will allow brands to reach an estimated 170,000 college students through specific tactics that include logo inclusion on pre-promotional materials and signage, stage announcements, sampling via Brand Ambassadors and more.

With a focus on custom events, promotions and sampling, hustle promotions develops and deploys high-quality, impactful experiential programs that build consumer relationships with long-term value. By leveraging its unparalleled market knowledge and media reach, hustle promotions is able to implement dynamic, surround campaigns that deliver substantial ROI for their client and agency partners.

Dan O'Conor, Account Director reporting to Chief Revenue Officer John Leider will lead sales efforts for the high school and college music tours. Dan previously served as Midwest Advertising Director at SPIN Magazine, where he established successful partnerships with key brands such as Anheuser-Busch, Proctor & Gamble, MasterCard and Citibank. Dan commented, "This partnership allows us to offer our clients a unique opportunity to create authentic brand connection with younger target audiences that deeply value music and entertainment. We're very excited and hopeful about the future of this partnership."

Founded in 2006, Bad Panda Entertainment specializes in executing national music tours that allow brands to reach desired consumer segments in an integrated, authentic way. Bad Panda Entertainment CEO Bill Cottam stated, "To make an impression on active high school and college students, you have to align your brand with something they're passionate about, and we know that they're passionate about music. Our overall mission is to deliver an enjoyable experience for the student and to allow our sponsorship partners to drive awareness for their brand."

About hustle promotions

hustle promotions (a re:fuel company) is an experiential marketing agency that develops and deploys powerful campaigns that connect brands to their target consumers in order to build relationships with long-term value. hustle promotions is headquartered in Cranbury, NJ with regional sales offices in Chicago, IL, New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA and Santa Barbara, CA.

To learn more visit www.hustlepromo.com

Media Contact:

Tammy Nelson
VP of Marketing & Research
646-571-2656

PRESS RELEASE: 
re:fuel Launches Experiential Brand hustle promotions; John Weipz and John Leider to Lead

NEW YORK, March 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- re:fuel, a leading marketing firm connecting advertisers with target consumer segments, is pleased to announce the launch of its experiential marketing brand, hustle promotions.

With a focus on custom events, promotions and sampling, hustle promotions will continue to develop and deploy creative experiential programs that build consumer relationships with long-term value. The creation of the hustle promotions brand will allow the unit to solidify its market position and to focus its efforts on delivering high-quality, impactful programs. hustle promotions will continue to leverage re:fuel's unparalleled market knowledge and media reach to develop dynamic surround campaigns that deliver substantial ROI for their client and agency partners.

John Weipz, President of hustle promotions reporting to re:fuel CEO Andrew Sawyer, will lead the group. Most recently, John served as the Vice President of Media and Promotions at re:fuel, where he managed the operation of more than 23,000 media units and a portfolio of experiential activations for clients such as Amazon, Spin Master and Pinnacle Foods. Prior to re:fuel, John spent six years at AMP Agency, where he worked with numerous clients, most notably mtvU and Hewlett-Packard, whose "Bring It Home" mobile tour was awarded the prestigious PRO Award for "Best Mobile Marketing Campaign."

John Leider, Chief Revenue Officer reporting to President John Weipz, will oversee all sales efforts for hustle promotions. John previously served as Vice President of Sales at re:fuel, where he established successful partnerships with key brands such as AXE, McDonald's, Gatorade, Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble. Prior to re:fuel, John spent six years at Starcom Worldwide.

John Weipz commented, "The launch of the hustle promotions brand is the logical next step from the creation of our experiential unit last year. Experiential programs are indispensable for creating authentic brand connection and hustle promotions is impeccably positioned to provide a well-informed, strategic approach to solving individual brand challenges for our clients."

About hustle promotions

hustle promotions is an experiential marketing agency that develops and deploys powerful experiential campaigns that connect brands to their target consumers in order to build relationships with long-term value. hustle promotions is headquartered in Cranbury, NJ with regional sales offices in Chicago, IL, New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA and Santa Barbara, CA.

About re:fuel

re:fuel is a leading marketing firm connecting a wide range of brands with niche consumer segments through scalable and impactful media and promotions solutions. With decades of expertise serving youth, multicultural, military and local audiences, re:fuel deploys brand campaigns that speak to these consumers in their world, throughout their day. re:fuel has locations nationwide, with headquarters in New York City.

Media Contact:

Tammy Nelson, VP of Marketing & Research
646-571-2656

PRESS RELEASE:
Campus Life Back in Session -- College Students Arrive Confident, Smart-er and With Climbing Consumer Spending Power

NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fall is in the air, bringing more than 21 million students back to college campuses ready to wield their immense social, political and consumer clout. For the 12th consecutive year, re:fuel, a leading marketing firm, today released findings from its annual College Explorer survey, powered by Crux Research. The largest study of its kind, the 2012 edition offers a comprehensive view of current campus life from spending habits, tech usage and adoption, to student perspectives on the upcoming presidential race - finding this year's matriculating class resolute in their confidence to make positive change in the world and outpacing their predecessors when it comes to digital connectivity.

Consumer confidence among this set shows solid improvement this year as overall discretionary spending soars 40% over last year's figure. With apparel and personal care products spend both up more than 100% since last year, it appears looking good and feeling good is boosting the campus economy.

DOLLARS & SENSE

The current college student body wields a massive $405 billion in total spending, a 5% increase over adjusted 2011 spending. This growth was fueled not only by growth in enrollment, but also by a sharp spike in discretionary spending from $86 billion last year up 40% to $120 billion this year. Meanwhile, after a significant jump to $299 billion last year, non-discretionary spending (on items such as tuition, room & board and books & supplies) dropped back to 2010 levels at $285 billion.

Students have reined in school spending by seeking out more scholarships and financial aid that does not require repayment. Thirty percent of students are receiving this type of assistance compared to 26% ten years ago. In the same period, the amount of money contributed directly by students or their families has decreased from 52% to 45%. And while 74% of students expect to graduate with loan debt (up from 55% ten years ago) and salary expectations pale in comparison to that of their peers in our 2002 study, a full 64% of students consider college to be a worthwhile investment overall.

Meanwhile, following three years of stagnant discretionary spending, students have opened their wallets to fuel growth in every discretionary category measured in this year's College Explorer. In fact, spending more than doubled in several key categories, including apparel (up 126%), technology (up 227%) personal care products (up 105%) and cosmetics (up 280%).

It's no secret that college students love to eat. This fact is, once again, born out in the spending data with student food expenditures topping the list of all discretionary outlays for the 12th year. In 2012, students spent more than $44 billion dollars on total food expenses including $20.7 billion in grocery stores, $9.6 billion on food at convenience stores and $13.7 billion spent while dining out.

LEISURELY PURSUITS

The college years provide students with a tremendous amount of free time. An average student's day consists of roughly 2 hours in class, 1.5 hours studying, 2 hours working a paid job and (after allotting time for sleeping, eating, grooming, working out and commuting) an astonishing 8.5 hours of free time. Much of their time, both during the week (10.5 hours per day) and on weekends (7.1 hours per day), is spent within the communal campus environment where, in addition to classrooms and lecture halls, students frequent a number of venues including libraries, bookstores, on-campus convenience stores and fitness centers.

"College students – even nontraditional, older students and those attending two-year schools – spend a tremendous amount of time on their college campus," commented Tammy Nelson, VP Marketing & Research at re:fuel. "It's the primary hub, not only for academic activities, but also for social and recreational pursuits, making it an ideal environment for marketers looking to foster brand connections with young adult consumers making many brand decisions for the first time."

The pursuit of food, among other things, consistently draws students to off-campus locales as well. Nearly all (92%) students visit off campus grocery stores, 88% visit quick-service restaurants and 83% visit sit-down restaurants in a typical month.

THE TECH TRIFECTA

Today's college students own an array of technology devices, but three – laptops, smart phones and tablets – with their corresponding multi-functional portability, drive students' daily lives.

Making the grade on campus is clearly the all-in-one accessory – the smart phone. The 2012 College Explorer shows smart phone ownership (55%) among students surpassing feature phone ownership (43%) for the first time. In fact, ownership of smart phones and tablets (21%) seems to be pushing a downward ownership trend in more single-function devices such as MP3 players and digital cameras.

While students own 6.4 tech devices total (on par with 2011), the amount of time spent with technology has jumped a full three hours to 14.4 total tech hours per day. The multi-function app environment on today's smart phones has driven phone time alone up one full hour per day. Among the tech trifecta, roughly 7.2 key activities (such as accessing the internet, playing games, listening to music, watching videos, etc.) are accomplished on laptops, 5.2 activities on smart phones and 5.1 on tablets.

"The increase of smart phone ownership isn't just changing talking and texting behavior," noted John Geraci, President of Crux Research. "It's affecting overall time spent with technology, influencing computer use and impacting ownership rates of less productive devices."

Smart phone dominance shows no sign of relenting as it is also the most-wanted device for students. Thirty-two percent of students expect to buy one in the coming year.

SOCIOLOGY 101:THE ART OF FRIENDING

Savvy students are using technology to interact with family, friends, and even brands, on their terms.

Once again, this generation of students proves that mom and dad are incredibly important sounding boards. Students are communicating with mom and dad a resounding 27.7 times per week employing a number of technologies to do so, including 8.1 times via text, 5.5 on the phone, 4.7 times in person and 4.4 times on social networks.

Among social networks, Facebook continues to reign supreme with 81% of students stating they regularly use the site. Students spend about an hour per day on Facebook with 16% of that time, or about 10 minutes per day, devoted to brand interaction. And while 41% of students have stated they've purchased a brand they've "liked" on Facebook, students have a notoriously low tolerance for intrusiveness and irrelevance. A full 39% of students have un-liked a brand and 34% have hidden a brand from their newsfeed. The top reasons are "the brand posted too often" and "the brand's posts were no longer relevant to me."

DEAL OR NO DEAL

Group buying services, such as Groupon and Google Offers, continue to connect students and brands online. The percentage of students subscribing to such a service rose from 41% last year to 45% this year, and those subscribers are using the services far more frequently creating a tremendous spike in estimated monthly transactions from 10.5 million per month in 2011 to 37.6 million in 2012.

Meanwhile, offline brand interaction, especially events and promotions bear strong results on campus. Nearly half (47%) of co-eds have received a free product sample, and 65% of them went on to purchase the brand. More than a third (34%) have attended a brand-sponsored event on campus; 64% went on to purchase the brand.

DEMOCRACY U

With 44% of students considering themselves Democrats (versus 18% who identify as Republican), it's no surprise that given a choice between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, 73% of college students report they would vote for Obama. Mitt Romney's campaign trail may want to head closer to the quad with just 27% stating support at the time of survey.

Seventy-eight percent of students were registered to vote as of this past spring, and 90% of those registered say they are likely to vote in November. Fueling their desire to head to the polls are key issues such as the economy (37%), education (15%), health care (11%) and social issues (11%).

Based on their political engagement, belief that their education will bear long-term rewards and their faith in their own abilities, it's no surprise that when asked "who do you think has the greatest ability to make positive changes in the world?" more than a third (35%) answered "People my age."

Nelson adds, "College students are the eternal optimists, as they should be. For students, the future, and seemingly the world, is at their feet. Students are focused on broadening their horizons and making decisions with lifelong ramifications. By delivering pertinent and relevant content, across multiple platforms, brands can begin a relationship with students during what many will consider to be the best years of their lives."

COLLEGE EXPLORER METHODOLOGY

The 2012 re:fuel College Explorer, fielded by Crux Research online in March and April 2012, gathered the opinions of 1,528 college students between the ages of 18-34 (current college students who are not pursuing college exclusively online).

The sample is drawn primarily from a leading online panel which includes millions of cooperative respondents. Potential respondents are drawn at random within targeted age and gender quotas from the panel. Respondents included 1,304 full-time/224 part-time students; 284 2-year students/912 4-year students/334 working towards a graduate degree; 1,149 college students aged 18-24 and 379 college students aged 25-34.

Data points in the report, unless otherwise noted, are representative of U.S. college students ages 18-34. With probability samples of this size, one can say with 95% certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. college student population had been polled. This online sample is not a probability sample.

Quota targets are set using information from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES populations for types of students (full-time/part-time, 2-year/4-year, undergraduate/graduate), as well as demographic information from the U.S. census, are used as weighting targets.

ABOUT RE:FUEL

re:fuel is a leading marketing firm connecting a wide range of brands with niche consumer segments through scalable and impactful media and promotions solutions. With decades of expertise serving youth, multicultural, military and local audiences, re:fuel deploys brand campaigns that speak to these consumers in their world, throughout their day. re:fuel has locations nationwide, with headquarters in New York City, and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, CA, Harrisburg, PA, and Cranbury, NJ.

ABOUT CRUX RESEARCH INC.

Crux Research is a market research firm that partners with clients to develop winning products and services, build powerful brands, create engaging marketing strategies, enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, improve products and services, and get the most out of their advertising.

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, Crux connects organizations with their customers in a wide range of industries, including education, consumer goods, media and advertising, technology, retail, business-to-business, and non-profit.

To learn more about Crux Research, visit www.cruxresearch.com.

Media Contact:
Tammy Nelson
VP, Marketing & Research
212-329-8317