The first editions launched this November, will be distributed in Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham, reaching students at university and in their student properties. This will be followed by Birmingham and Leeds in the New Year.
The AFS Express has been created in direct response to student feedback and is packed with student flats, houses and halls all currently available for the next academic year, as well as useful house-hunting checklists, city reviews, accommodation tips and advice.
The team has also drawn on the interests and requests of students to source current and relevant contributors, from student friendly celebrities to business start-up entrepreneurs. There will be featured articles from famous alumni of the universities, including popular bands and World renowned authors. It is already confirmed that band ‘Everything Everything’ will feature in the first Manchester AFS Express and the Ordinary Boys will appear in the Nottingham edition.
Simon Thompson, Managing Director of Accommodation for Students comments:
“Although the digital era means students can access information any time of day on their phone, tablets or laptops, print media is by no means dead and sometimes it’s just nice to have something more tangible to read. Feedback from our students suggested that they would welcome and benefit from a publication specifically targeted to the city in which they were studying, containing up to date information and advice on the best, most affordable accommodation available.”
The first run of the AFS Express will see a distribution of 10,000 copies reaching a total readership of 25,000 students in each city. 4000 newspapers will be individually addressed and posted directly to AFS’s unique database of students to be read at home. The other 6000 newspapers will be handed directly to students around universities and student centres.
If the AFS Express proves a success, Simon Thompson plans to roll it out in other major university cities nationwide.
