Donna Goodison of the Boston Hearld has reported on a group of Boston College students who have a new take on Marketing Ideas for Small Business. Jebbit a start up company has won a venture competition and has been accepted into an entrepreneurship program for university-affiliated startup founders.
The problem:
Photo by John Wilcox. Boston College students and Jebbit founders, from left, Tom Coburn, Peter Casinelli and Jeb Thomas are trying to improve the effectiveness of online ads.
“Right now, we feel that to advertise online is really too expensive, and you’re not getting the engagement that you want as a company,” Jebbit co-founder and BC sophomore Peter Casinelli said. “And, from a consumer perspective, ads are becoming really annoying. We’re texting or emailing, but we’re not paying attention to (them).”
The solution:
Jebbit conducted a beta test last month with BC students who could log onto Jebbit.com and earn 25 cents to 75 cents for each correct answer they gave to questions about 10 participating companies ranging from a small pizza shop to Framingham-based audio device makerBose Corp.
Students earned up to $20 each in total by finding those answers on the companies’ websites. One business, for example, focused on their organic food offerings, while another emphasized its free shipping with every order.
“We hand-delivered the money to the students as they earned and redeemed it,” Casinelli said. “Over 98 percent said that they learned something new about a business featured on Jebbit.”
Jebbit plans to schedule another test run, possibly expanded to more area college students, in January that will reward students with both cash and deals from participating businesses.
Brilliant. What a great small business marketing idea.
The boys small business providing a service for other businesses, using students who need the cash to work for them. What are the businesses getting in return? greater awearness of their product(s) or brand(s) with their target market.
Another spin off could be feedback on the ease of use and/or relevance of the information on the websites. Students could be asked questions on weekly specials, or find out about a free bus service to/from the venue. The payments made to the students could very well end back in the pockets of the advertisers!
So what do you think? We need efficient effective marketing, using the resources that are relevant to our target market. Can this be applied to your target market?
