Varsity boasts nearly 3000 reps at 600 colleges across the country. Few rep coordinators work out of the San Francisco base. Instead, the company places nine regional managers around the country to serve as links among campuses. The differences reach into more fundamental areas. Helen Kim, Varsity's v-p of marketing, said the company's most effective tool has been its relationship with professors.
Students choose the largest classes and e-mail faculty members about Varsity.
In some cases, this will result in a professor mentioning the bookseller in class. In others, a rep will hand out flyers at the door comparing prices between the campus store and Varsity for the books in that class. Ever the boisterous class clown, the company's proudest marketing moment comes when men and women in orange jumpsuits bound onto campus passing out BigWords superballs. BigWords's spokesperson, appropriately, is MTV's Tom Green, a gonzo personality. These paths could lead to very different places.