Research, on 1,000 respondents nationally, found that students form their eating and drinking habits within the first few weeks of being at university.
The Chartwells campaign will use visual metaphors that represent nine different moods that students might experience during Freshers’ Week. The nine different moods are: Health Kick, More the Merrier, All in, Big Night Out, Treat Yourself, Pick-me-up, Rocket Fuel, Feelin’ Thirsty and Feeling Bold.
Students can interact with ‘Peel Off Posters’ and ‘Pick–Me-Card’ hanging tree tickets placed around campus to get relevant food offers.
For example students can redeem the ‘All in’ code to receive four half price pizza vouchers to share with their new friends. The ‘Feeling Bold’ mood will enable students to purchase a half-price vegan sausage roll from one of the outlets on site.
The campaign is expected to reach 60,000 university students and each mood is linked to a relevant food offer on their campus. It is hoped that students will associate the mood with a facility on campus so they will become repeat customers.
Matt Brown, managing director of Chartwells Independent and Higher Education, explained: “Freshers’ week is one of the busiest weeks on the student calendar. Going to university is one of the most exciting times in a person’s life.
“By creating a fun and engaging campaign that tapped into the different elements of student life, we could bring some additional enjoyment to students in their first weeks, as they settle in. It’s a great way to let students know about the food offer available to them, while also creating collaborative experiences.”