Where the Bucks Are

By Gary D. Garcia

Sun, fun and freebies lure students to Florida's rite of spring

It is a scene from an adman's dream. On the boardwalk that runs along Florida's Daytona Beach, suntanned young people crowd around carnival-type booths, where some 20 different manufacturers are handing out literature and free samples. Overhead, airplanes trail banners that read HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY? and WELCOME TO MILLER TIME. Below, a catamaran emblazoned with the Schlitz brand name cruises by, followed by a fleet of sailboards that extol SALEM SPIRIT. At one of the 380 or so hotels that line the 23 miles of beach, John Bradley, 22, a recent Cornell graduate, is conducting poolside tug-of-war and trivia contests sponsored by Camel cigarettes while half a dozen pretty assistants distribute T shirts, hats and other souvenirs.

The lucky objects of all this attention are the college students who flock to Daytona in an annual spring-break migration; some 300,000 are expected to visit this year over a six-week stretch. Other Florida beach towns have pressed their bid for the youth market, most notably Fort Lauderdale, setting for a frothy, 1960s-era movie, Where the Boys Are. But Daytona's casual, pro-student atmosphere and wide, drive-on beach have made it the site of both Expo America MusicFest and College Expo, events that combine the hard sell of a trade show with the good-time excitement of a carnival. College Expo ran for five days last week and attracted 80,000 students.

Upscale, educated and destined to become model consumers, the spring-break crowd has become a prime target for advertisers eager to turn the affluent young into lifelong customers. "It's a good break from all the sun," said Brett Meili, a junior from Northwestern University, of the promotional games and events laid on for the students. "Whether I will buy the products, I don't know, but when I see the stuff in the store I'll remember I was jumping up and down for it in Daytona."

The organizer of College Expo is New York City-based Metacorp, which licensed the festival's name from Playboy Enterprises in 1981. Metacorp helps advertisers by staffing the booths, hiring bands and handling other logistics. President Steven Berkowitz, 25, figures that Metacorp's revenues from providing these services will be $7 million this year, up from $1 million in 1981. "The clients obviously think it works," he says. "They come back every year with bigger budgets." Even the U.S. Army had a booth at MusicFest, where recruiters answered 1,250 inquiries.

Daytona's success in selling its visitors to corporate advertisers has not been without its drawbacks. With more and more companies giving away their products, some of the students are getting a little spoiled. "I was giving out shirts and one girl demanded to know if they were 100% cotton," marveled Dallas Dingle, a tour guide from Minnesota. "They're getting used to being coddled." What is more, the field has become somewhat cluttered with marketing messages. "The average student is hit by six breweries," complains Jay Lenstrom of the Miller Brewing Co. "It used to be just us and Anheuser-Busch. When we were the only people down here, it was great."

Another result of the competition among advertisers has been better quality trinkets and more imaginative come-ons. Jovan's dating quiz at College Expo, designed to push its Andron cologne, used a personal computer to match students from their answers and announced the pairs at a party at week's end. Gillette promoted its new Foho (For Oily Hair Only) shampoo by allowing students to do screen tests for its TV commercials. By far the most elaborate attraction was the Amazon Adventure assembled by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. Inside a huge tent, students traversed a rope bridge, waterfalls and a snake pit that contained three pythons.

Thanks to the proximity to Disney's new Epcot Center and a surge in student visitors, Daytona is expected to attract up to 10% more tourists than last year. Business got a boost from a guide to Florida beaches, The Rites of Spring, co-authored by Bruce Jacobsen and Rollin Riggs, both 1982-vintage Yalies, and published last fall. Riggs claims that Daytona is ideal for the three things collegians are required to do in Florida: guzzle beer, get a tan and chase the opposite sex. "It's a dirty job," deadpans Riggs, "but somebody's got to do it." -- By Gary D. Garcia. Reported by Stephen Koepp/Daytona Beach

With reporting by Stephen Koepp/Daytona Beach This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.