All By Students (ABS) Notebooks

All By Students (ABS) Notebooks is a college marketing company that partners with universities across the United States to spearhead a free school supplies initiative for students.

ABS Notebooks, Inc.
Private company
IndustryMedia
Founded2006
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, USA
ProductsABS Notebooks
allbystudents.com
Websitewww.absnotebooks.com

Their flagship product, a free multi-subject notebook, is given to university students at the start of every semester. Full-page advertisements act as subject dividers that offer further discounts, thus subsidizing the notebooks for students. As of January 2009, the following brands have participated: 3M, AT&T, Blackberry, CDW, Dell, Dr. Pepper, STA Travel, Discover Card, Ford, GEICO, General Mills, ice.com, Idearc, Kraft, Monster, My Rich Uncle, P & G, Palm, RealNetworks, Saturn, Sears, STA Travel, NBA, Unilever, Vault.com, Volvo, Warner Bros, Western Union, Wrigley, and Yahoo.

The notebooks are designed to reflect the brand of the school distributing by adopting their colors and logo. The first eight pages include college-specific information such as campus maps, important telephone numbers, and academic calendars.

Beginnings

ABS was founded in 2006 by two students studying at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Their goal was to channel brand marketing dollars to products that benefit students and enhance the college learning experience.[1]

Notebook Distribution

At the launch of the program in January 2007, 10,000 students received notebooks at Northwestern University. In fall 2008, ABS distributed notebooks at 65 campuses to 700,000 students. Campuses included Harvard, MIT, Penn State, University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State, California State University Long Beach, Clemson, North Carolina State University, and the University of Arkansas. In January 2009, over 1 million students received the notebooks on 100 campuses.[2]

Press

Business Press:

  • Sustainability: The Journal of Record [3]
  • Post Advertising: Rock Solid ABS[4]
  • Brandweek: The Latest Marketing Vehicle: School Supplies[5]
  • Springwise: More free love: notebooks for students[6]
  • MediaBuyerPlanner: Marketers Woo Thrifty with Free School Supplies[7]
  • Geekpreneur: How to Give your Product Away and Still Make it Pay[8]

University Press:

Defunct

Their last year of operation seems to have been 2009.

Their Facebook account is idle (most recent posting was November 12, 2010). The web domains allbystudents.com and absnotebooks.com both redirect to https://web.archive.org/web/20120915161130/http://www.notetag.com/.

References
  1. http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2007/01/11/Campus/Kellogg.Alumni.Fill.Student.Need.With.Free.Notebooks-2626044.shtml Archived 2009-01-05 at the Wayback Machine Kellogg Alumni Fill Student Need With Free Notebooks
  2. http://www.ypulse.com/ypulse-sponsored-post-brands-help-students-take-note/
  3. http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/SUS.2008.9919
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/retail-restaurants/e3i1e78793628949bf017c0487b2ab8101b Archived 2008-09-13 at the Wayback Machine The Latest Marketing Vehicle: School Supplies
  6. http://www.springwise.com/marketing_advertising/free_notebooks_for_students Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine More free love: notebooks for students
  7. http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2008/09/11/marketers-woo-thrifty-with-free-school-supplies/ Marketers Woo Thrifty with Free School Supplies
  8. http://www.geekpreneur.com/how-to-give-your-product-away-and-still-make-it-pay Archived 2008-09-16 at the Wayback Machine How to Give your Product Away and Still Make it Pay
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