Mitchell Thrower: College Connection President
By Noreen Brubeck
The Weston Forum
Feb 19, 1992
Selling to college students is not as easy as reaching the mainstream consumer under thirty years old. Locally, The College Connection has perfected inroads into the much coveted campus crowd with clever promotions that have attracted Fortune 500 advertisers the likes of AT&T and American Express.
The young, energetic group of college students, recent graduated and industry professionals, is spearheaded by Mitchell Thrower, who presides as president of the two-year-old collegiate media agency.
With irons in so many fires, it is a wonder how this young man of 24 years has had time to develop the business savvy that promises to ensure a profit for his young company that is quickly emerging as leader of the pack in college marketing.
International Flavors
Mr. Thrower's professional experience includes advertising, marketing and small business. While studying at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., he interned with The Conservative Central Office in London, England and in conjunction with the Small Business Bureau, developed and authored the only comprehensive guide for small business awards in the U.K.
He interned at Walk Disney World Productions, where he was an independent intern in the areas of conventions, cast services, public relations, and participant development. In 1990, upon graduation, Mr. Thrower studied at the Regent Street Diplomatic Academy in London. "It was there that I leaned diplomatic skills, the tiers of power in the business world and how best to work within it," he said.
During both college and high school, Mr. Thrower received numerous civic and scholastic awards. He was president of the senior class at Stapes High in Westport and received the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship Award.
This Michael J. Fix look-alike, type triple-A personality, has traveled extensively abroad via Eurail and finds the time to train for the triathlon.
His leadership and communication skills, work experience and scholastic achievement have channeled the projects of his creative media agency to directly meet the needs of the collegiate consumer. Big business is responding with lucrative advertising and sponsorship contracts and the number of projects in the works is testimony that there is no sign of recession at The College Connection.
"The College Connection has a big advantage over the larger agencies in that we are young, energetic, and the needs of the college market are our own. We are most able to identify changing tastes and trends within the capricious college market," Mr. Thrower said.
The European Passport
The campus crowd market is more sophisticated than one might expect. The estimated annual disposable income of undergraduates in the United States is 13.2 billion dollars. Mr. Thrower and his agency have discovered that profitable marketing has proven both difficult and expensive to capture through traditional techniques. "In breaking from the pack, we recently launched "The Passport" which is designed to assist students studying and working abroad grasping the unwritten college law, students listen to students," he said.
The publication contains essential travel and safety tips, applications for International Student ID cards, a Student Visa Certification. an introductory letter from a U.S. dignitary, pointers on cultural acceptance, special tips from students, information on how to stay healthy abroad. Eurail Pass order forms, phone numbers for lost credit cards/travelers checks, and easy phone access codes for quick contact to the United States. All editorial material in this publication is written by students who have lived through experiences abroad.
The Passport enjoys guaranteed distribution from a network of study abroad directors across the country who are registered with the College Connection. They distributed 30,000 Passport books last year and are expecting to fulfill 60,000 this year. Considering the number of students studying abroad at any given time, this distribution record is delivering maximum read to corporates, including Rail Europe, Duracell, Eagle Creek, AT&T and American Express. The book is free of charge to students who ave been accepted to study abroad programs at both member and non-memner institutions. The College Connection boasts more than 500 schools on its rosters and they are selected based on demographic and economic factors that make them a profitable target audience for the agency's advertisers.
Todd Adelman, 24, executive vice president and co-founder of The College Connection remarked that the Passport is now poised to offer significant opportunities to both the company and its advertising clients. "The company is moving forward as clients realize the benefits of hiring a young trend-conscious company to reach a young trend-concious audience," he said.
Don't Forget The Folks
Those trends do not stop with The Passport. The "Ameripass" is another of their targeted publications, for international students studying there in the United States, displaying advertisers such as Amtrak and major department stores. Along these same lines, "The Parental Pass" is a regular newsletter for parents of students studying abroad that assists them in meeting the challenge. In it, parents speak of their experience much in the same way that the Passport is written by students. The College Connection director, Robert Stern, oversees this communication. He brings to the staff of eight full and part-time employees, a rich agency background that includes creative involvement on Sony, American Express, Richoh and Camel Cigarette companies at the former Ogilvy and Mather in Manhattan.
The College Connection credo boasts a dignified and selective approach to accepting its advertisers. IT does not accept ads from cigarette and alcohol companies. They refuse any adverts that degrade or dehumanize in any respect. And that is a refreshing bend despite the face that the organization has lost substantial revenue because of its principles. "We have been approached by a number of clients that have sought to advertise with us, but did not meet our criteria, and that's just the way it goes," Mr. Thrower said.
More Projects
Other exciting offerings of the agency include a "Rail Europe Adventure" trans-European scavenger hunt and photography contest; a unique Fellowship co-sponsored by the Friends of the United Nations which will award two-year journalism scholarships based on criteria that includes an essay competition, and a thriving summer associate and semester internship program working at The College Connection.
Things appear to be heating up with an in-house private label of travel gear called Eagle Creek which the agency promotes through its publications and fulfills in-house, at present. In addition, the group can provide college market research, including focus groups, customized surveys and personalized interviews. with a data base driven by FIleMaker III in their all Mac hot-shop. And that's just the beginning.
A comedy radio production group known as W-QIPS is available to create copy, scripts, and sound tracks for collegiate listeners, specializing in the humor and lingo indigenous to the college crowd.
Mr. Thrower said his agency is capable of offering placement within 12 days of advertisements in more than 6,833 selected students newspapers, magazines and yearbooks. "That is well over the other options out there that have ceilings at 1,600 offerings," he added.
"We have a poster network which provides a unique advertising opportunity. High traffic areas are our target. But we don't recommend this to everyone. There is simply too much clutter and through this is an available option for our clients, we simply have cost effective options of them to choose from, depleting on their needs," said Mitch Thrower.
The group is working on a Campus Connection Calendar than will roll-out as a regional one-stop shopping opportunity for students in the East, for example, to determine what is going on at other neighboring college campuses.
One thing is certain, with the changing values and norms facing college students today, The College Connection has them covered and Mitchell Thrower is a name to watch.
The Weston Forum
Feb 19, 1992
Selling to college students is not as easy as reaching the mainstream consumer under thirty years old. Locally, The College Connection has perfected inroads into the much coveted campus crowd with clever promotions that have attracted Fortune 500 advertisers the likes of AT&T and American Express.
The young, energetic group of college students, recent graduated and industry professionals, is spearheaded by Mitchell Thrower, who presides as president of the two-year-old collegiate media agency.
With irons in so many fires, it is a wonder how this young man of 24 years has had time to develop the business savvy that promises to ensure a profit for his young company that is quickly emerging as leader of the pack in college marketing.
International Flavors
Mr. Thrower's professional experience includes advertising, marketing and small business. While studying at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., he interned with The Conservative Central Office in London, England and in conjunction with the Small Business Bureau, developed and authored the only comprehensive guide for small business awards in the U.K.
He interned at Walk Disney World Productions, where he was an independent intern in the areas of conventions, cast services, public relations, and participant development. In 1990, upon graduation, Mr. Thrower studied at the Regent Street Diplomatic Academy in London. "It was there that I leaned diplomatic skills, the tiers of power in the business world and how best to work within it," he said.
During both college and high school, Mr. Thrower received numerous civic and scholastic awards. He was president of the senior class at Stapes High in Westport and received the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship Award.
This Michael J. Fix look-alike, type triple-A personality, has traveled extensively abroad via Eurail and finds the time to train for the triathlon.
His leadership and communication skills, work experience and scholastic achievement have channeled the projects of his creative media agency to directly meet the needs of the collegiate consumer. Big business is responding with lucrative advertising and sponsorship contracts and the number of projects in the works is testimony that there is no sign of recession at The College Connection.
"The College Connection has a big advantage over the larger agencies in that we are young, energetic, and the needs of the college market are our own. We are most able to identify changing tastes and trends within the capricious college market," Mr. Thrower said.
The European Passport
The campus crowd market is more sophisticated than one might expect. The estimated annual disposable income of undergraduates in the United States is 13.2 billion dollars. Mr. Thrower and his agency have discovered that profitable marketing has proven both difficult and expensive to capture through traditional techniques. "In breaking from the pack, we recently launched "The Passport" which is designed to assist students studying and working abroad grasping the unwritten college law, students listen to students," he said.
The publication contains essential travel and safety tips, applications for International Student ID cards, a Student Visa Certification. an introductory letter from a U.S. dignitary, pointers on cultural acceptance, special tips from students, information on how to stay healthy abroad. Eurail Pass order forms, phone numbers for lost credit cards/travelers checks, and easy phone access codes for quick contact to the United States. All editorial material in this publication is written by students who have lived through experiences abroad.
The Passport enjoys guaranteed distribution from a network of study abroad directors across the country who are registered with the College Connection. They distributed 30,000 Passport books last year and are expecting to fulfill 60,000 this year. Considering the number of students studying abroad at any given time, this distribution record is delivering maximum read to corporates, including Rail Europe, Duracell, Eagle Creek, AT&T and American Express. The book is free of charge to students who ave been accepted to study abroad programs at both member and non-memner institutions. The College Connection boasts more than 500 schools on its rosters and they are selected based on demographic and economic factors that make them a profitable target audience for the agency's advertisers.
Todd Adelman, 24, executive vice president and co-founder of The College Connection remarked that the Passport is now poised to offer significant opportunities to both the company and its advertising clients. "The company is moving forward as clients realize the benefits of hiring a young trend-conscious company to reach a young trend-concious audience," he said.
Don't Forget The Folks
Those trends do not stop with The Passport. The "Ameripass" is another of their targeted publications, for international students studying there in the United States, displaying advertisers such as Amtrak and major department stores. Along these same lines, "The Parental Pass" is a regular newsletter for parents of students studying abroad that assists them in meeting the challenge. In it, parents speak of their experience much in the same way that the Passport is written by students. The College Connection director, Robert Stern, oversees this communication. He brings to the staff of eight full and part-time employees, a rich agency background that includes creative involvement on Sony, American Express, Richoh and Camel Cigarette companies at the former Ogilvy and Mather in Manhattan.
The College Connection credo boasts a dignified and selective approach to accepting its advertisers. IT does not accept ads from cigarette and alcohol companies. They refuse any adverts that degrade or dehumanize in any respect. And that is a refreshing bend despite the face that the organization has lost substantial revenue because of its principles. "We have been approached by a number of clients that have sought to advertise with us, but did not meet our criteria, and that's just the way it goes," Mr. Thrower said.
More Projects
Other exciting offerings of the agency include a "Rail Europe Adventure" trans-European scavenger hunt and photography contest; a unique Fellowship co-sponsored by the Friends of the United Nations which will award two-year journalism scholarships based on criteria that includes an essay competition, and a thriving summer associate and semester internship program working at The College Connection.
Things appear to be heating up with an in-house private label of travel gear called Eagle Creek which the agency promotes through its publications and fulfills in-house, at present. In addition, the group can provide college market research, including focus groups, customized surveys and personalized interviews. with a data base driven by FIleMaker III in their all Mac hot-shop. And that's just the beginning.
A comedy radio production group known as W-QIPS is available to create copy, scripts, and sound tracks for collegiate listeners, specializing in the humor and lingo indigenous to the college crowd.
Mr. Thrower said his agency is capable of offering placement within 12 days of advertisements in more than 6,833 selected students newspapers, magazines and yearbooks. "That is well over the other options out there that have ceilings at 1,600 offerings," he added.
"We have a poster network which provides a unique advertising opportunity. High traffic areas are our target. But we don't recommend this to everyone. There is simply too much clutter and through this is an available option for our clients, we simply have cost effective options of them to choose from, depleting on their needs," said Mitch Thrower.
The group is working on a Campus Connection Calendar than will roll-out as a regional one-stop shopping opportunity for students in the East, for example, to determine what is going on at other neighboring college campuses.
One thing is certain, with the changing values and norms facing college students today, The College Connection has them covered and Mitchell Thrower is a name to watch.