Credit Card Companies Marketing On Campus
Credit card companies have aggressively marketed to students for many years now. But apparently that in your face marketing strategy has reached critical mass at some college campuses. Michigan State University has a deal worked out with Bank of America whereby Bank of America is given a list of MSU students, alumni and season ticket holders names and addresses in exchange for an exclusive $8.4 million that spans 7 years.
As a part of the deal Bank of America is allowed to use the Michigan State University logo in their promotions and to set up booths on campus. In addition to the $8.4 million, MSU also receives $1 for every new account, 0.5% of all retail purchases made as well as some other financial perks.
The Backlash Sets In
Some student groups as well as consumer protection programs are objecting. For financial institutions college campuses have been fertile hunting grounds for such things as credit card solicitations, student loans and student loan consolidations. There is no question that students can be vulnerable to the promotions offered by these slick merchants. And that is exactly what some are objecting to.
As it turns out the majority of credit card customers gained through these types of marketing activities are the alumni and employees of the university. There doesn’t seem to be much objection to that though. It is the students that some feel need protecting. One student remarked that she felt as though she was bombarded with solicitations the minute she stepped on campus as an undergraduate.
The real issue here is the fact that student’s tend to run up high balances, accrue late payment fees and in some cases are delinquent in paying their bills. Not only does it leave them in debt to the card issuers but it can wreak habit on their credit ratings as well. That is anything but the ideal way to begin life as a responsible adult and in many cases a poor credit rating will prevent them from getting some jobs. Many employers view it as a character flaw.
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