Free MTM shirts for college students entering the workforce

[jason_carreira]

http://putthison.com/post/13594603411/cottonwork-deal-if-youre-a-college-student-and


Pretty cool deal

[matt_chang]

If I win I'll review for everyone!

[LesserBlackDog]

I thought this was a nice offer, but then I looked at their list of colleges. Are they kidding? Students at public universities and small colleges need not apply. For some reason they only let students of Ivy League schools and other brand-name institutions enter. That's not only bizarre but counter-intuitive - students living in the ivory towers over at Yale and Harvard are hardly the ones most in need of affordable interview attire.

[jason_carreira]

Wow, that sucks... I didn't read the fine print. Hope it works for someone here, though.

[sentry]

hey thanks for the info! much appreciated

[john_pepper]

Easy, Ben. This is a business and not a charity. I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why they chose this list. Mainly because they are obviously trying to build an upscale brand and feel targeting the schools on the list will pay off in future business better than handing them out willy nilly to anyone with a college email address and interview date.

[LesserBlackDog]

I understand what they're doing and why they're doing it. That doesn't mean I have to like it, or respect them for it.

[jason_carreira]

Since they re-do it every month, maybe the list changes every month? I dunno

[john_pepper]

Ok, just from your line:


"For some reason they only let students of Ivy League schools and other brand-name institutions enter. That's not only bizarre but counter-intuitive"


It didn't appear you knew why.

[LesserBlackDog]

Well. It's bizarre and counter-intuitive if, like me, you assume that companies who sponsor friendly-seeming promotions to help out "little guys" (aka, broke college students doing interviews) are doing it to generate brand loyalty, foster a positive brand image, and (heaven forbid), out of a genuine desire to do something good.


On the other hand, it makes perfect sense if they are trying to foster a brand image of exclusion and elitism based on a woefully shallow interpretation of what a person's alma mater says about their tastes, aspirations, and spending habits -- and they don't mind the risk of offending a large proportion of their potential future clientele based on the same.


So what I'm saying is, I see that they have a reason for what they're doing. But their reason is bizarre and counter-intuitive. I don't see why they should be any less eager to give free stuff to an aspiring professional from William & Mary, or Amherst, or Bowdoin, or even the University of Wyoming, than to students of the big-name universities they've listed. I doubt they would be any more or less likely to foster brand loyalty in a student simply because of the school he goes to. The only thing that this exclusion can accomplish for them is to lose forever the possibility of earning the loyalty of students who would like to enter the giveaway, but find that they can't simply because of the school they attend.


[Edit] Contrast this with the student discounts you can get at J.Crew simply by showing your student ID. They don't care if you're getting your MBA at Harvard or a 2-year degree at the local community college -- they are a smart enough business to realize that all loyal customers' money is created equally.


[Edit the second] Sorry to get so up in arms about this, but as a veteran of both an "elite" small private college and a large "public Ivy" university, the politics, semantics, and culture of classism/elitism that drive the American academy make me seriously want to punch some babies. Ideally some alumni legacy babies.

[greg_s]

Word.

[YackoYak]

LOL well said.


Good luck to anyone else here that enters; I hope someone from here gets it.

[bruschetta]

I agree with BenR. I work at a public (state) university.

[Thekillabeejc]

Yeah, I guess my 45th ranked "State" alma matter isn't good enough! ha

[Tat]

John pepper is just mad trying to pick a useless bone...


I agree with BenR


Never heard of an upscale brand to only offer deals by segregating those by the tuition cost and prestige a school carries by being around over 100 years. Hope it flops lol.