The Orchard’s College Marketing Program is one that shapes young college students into the future leaders of the everlasting music industry. With their help we are able to both physically and digitally reach the largest age group that encompasses today’s music listeners. There’s no better way to know what’s trending amongst 18 to 24 year olds, than to just ask them yourself. With the recent outbreak of COVID-19 causing most college campuses to cancel or indefinitely postpone graduation celebrations, we want to publicly acknowledge the achievements of the following Reps in reaching this milestone. You did it!
BRI BACCHUS, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
Favorite Campaign: My favorite campaign I worked on was The Story So Far — Proper Dose.
What are you going to miss most about being a College Marketing Rep?
What I’ll miss most about being a College Rep is being the bridge between music and my community. The connections I’ve made are lifelong, the experiences I’ve had are priceless, and the power of music and all of these incredible artists I’ve been able to work with is unmatched. Music is by far the greatest thing about life, and being a college rep these past few years only proves that.
KEVIN MELLMER, UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND
Favorite Campaign: My favorite campaign was Frankie and the Witch Fingers — ZAM. I loved this campaign, because It was one of my first ones, so I had a great time learning the ropes. I also really enjoyed their album, ZAM, which made the campaign even more rewarding!
What are you going to miss most about being a College Marketing Rep?
I’m really going to miss being a part of the College Marketing community. Between our campaign calls, our group chats, and being on the cutting edge of all of the newest album releases, I have really come to love all of the people I work with and the opportunities I get to be a part of in this position! I’m also going to miss all of the free shows I get to go to :(.
SARANSH DESAI-CHOWDHRY, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Favorite Campaign: My favorite campaign was for Deaton Chris Anthony — BO Y. I threw a listening party for this campaign, which people loved, and it was so much fun to play around with his digital assets. He’s become one of my favorite new artists!
What are you going to miss most about being a College Marketing Rep?
There are so many aspects of being a College Rep that I’ve absolutely loved, from getting my friends in the NYU community excited about emerging talent to engaging my creative side by crafting digital content across platforms to befriending and working with incredibly talented Reps from all over the country. But the most unique facet of the job has definitely been familiarizing myself with and establishing a presence in the local record store scene. Seeing firsthand the impact that independent record stores have on their local communities has reminded me of the pivotal role music has played in shaping culture in New York City across history, and the continued importance of physical marketing as a way to raise awareness for artists. I’m going to miss showing up to Village Music World and Rough Trade to promote and end up taking some records I’d discovered in the process home with me!
BEST CAMPAIGNS OF 2020 (…so far)
Spencer Barnett
Our College Reps had so much fun with their first campaign of 2020! The Reps spent two weeks supporting the release of new signee, Spencer Barnett. The promotional materials for this campaign were a HUGE hit within the college communities. They utilized a mix of tote bags, sticker sheets, QR code stickers, beanies, enamel pins, postcards, posters, pop sockets, notebooks, and lighters. Our Reps also held interactive painting parties, where their guests listened to the record and enjoyed some snacks, while painting how the music made them feel. Our Miami Rep engaged with her campus art club for the painting party, which ended up having the biggest turnout of all her listening parties. Our Philadelphia Rep collaborated with a local influencer, whose post with the beanie received over 12,000 likes and over 100 comments.
Body Count
The College Reps used posters to promote the future release of Body Count’s Carnivore. They focused their physical marketing efforts on campus, in record stores, and in lifestyle accounts throughout their cities. The Reps had some of the highest engagement that they’ve seen, even receiving likes and comments from Ice-T himself!
BTS
The College Marketing Reps were super excited to celebrate BTS’ 7th year as a group, by promoting their 7th album, Map Of The Soul : 7. The Reps took to their cities to distribute postcards and posters in lifestyle accounts, record stores, and on campus. We also collaborated with Sony’s NYC College Marketing Reps to really saturate the NYC area with promo during album release week.
Kelsea Ballerini
Our College Marketing campaign for Kelsea Ballerini’s third studio album, kelsea, was definitely one for the books. By the time this campaign came around, the whole country was already under lockdown due to the outbreak of Covid-19. This caused us to fully shift our promotional campaigns to a digital only basis. The Reps embraced this change and made this campaign one of the best campaigns yet. The demand for music and artist interaction caused many artists and bands to take to social media to give the fans what they desired. Kelsea’s implementation of live stream performances made the Reps so excited to be able to give their followers that feeling of live music that they had already been missing.
SumeRR
Our campaign for SumeRR, couldn’t have come at a better time. The bright sounds of Reggae that shined through in her album, Downs District, helped the Reps spread the sounds of Summertime and lift people’s spirits at the same time. The Reps also used the extra time they gained to start creating their own content for their pages. Animated videos with press photos and music really made a difference in the look and feel of their accounts.
