The Web site Koofers.com was largely unknown to University students until last semester, but the company’s employees are doing everything in their power to expose more students to it.
The site allows student users to post and share class notes and rate courses and professors. It also offers a schedule maker updated with University course offerings to help students schedule classes.
All of Koofers’ services are free of charge.
Monica Lins, communications director for Koofers, said the company employs students to represent it on college campuses. Students are provided with supplies such as T-shirts, fliers and candy decorated with the Koofers logo.
Students begin as deputy representatives, and some work their way up to become campus ambassadors, she said.
Ambassadors are students who have had success getting students to register on the Web site, and they also tend to use more creativity in their marketing, Lins said.
Some students arrange fliers in unique shapes or use sidewalk chalk to grab students’ attention.
“They post fliers in high-traffic areas, and some set up a booth in their student center during finals week,” she said.
Campus representatives are required to submit proof of their work and activities by sending pictures of what they’ve done, Lins said.
Thomas Richard, business administration freshman, said he earns $10 per hour representing Koofers at the University.
Richard said he received an e-mail from the company in the fall saying it was accepting applications. He was chosen, and the company sent him a box of supplies.
Richard said he hands out fliers to students in Free Speech Plaza, and he has found students enthusiastic about the Web site’s services.
Parents visiting during spring invitational concerned about their children scheduling were just as interested as students in the site’s professor reviews and ratings, he said.
Richard said he is benefiting from his job in numerous ways.
“It gives me an opportunity to make money, but I am considering studying marketing, and this gives me some great experience,” he said.
Richard said he didn’t see anyone throw his fliers away, and many asked him questions about the Web site. He said he was surprised to see how curious people were about it.
The T-shirts Koofers sends representatives are most effective in attracting students, Richard said. College students will wear T-shirts no matter what is printed on them, and it’s a good way for the company to gain exposure, he said.
And Richard doesn’t just work to market the Web site — he uses it as well.
“I use the schedule maker. I find the catalog on Koofers is less complicated than the catalog listed on PAWS,” he said.
The site currently boasts nearly 270,000 members and more than 300,000 fans on Facebook.
Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]