By Abigail Cloutier
Through a new development at Youngstown State University, an Amazon Prime campus manager now promotes Amazon Prime Student membership benefits on campus and what Amazon offers to college students.
Riddle & Bloom, a marketing agency that partnered with Amazon, contacted Hannah Thomas, a junior business administration major, through the YSU Handshake center encouraging her to become a campus manager promoting Amazon Prime Student benefits at YSU.
Thomas hosted a debut event with an informational Amazon table in Kilcawley Center, where she gave away coupons for textbooks and raffle entries for an Amazon Echo Dot.
She also attends student organization meetings and has promoted the program in several classes.
Working with different marketing firms allows Thomas to gain skills relevant to her field while also working toward her degree.
Thomas said her role as campus manager leaves her in charge of marketing the brand and promoting what advantages are available for YSU students.
“What my position entails is a lot of marketing here on campus,” Thomas said. “I talk about Prime and what the benefits are. So far I’ve promoted fast, free delivery and Alexa.”
Through the Amazon Prime Student membership, students can receive a six-month free trial, free two-day shipping, discounted rates and access to Prime Video.
Thomas promotes the benefits of the membership every few weeks. She will be covering two other features this semester and three in the spring semester.
Riddle & Bloom will provide Thomas with coaching and developmental support, marketing and leadership experience and resume-building opportunities.
Morgan Fisher, a junior psychology major, said she is interested in Prime membership as a college student to help reduce the cost of textbooks.
“It’s really helpful for a more affordable education,” Fisher said. “As students know, [college] can be really expensive, especially textbooks, and Prime helps reduce the cost.”
Fisher said that the program brings excitement and new opportunities to campus.
“Hannah was really excited to tell everyone about the program,” Fisher said. “She held a raffle for an Echo Dot and gave us coupons and deals.”
Ian Ward, a sophomore biology major, said the program brings a positive atmosphere to the student body at YSU.
“Hannah brings a whole new energy to campus,” Ward said. “I hope the ambassadors start a whole new wave of exciting deals and opportunities for students.”
Ward said although he has known about the program for a while, he is excited about the benefits.
“I found out about it a long time ago when it first came out,” Ward said. “It has so many benefits and special deals for students. It’s really cool.”
Thomas said she hopes the program continues to grow on campus each year.
“We are going to have reps on campus, always,” Thomas said. “We are hoping to just spread the news about how great Prime is … anything you really need, Prime is gonna be there for you.
