When Ryan T. Muneio was tailgating with his parents at a Michigan State football game this fall, he noticed a big tent emblazoned with a Bank of America logo. Inside, bank representatives were offering free T-shirts and other merchandise to those who applied for credit cards and other banking products.
A Fifth Third Bank display offered bottles of water, tuition raffles and a bicycle as an inducement to get incoming freshmen at Michigan State University to open credit card and other accounts.
“They did a good job,” Mr. Muneio, 21 and a junior at Michigan State, said of the tactic. “It was good advertising.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/business/01student.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1