Students can be hard to please, but that doesn’t stop schools from trying. Universities cater to their students needs in many ways from providing tutoring services and career building seminars, to fulfilling the most basic and necessary task of feeding their students.
facebook.com/uncwcampusdining
UNCW Campus Dining has a large customer base that has a high turnover. With each new generation of Seahawks and the constant evolution of food trends in society, Campus Dining must stay updated on their consumer needs. An effective IMC plan begins and ends with research. Each semester Campus Dining sends out surveys asking students and faculty what changes they would like to see. Questions include asking for locations where students and faculty feel dining options are lacking and also what variety of food options they would like to see offered.
Campus Dining stays relevant through a nearly constant evolution of dining locations. Anyone who has had a meal plan for more than a couple semesters has probably seen Dub’s remodeled multiple times. With redecorations, menu changes, dietary need additions, we don’t have time to get bored before it is new again. Currently Dubs has an emphasis on local and healthy options.
Campus Dining brand also embraces sustainability efforts. You may have heard about the fish tank in Wag. This aquaponics system (a small ecosystem that raises plants and fish in a mutually beneficial environment) is just one of the most recent updates. This semester the cafeteria provides more fresh fruit and veggies (due to survey requests) and wag sushi on Fridays. These are just some examples of Campus Dining improvements.
Aside from keeping up with the foods that students request, UNCW goes one step farther to keep their students happy by offering a variety of promotions. This semester, along with the updated meal plans, UNCW has a “VIP” option for students in Non-Traditional housing who purchase meal plans. By getting a meal plan between May 18th and August 24th, eligible students were enrolled in a rewards program that allows them free surprises every month. Some of these specials include free coffee at Port City Java, a free bagel, a free sandwich at The Landing, a free Chick-fil-a sandwich, and other exciting surprises. This IMC strategy is an incentive for students who are not required to purchase a meal plan to do so, and a way for UNCW Campus Dining to retain more customers.
All these initiatives show Campus Dining’s commitment to generating consumer enthusiasm and engagement to keep their brand relevant against off-campus dining competition. In addition to their guaranteed return on investment from students living on campus who are required to get meal plans, Campus Dining’s IMC plan draws in extra revenue by encouraging everyone to make them their choice for nutritional value.
Want to learn more about campus dining? Follow them here:
Twitter: @UNCWDining
Instagram: @uncw_dining
Facebook: www.facebook.com/uncwcampusdining
-Carey Poniewaz, Aki Suzuki, Alexis Trimnal, Carey Shetterley and June Wilkinson
IMC Hawks Blog 
I agree with that the school is definitely trying their hardest to please the students and keep up with the latest food trends. Ever since I’ve been at UNCW, there is always a dining place that is being remodeled. And honestly, I do like the changes they make each year because campus dining always improves!
I feel that UNCW Campus Dining has done an excellent job staying relevant and current. Each semester I have noticed the changes to each dining location and it is great to see that they take the feedback and do something with it. As a student living in non-traditional housing, I also think that the “VIP” status reward is an excellent way to get students in my position to sign up for meal plans. I missed the deadline last time for the sign up promotion they had so I made sure to catch it this time!
Personally, I am one of those people guilty of complaining about WAG not supplying enough food options to students. Your article informed me that WAG has made changes and after not having a meal plan for two of my three years here at UNCW I am willing to give WAG a second chance. Also, who wouldn’t want free stuff I was unaware that they offered this new option.
As a new transfer student here at UNCW, one of the very first things I checked out was the dining hall and meal plan options. I never thought I would ever consider eating “dorm food” again, after getting sick from school food all freshman year at WVU. I was hardly given an healthy options which really bothered me. Although its hard to please everyone, especially when it comes to food, UNCW’s dining hall does a great job at really trying to satisfy everyone. It’s safe to say, I’m very impressed.
IMC II,
I definitely think that Campus Dining has done a great job with their Marketing strategies like you’ve discussed in this post! I am a Junior living on campus in part because of the convenience of having everything within walking distance. Though I only have a partial meal plan, I decided to sign up for one again this year because of the ever increasing quality of their services. I feel that their marketing initiatives has also placed an impact on this decision as Campus Dining continually and successfully engages students and takes feedback seriously. Like you said, things like the addition of sushi Friday show their commitment to catering to students’ wants and needs and that’s something that make us feel like we’re being listened to and valued.
-Laura (IMC I)
IMC II,
I definitely think that Campus Dining has done a great job with their Marketing strategies like you’ve discussed in this post! I am a Junior living on campus in part because of the convenience of having everything within walking distance. Though I only have a partial meal plan, I decided to sign up for one again this year because of the ever increasing quality of their services. I feel that their marketing initiatives has also placed an impact on this decision as Campus Dining continually and successfully engages students and takes feedback seriously. Like you said, things like the addition of sushi Friday show their commitment to catering to students’ wants and needs and that’s something that make us feel like we’re being listened to and valued.
-Laura (IMC I)
All of these changes to campus dining are pretty confusing to a senior who hasn’t had a meal plan since freshman year. I like how campus dining listens to the students and faculty. I like the changes made to Hawks Nest, the lines seem to be moving a lot quicker but the Chic-fil-a line is very intimidating. This post gave me a lot of information about campus dining that I didn’t know about but the thought of Wag sushi scares me.
This post caught my attention right off the bat with the title, “Campus Dining.” I did not know which direction the post was going in at first, but I was pleased to see it was a positive direction. I personally believe UNCW is given way too much criticism for its food options, especially wag. Students need to take into consideration the efforts universities put into these places across campus. The main problem that I can get out of this is that not enough students participate in the survey’s to create the change they are looking for. I am very pleased with the remodeling of Dub’s and the new Chick-fil-a. Students need to experience other campus’ and see how upscale UNCW is in comparison. Overall, I love the points you made in this blog, hopefully other students will read this and be appreciative of the resources we have here at Wilmington.