T.S. Eliot famously declared that April is the cruelest month, but for most students, February stands out as the year’s gloomy nadir. Those in temperate climes have two more long months of dark, sleety nights before spring arrives. Midterms loom for all. That’s why this month’s marketing plan is devoted to helping you transform your store into a cheerful mid-winter refuge. Plan a February Feud, a riff on the classic gameshow that will brighten the month and offer students the best cure for the blues: Laughter.
In Family Feud, two families compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions. Cash and prizes go to those who make the best guesses.
Your store’s February Feud will pit a faculty “family” against a student brood. You’ll want to start early, gathering a roster of contenders, five for each side. Decide on a date, then contact friends on your faculty list. Ask them to participate, or to spread the word among colleagues that the bookstore is looking for good-humored volunteers. Ask your student employees to help you gather a “family” of classmates together for a battle of pop culture wits at the college store.
Survey says!
As you complete your collection of team members, you’ll want to drum up a list of Family Feud-esque questions and distribute them widely. This will give you slate of survey answers to use the night of the event.
The attached marketing kit includes 10 sample questions. Photocopy the list and hand it out to friends, family and store visitors, then tally the responses and rank them from the greatest number to the least.
For instance, you might have six different answers to the question, “Who’s the best dog to hit social media in the last decade?” A majority of answers could be “Tuna the Dog,” but you’ll receive other answers. The name that appears the most times takes the No. 1 slot. Thus, if 50% of respondents answer “Tuna,” 30% name “Jiff the Pomeranian” and 20% say “Doug the Pug,” then you’ll rank Tuna first, Jiff second and Doug third. You’ll want to choose between two and six responses for each question and rank them according to percentage.
Nothing cheers a study-weary students more than a reminder that they know more than they think. Our question list is especially designed to tap into common Gen Z knowledge. You can use our questions, or brainstorm with student associates about those you believe might bring the most laughs. This will give you a chance to invite your younger employees to show off their tastes and wisdom. Your appreciation of their knowledge will go far toward boosting employee-manager relations and might even give you insight into future merchandise choices and event possibilities.
Pro tip:
Instead of distributing your survey questions by hand, create a simple social media poll.
How it works
Once you have questions, survey answers and teams, you’re ready to go. Use the attached downloadable marketing kit to promote the event on campus and on social media and to decorate your store on game night. It includes a poster, a flyer, a social media image, a cut-out to hang from your ceiling, and a name badge for every contestant and your emcee.
Decide on a grand prize, then advertise widely — in the store, around campus and online.
Choose a charismatic student to emcee the event, or do it yourself, whichever seems like it will generate the most laughs. Write your questions and answers on a list of notecards and give each family a noisemaker — a buzzer, a horn, a bell, anything handy — to alert the emcee when they have an answer.
Each round of questions starts with a face-off between families. Both sides choose a person to contend. The first contestant to ring a bell, buzz-in or blow a horn in response to a question gets to respond. If he or she names the most popular answer, that family wins the face-off. If not, the other five contestants get to take a stab at the question. The family that names the highest-ranked survey response gets control of the “board,” which is the list kept on the card in the emcee’s hand. A family can choose to pass on a question, or try to win the round by guessing all of the remaining possible answers. Every answer they reveal on the board scores points.
Any answer that’s not included among the top ranked earns a “strike.” After three “strikes,” the other family can try to “steal” all the points the first family just earned. This family is allowed to confer briefly before responding. Then they get one chance to answer and steal points. If they fail, the points return to the original family.
Families with board control cannot discuss answers while playing.
As the game continues, the number of possible answers for each question should decrease, while the number of possible points for each answer revealed rises.
The first family to win 300 points takes the grand prize — a store gift card for each member, or another award of your choosing.
While planning, check out some great videos from the real Family Feud. Our version eliminates the bonus round for the sake of streamlining. However, you might choose to have a timed round that pits one contestant of each family’s choice against the other for a final bounty of points.
Social media
