All By Students (ABS) Notebooks
All By Students All By Students (ABS) Notebooks is a college marketing company that partners with universities across the United States to spearhead a free school supplies initiative for students.
Their flagship product, a free multi-subject notebook, is given to university students at the start of every semester. Full-page advertisements act as subject dividers that offer further discounts, thus subsidizing the notebooks for students. As of January 2009, the following brands have participated: 3M, AT&T, Blackberry, CDW, Dell, Dr. Pepper, STA Travel, Discover Card, Ford, GEICO, General Mills, Ice.com, Idearc, Kraft, Monster, My Rich Uncle, P & G, Palm, Real Networks, Saturn, Sears, STA Travel, NBA, Unilever, Vault.com, Volvo, Warner Bros, Western Union, Wrigley, and Yahoo.
The notebooks are designed to reflect the brand of the school distributing by adopting their colors and logo. The first eight pages include college-specific information such as campus maps, important telephone numbers, and academic calendars.
Beginnings
ABS was founded in 2006 by two students studying at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Their goal was to channel brand marketing dollars to products that benefit students and enhance the college learning experience. <ref name"DailyNorthwestern">http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2007/01/11/Campus/Kellogg.Alumni.Fill.Student.Need.With.Free.Notebooks-2626044.shtml Kellogg Alumni Fill Student Need With Free Notebooks
Notebook Distribution
At the launch of the program in January 2007, 10,000 students received notebooks at Northwestern University. In fall 2008, ABS distributed notebooks at 65 campuses to 700,000 students. Campuses included Harvard, MIT, Penn State, University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State, California State University Long Beach, Clemson, North Carolina State University, and the University of Arkansas. In January 2009, over 1 million students received the notebooks on 100 campuses. 1
Press
- Sustainability: The Journal of Record
- Post Advertising: Rock Solid ABS
- Post Advertising: Rock Solid ABS
- Brandweek: The Latest Marketing Vehicle: School Supplies<ref name"Brandweek">http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/retail-restaurants/e3i1e78793628949bf017c0487b2ab8101b The Latest Marketing Vehicle: School Supplies
- Springwise: More free love: notebooks for students<ref name"Springwise">http://www.springwise.com/marketing_advertising/free_notebooks_for_students More free love: notebooks for students
- MediaBuyerPlanner: Marketers Woo Thrifty with Free School Supplies
- Geekpreneur: How to Give your Product Away and Still Make it Pay
- YouTube: Student Reactions
University Press:
- University of Pennsylvania: 12,000 free reasons to go to class this year
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: First-year Students Enjoy MIT Orientation
- Northwestern University: Kellogg Alumni Fill Student Need With Free Notebooks
- Rochester Institute of Technology: Free Notebooks on the Quarter Mile
- Marshall University: Students to receive notebooks
- Western Illinois University: Free SGA notebooks relieve students of extra expenses
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale: SIUC Student Center
allbystudents.com
In August 2008, ABS launched a student-focused website[ http://www.allbystudents.com]. The site - an “unofficial guide to campus life” - is a forum for students to communicate with their peers by sharing knowledge about trends, discounts, services, and events. The site gives students the ability to interact with both students from their own school and students nationwide. ABS launched a revamped version of the site on January 5th, 2009.