Know-How Exchange : Branding

I don't think you are in the right category...
Branding is a whole different thing.

Dear mtolympusfashions

How can you market and build your business from the local college and expand to become a recognized name brand on other college campuses on an extremely limited budget?

You exchange either time or money in exchange for exposure, but either way it will involve work or sacrifice on your part. Possibly both.

To blossom beyond the current college circle you've got to create buzz of some sort and to do this you've got to access the students or get your message in front of those eyeballs.

You could do this by sponsoring a sporting event, or by touting your wares from dorm room to dorm room, or by setting up some method of selling discounted wares to gain exposure.

You could create a "Get paid to wear a t-shirt" campaign and pay students to walk around wearing your goods, with frequent changes throughout the day.

That way your message becomes mobile. You just have to ensure that there's a way for people to buy the shirts you're giving them visual access to—which might mean going beyond the realms of online shopping.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

Enlist a fraternity/sorority to become your sales force (on each campus). Give them a % of sales (either to the house, the individuals, or a favorite charity) and all the support they'll need to sell face-to-face or via their online social network.

No matter how clever you and we are in coming up with great guerrilla marketing ideas, it sounds like your goals are not in line with your budget. Even simple inexpensive marketing tools cost money, and the more ambitious you are in achieving growth goals the more it's going to cost.

Multiple posts so far recognize this, so I won't belabor the point. But I would add that you're better off doing a GREAT job on just a few campuses than a lousy job on dozens or hundreds of campuses. It will cost less, take less of your time to manage, and ensure that your product line is exactly right for your customers.

When you think you've maxed out on the potential from your first campus, then expand to another that's similar to the first. When that one is mature, go to the next. Etc.

And if you're really itching to get big quick, prepare the expansion business plan and see if you can find investors who like the concept and believe in both your plan and your ability to execute. Trying to do it with an extremely limited budget is going to be a real struggle ... and ultimately an experience that will probably leave you disappointed and broke. Why do that to yourself?