How Student Marketing via Samples Builds Brand Loyalty

Sampling builds loyalty with students by getting them to use a product at the moment they are choosing brands for the first time. A free trial removes the risk for a student on a tight budget, and a good first experience in their own room is what they remember when they do their first shop.

Key points

• Sampling turns a brand claim into a product experience, which students trust more than advertising.

• Timing matters. The first weeks of university, when routines are new, give trial the most weight.

• Halls and the Welcome Bag reach students in their own space; fairs and events add reach.

• Pair every sample with a next step: an offer, a QR code and a follow-up.

• Measure intent. Across Dig In’s benchmark, the median brand scored 85% likely to buy again after sampling (2025, 24 surveys).

Why sampling works with students

Students are selective and short of money. Sampling deals with both.

• It removes the risk. A student who would not spend on an unfamiliar brand will try it for free.

• It replaces claims with experience. Students trust what they have used more than what they have been told.

• It creates goodwill. A useful free product earns a return, which often shows up as a purchase, a share or a recommendation.

• It starts conversations. A product tried in a shared flat gets talked about. See our guide to peer influence in university marketing.

Where and when to sample

In halls, on arrival

The strongest setting is a student’s own room during the first days of term. Products in the Welcome Bag arrive before Freshers events start, with no competing stall next to them. Dig In’s Welcome Bag reaches 500,000 students each September, about 3 in 4 freshers.

Live Activations in the following weeks

Live Activations add a second contact once students have settled. They suit launches, repeat trial and brands that want to land after the first rush.

Freshers fairs and campus events

Fairs add reach and face-to-face contact. Sports events suit nutrition and drinks brands; society events suit brands that fit a particular interest. Personal care and food brands do well wherever students are setting up a new routine.

Refreshers in January

Students return in January and reset their routines, which gives brands a second start. Dig In is distributing 300,000 Refreshers Bags for January. See Refreshers.

How to turn samples into sales

• Add a QR code that links to a student offer, a competition or a product page.

• Include a time-limited discount so the first purchase follows soon after the first trial.

• Follow up by email. Students who signed up to mydigin.com, printed on every Dig In Welcome Bag, can be reached again after Freshers.

• Work with ambassadors and societies to keep the product visible on campus.

• Survey students after trial to measure purchase intent and learn what to change.

• Make sure students can buy it. Check availability in the supermarkets and convenience stores near the halls you sample.

Case study: Coca-Cola, 2026

Coca-Cola worked with Dig In in 2026 to put its drinks into students’ hands across Freshers, Refreshers and Live Activations.

• 2,395,000 Coca-Cola products went into students’ hands in 2026.

• 89.9% of students surveyed said they were likely to buy Coca-Cola Original and Zero (n=3,019), from 8,225 survey responses across seven surveys.

• 51.0% of students said they prefer zero or reduced-sugar drinks (n=3,393), an insight the brand can act on.

Read the full Coca-Cola 2026 case study.

More results from student sampling

• Hershey’s and Reese’s, Freshers 2024: 89.7% likely to buy again (n=3,381).

• Gillette and Venus, Freshers 2024: 87.4% likely to buy Gillette (n=1,703) and 90.2% likely to buy Venus (n=3,530).

• Nivea Soft, Freshers 2024: 87.6% likely to buy again and 98% would recommend (n=2,986).

These are purchase-intent figures from post-trial surveys, not sales data. Set against the Dig In Trial Benchmark of 196 brand surveys for 161 brands since 2018, they show how each brand performed compared with others that sampled to students.

Does sampling build lasting loyalty?

Sampling gives a brand the best possible start: trial, at the moment habits form, with a measured intent to buy again. Whether that becomes long-term loyalty depends on what follows: the price, availability on the shelf, a reason to come back and a product students keep liking.

Brands that plan the follow-up, from offers and email to a second drop and Refreshers, give the first trial the best chance of becoming a habit. Sampling works best as part of a wider student plan that also includes campus activity, digital follow-up and measurement.

Questions brands ask

Does product sampling work with university students?

It does. Students are price-sensitive and trust experience over advertising, so free trial lowers the barrier. Across Dig In’s benchmark, the median brand scored 85% likely to buy again after sampling (2025, 24 surveys).

What is the best time to sample to students?

Arrival at university in September, when students are choosing brands for the first time. January, when they return for Refreshers, is a strong second window.

How do you measure a student sampling campaign?

Survey students after trial for purchase intent and feedback, and track QR scans, code redemptions and sign-ups. Report intent as intent, not as sales.

Working with Dig In

Dig In has run sampling to UK students since 2015, through the Welcome Bag, Live Activations and mydigin.com, and measures results with student surveys. To plan your next campaign, get in touch.