As a middle age, middle of the pack Boomer, there are few categories that I have left untouched as a consumer. Yet as the parent of a college bound freshman, I find myself in the middle of a marketing bullseye that is entirely new to me. Needless to say, ‘in my day’, we hardly thought of the stuff we brought to college as ‘decor’, and an electric typewriter was the limit of our college ‘technology’. According to the 8th annual College Explorer study from Alloy Media, the students reporting to campus in droves this week are the largest class in history, with 13.6 million college students (ages 18-30). They are also among the best equipped, with spending expected to reach a record $237 billion, up 20% since LAST YEAR! With that much money on the table, no wonder it feels like a feeding frenzy for marketers.

The photo is from Better Homes & Gardens which offers designer Q&A on dorm decor. Here’s sample:

Simple tricks like “removable wallpaper” can easily add a splash of color to whole dorm room or on even just one wall. Also, using tension rods or simple hooks to suspend drape panels on the walls can add some visual interest to a boring room. Draped panels even allow students to divide a shared space to give each roommate more privacy.

At a more practical level, several retail web sites (JCP.com, Bed Bath & Beyond) offer special college microsites that make it easy to find bedding for those extra-long dorm beds and will even ship directly to the dorm to arrive at just the right time. These sites do more than offer stuff, they also offer checklists and advice on how to achieve the ‘suite life’ in a dorm. JCP.com incorporates its advice into a Facebook group and allows members to commment. Unfortunately, most of the comments are not terribly flattering. Apparently, (shock) many students see through these helpful sites to the not so veiled motivation to sell more stuff. As Melissa Massey puts it: “I am sick and tired of seeing “Dorm Life” advertised everywhere. What did kids do before all this dorm shit was made? They made it through college just fine. I’m tired of it being advertised as a lifestyle and a decorating style.”