Key was building awareness to brand and value OCM brings new college students. Utilized key locations to run content driven articles for SEO and site traffic.

1. TIPS Tffire PARffiNT$
Cross ltems Off Your College Checklist: Get All
Your N4ust-Haves From One Place
lf your son or daughter is heading off to college in the fall, and you
haven't heard of OCM yet, you may in a few weeks. 9CM is a
company focused exclusively on serving students and parents through
partnerships with more than 900 colleges and universities, and more
than 1500 campus organizations across the United States.
OCI/I helps families prepare for carnpus living with university-
approved merchandise, sulch as Twin XL Bedding Sets, Room Value
Paks, dorm room organization products, college-related gifts, care
packaEes, and more. Plus, their products are all "guaranteed until

2. graduation." They promise that if at any time you are dissatisfied, from
the day you receive your order all the way to graduation day, you can
send the item back for a refund or exchange. This has made OCM the
trusted source for famrlies to purchase college necessities for nearly
40 years. "Everything we do is to make the transition to college life
easier," said Andy McDade, President of OCIM.
We also spoke with Jacqueline Devone, OC[/'s Vice President of
Business Development, to learn more about how OCIU partners with
colleges and universities.
"College campuses are our home. Schools partner with us because
we customize our programs to meet their needs. Plus, OCM offers
families great value. We give parents and students the best products
at the most affordable prices and provide convenience, making back-
to-school shopping easy for them," Jacqueline said.
There are several reasons to consider using OCM for your back-to-
school shopping needs. But one major reason to consider OCIVI is that
a percentage of every purchase goes directly back to the school. This
means that your purchase will directly impact your son or daughter's
college experience. OCtt/l has given back $231M from purchases to
schools for campus programming, scholarships, and donates to over a
dozen local charities and non-profit organizations.
We spoke with one of OCIU's longtime partners, Diane Andrews, the
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at Pennsylvania State
University (Penn State), to learn more about how OCt4 has helped
support their student programs. Diane has worked for Penn State for
nearly 30 years, and has partnered with OCIV since 1984. She
currently oversees Residence Life, Campus Recreation, Health
Promotion & Wellness, HUB-Robeson Center, Student Engagement
Programs, and Fraternity & Sorority Life at Penn State.
"Partnering with OCM has been very successful for us. The staff has
been very supportive, and the program supports a significant part of
our Resident Hall Association. When parents purchase from OClVl, it
goes straight back into student programming and initiatives," Diane
said. "lf we didn't have the funds we receive from OCIVI, we would
have to charge fees back to parents, residence halls, and/or housing
offices in order to support the activities that we're doing."

3. At Penn State, the Association of Residence Hall Students (ARHS) is
the primary representative voice for the University Park residence hall
community. The organization works to make sure that students in the
residence halls have an experience that is more than just living in a
"dorm" room, and that all parts of residence hall life meet students'
needs.
Besides providing financial support to their institutional partners,
OCM's partnership also provides students in the Resident Hall
Association with work and leadership experience. At Penn State, the
students are responsible for many aspects of the program, whether it
is managing the funds they receive from OClVl, or how they'll distribute
OCM's care packages in the Residence Halls, the program gives them
real world experience that improves their college experience and
prepares them for their career.
"One of the things that's really great about the OCIV relationship is
that they really understand the college experience. They meet
regularly with students to make sure they're providing what students
want and what they need. They've done a great job of changing with
the times. That's really important." Diane said.
Speaking of changing with the times and listening to student feedback,
OCM is launching a newly redesigned website to make Back-to-
School shopping even easier, along with a brand new product line"
Their new product line showcases the latest in style and comfort at
affordable prices, such as new microfiber Twin XL sheet sets, high-
quality towels sets, decor options, and the largest assortment of Twin
XL comforters. The new website is expected to launch Early [Vlay
2018
"This launch is about OCM listening to our college and university
partners. We are providing their students and parents with the best
product assortment and shopping experience, along with convenient
delivery options," Andy said.
Advice for Parents of lncoming Freshmen
Besides being a longtime Penn State employee, Diane is also a
college parent, and OCIM customer. "As a parent, you start asking
questions like, what kind of sheets will they need? What size carpet
will they need? I loved that I didn't have to go out to 3 stores and find

4. everything. Octll makes everything so convenient and I knew that
*r*rytf,in[ will be here when lre gets to campus' Parents fill out the
form for what their student needs, everything from linens, carpeting,
even care packages, and everythrng just shows up," Diane said'
Since Diane has had experience both from a parent perspective, and
from the university's perspective, I asked her to share her advice for
parents of incoming freshmen.
Here are Diane's top three recommendations for parents:
1. Help your son or daughter early on in their college career get
connected on campus, whether it is through student activities,
student engagement, or campus clubs. The more they can get
connected to the institution, the better. That's what's going to
make their experience really fulfilling. This connection will give
your student a sense of belonging.
2. Before you step in to help with a problem on behalf of your son or
daughter, encourage them to solve the problem on their own. You
can always help if needed, but allow them to explore campus
resources first.
3. Know that when students work part-time on campus, it can be a
great way for them to connect with campus offices. lVlany parents
worry that students won't have time to work, but on-campus jobs
provide another way for students to successfully navigate and be
part of the community.
As you start to check off items on your son or daughters coileqe
packinq list, make sure to consider oC[/ They offer families
convenience, products that are university-approved and a great value,
and most importantly, a percentage of your purchase goes direcfly
back to support your student's school. Learn more and staft
shopping at OCM.com.
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5. About OCM
For nearly 4A years, OCM has been the approved, official partner and
endorsed sponsor for more than 900 college campuses and 1,500
campus organizations across the U.S. serving as a one-stop shop for
affordable, college-approved dorm room supplies, care packages, and
other college essentials. Students and parents can visit the new
website at ocm.com to shop over 10,000 college-approved products,
such as twin XL dorm bedding sets guaranteed to fit any dorm bed,
dorm decor, bath sets, graduation frames, care packages, and more.
Additionally, every OCIM purchase sends dollars back to the student's
school for campus programming, and donations to more than a dozen
local and non-profit organizations. To date, OCMI has helped more
than 6 million students and families and have sent $23N/l back to
schools. For more information, please visit ecm.com or contact Andy
[/cDade at andv@qcm.cqm . Visit OCM
on Facebeok, lnstaaram, Pinterest, or Twitter.
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