Can you briefly introduce yourself and Student Beans?

I am Dan, Affiliate Partnerships Manager at Student Beans. Since joining the business a year ago, I have been responsible for managing our relationship and program with our Network and Agency partners.

Celebrating our 18th year in 2023, Student Beans is the world's leading loyalty network for Gen Z and students. We connect brands to the new generation of consumers, empowering them to thrive and to build long-standing loyalty with this cohort.

Tell us a bit more about how Student Beans got started and how it helps the student community?

Student Beans was founded in 2005, by brothers James and Michael Eder. Student Beans takes its namesake after the British student staple: baked beans. As young university graduates themselves, the brothers saw a gap in the market for a digital student loyalty platform that would give students exclusive discounts on the brands they love, and connect retailers to this key consumer demographic.

Quickly becoming a part of everyday student life, Student Beans revolutionised the concept of the student ID for the digital age. We launched award-winning verification technology, enabling brands to ensure their student discounts are only available to verified students. Today, we partner with thousands of the world’s biggest brands across fashion, technology, food, entertainment and more, and power a global network of students in over 100 countries.

How does Student Beans work with brands?

Brands using Student Beans are able to benefit from our instant and seamless verification technology. We enable brands to verify the enrolment status of 163 million (and counting!) college and university students around the globe, using award-winning conversion optimization technology.

We use our first-hand audience intelligence to build full-funnel marketing campaigns, helping brands achieve their objectives no matter how big or small. Student Beans also helps brands to get in front of a highly engaged and passionate audience: Gen Z. We offer Gen Z centric events, reports and bespoke student research to help brands to understand this next generation of consumers.

Are there specific sectors that work well for Student Beans?

Students are always looking to be money-savvy, regardless of the product sector. However, our most popular verticals are currently Fashion, Health & Beauty, and Travel and Technology, where we work with some of the world’s leading brands, including ASOS, Boots and Booking.com.

What markets does Student Beans work in and is it looking to expand into new markets?

Student Beans currently operates in 100 countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, China, Germany and France.

What tips can you share for advertisers looking to engage more with student shoppers?

The cost-of-living crisis means that students are feeling the pinch more than ever, with 74% looking for cheaper versions of products they usually buy. In fact, students are 5x more likely to convert when a brand offers a discount. This cohort are the decision-makers and high-earners of the future, and their loyalty is gold dust for any brand looking for a head start. For advertisers looking to engage with student shoppers, Student Beans’ technology allows your brand to connect with 163 million students, across 100 countries instantly. Our creators product also allows us to meet young people where they are (social media, of course…), by engaging student shoppers through social channels.

Are there specific times of the year when the student shopping community is most active?

Back to school is of course our most popular time of the year – but as we’re a global company, this varies by country. We also see spikes during the loan drop periods in the UK, with the much-anticipated deposits causing a lot of spending activity.

How can brands interested in working with Student Beans get started?

We have several seamless options for brands to get set up with Student Beans! Brands can use the Adtraction platform to send an invite through, and someone from the Student Beans team will be in contact to assist with onboarding. Brands can also start by emailing our affiliate inbox at affiliate@thebeansgroup.com.

For SMEs (self-service brands we qualify as brands with monthly web traffic below 500k), the most efficient way to get started is to complete this sign-up form and go through the process to make payment, then our support team will be able to automatically onboard them. If they need more information, please also share this page - this should have all the information they'd need to get started.

Is there any exciting news, promotions or developments on the horizon for Student Beans?

We’ve recently launched Beans iD; a solution that enables brands to connect with and verify up to 10 additional closed consumer groups such as: Graduates, Teachers, Healthcare, Military, Low Income & First Responders. Beans iD has also recently been developed to add a portal. This portal allows brands to manage their ads and check their data through a stratified, efficient interface. Student Beans’ sister company, Voxburner also offers brands the chance to access bespoke research, exclusive Gen Z content and global events in London and New York as part of the Voxburner+ subscription package. Here is a recent example of Voxburner's report on mental health amongst the Gen Z community.