All work
EventsIndustry example
Campus sampling that built an energy-drink challenger
Celsius
Public industry reference — not a Collegiate Hospitality campaign. Figures are illustrative.
45K
cans sampled / month
120+
campuses
18%
opt-in rate
32%
trial-to-repeat
Challenge
Celsius was outspent many times over by the energy-drink giants. It couldn't win on ad budget — so it had to win on the ground, in front of students.
Approach
Through its CELSIUS University program the brand ran relentless campus sampling — gym takeovers, game-day activations, and dorm drops — putting cold cans in students' hands and converting first trial into habit at nearby retail.
Results
On-campus sampling turned free trials into repeat buyers and helped power Celsius into the top tier of US energy drinks — a textbook case that experiential activation beats impressions with a student audience.
Sources & further reading