Junior Rachel Greenberg complements her marketing major by working as a campus ambassador for Procter & Gamble (P&G) to promote brand loyalty and social media interest among students.
As part of P&G's "ReadyU" campaign, Greenberg said her job is more than just handing out free samples to girls in her dorm.
"I'm supposed to distribute them in a way that promotes P&G but also shows students that P&G is an advocate for their college career," she said. "It's distributing these products for a functional benefit, obviously ... but also on a deeper level, Ready-U supports the idea that ... grades aren't everything and sometimes [you] have to put the books away.
"The campaign is primarily a Facebook page but also has physical components that manifest itself in marketing events on campus," she said.
The theme of the campaign is "Conquer Outside the Classroom," Greenberg said, which emphasizes a college experience goes beyond the academic realm.
"[The campaign] looks back to why we go to college in the first place, to have fun with your friends and grow as a person," she said. "The values P&G [tries] to promote are so great for Notre Dame students specifically, who are so driven in getting good grades but also really focused on getting a well-rounded college experience."
Greenberg said she has used hall events like hall council to advertise P&G products.
"I made a Pic Stitch of a few of my friends using P&G products, like a Tide to Go stick for cleaning a stain on a shirt and a friend getting ready for a party using CoverGirlmascara."
Part of Greenberg's job is to "drive likes, comments and shares on the pictures" on social media, so she said she held a raffle to encourage students to like or comment on the pictures.
"[The campaign] is not just based on advertising products but focused on building this online interactive base that's fun and something you can do in your spare time," she said. "It gets you to interact with the brand."
Greenberg said she reports to managers in a New York advertising agency, and she and ambassadors on other campuses are able to communicate the effectiveness of certain advertising strategies.
"We're involved in marketing strategy at the same time. You're not just doing the dirty work," she said. "You're actually analyzing what works and what doesn't work, and how to promote [products] better."
Greenberg said the campaign is primarily interested in promoting brand loyalty, which they believe will eventually drive sales.
"We show that P&G is more than just a supplier, but [also] a supporter of your college experience," she said.
Contact Catherine Owers at cowers@nd.edu
