The canteen is more than a place to buy lunch.

For students, the canteen is part restaurant, part meeting place and part waiting room. Seventy-one per cent visit every day or several times a week. They eat, talk, wait for the next class and spend time with friends. Unlike the classroom or the smartphone feed, it is a relatively low-task environment.

That matters. When people are not fully occupied by a demanding task, environmental cues have a better chance of breaking through. A striking screen message can trigger bottom-up attention: attention that is pulled towards an unexpected external stimulus rather than deliberately directed by the viewer.

“That is exactly the valuable moment to attract their attention.” – Tess van Rutten  neuroscience expert and researcher at NORM

A creative idea made for the audience.

Context alone is not enough. Ben used the same distinctive commercial that had already performed well with Gen Z on YouTube. The video shows a robot vacuum carrying toilet paper, hand sanitiser and sweets through a tiled bathroom, accompanied by the line: “Volgens mij probeert de toiletjuffrouw iets te upsellen?”

The execution feels closer to a piece of social content than to a conventional telecom advertisement. Its humour, visual oddity and deliberately informal style create a pattern interruption. The idea is recognisable enough to understand immediately and strange enough to remember.

Running the same creative in the school environment also strengthened the relationship with other media. Students who had seen the video online were more likely to recognise it in the canteen, while canteen exposure could make the brand easier to recognise later on YouTube. The campaign therefore worked as part of the broader brand experience rather than as an isolated screen placement.

A short flight with strong mid funnel impact.

The campaign ran during weeks 27 and 28 with a 17.7 per cent share of voice on Appèl’s digital screens. That timing made the result particularly interesting: these were the final school weeks of the year, when part of the student population was already on holiday.

Even within that short first flight, the campaign generated strong signs of memory and brand association. Thirty-five per cent of students correctly attributed the execution to Ben without receiving a brand prompt. Thirty-four per cent spontaneously recalled the exact creative idea: the bathroom setting and the robot vacuum. This is more than simple advertising recognition. Students remembered the actual concept.

The creative received an average rating of 6.9 out of 10. It was considered noticeable, clear and credible, while irritation remained low. For a group known to avoid advertising, that combination is especially relevant: the campaign did not merely reach students, it was positively received.

From brand attention to commercial opportunity.

The study also revealed a clear activation opportunity. Thirty per cent of respondents already preferred or actively considered Ben. A further 42 per cent said they would consider the brand if the offer was right. Together, that means 72 per cent remained open to Ben under the right commercial conditions.

This suggests that brand and promotion should not be treated as separate worlds for this audience. The first flight built recognition and memory. A follow-up flight could use that foundation while adding a stronger performance element, such as a student-specific offer or a promotion connected to the CRAFT app. Repeated exposure would reinforce the memory structure, while a relevant deal could turn openness into action.

Measurement inside the audience not around it.

One of the most valuable parts of the case was the research setup. MBO students are underrepresented in many conventional consumer panels, making it difficult for marketers to obtain reliable insight into this specific group. Appèl provided a direct alternative through CRAFT, its student loyalty app.

CRAFT rewards healthier choices with points that students can exchange for free food and drinks. Because the app already has a useful role in everyday student life, it offered a natural way to invite the audience into the campaign study. A push notification generated 903 completed questionnaires within a matter of hours.

The response demonstrates two things at once: Appèl has a highly engaged digital relationship with students, and the network can measure campaign impact directly among the people who were present in the environment. That combination of physical media, first-party audience access and effect measurement gives the proposition value well beyond screen impressions.

A platform for more than telecom advertising.

The relevance of the MBO canteen extends well beyond telecom. Employers need apprentices, interns and young technical talent. Healthcare organisations and public institutions need direct routes to young adults. Financial services, mobility providers, education brands and consumer technology companies all meet students at the start of important life choices.

What makes the environment powerful is its selectivity. Virtually everyone present is part of the intended audience, and the setting supports both repeated exposure and contextual relevance. Campaigns can be designed around broad brand building, recruitment, public information or a direct offer, depending on the objective.

The Ben campaign provides a practical blueprint: choose a place where the audience naturally spends time, use creative that belongs in their world, repeat it often enough to build memory and measure the result directly within the community.

Retail media becomes part of the total brand experience.

The case is a reminder that retail media should not be reduced to a conversion channel or a collection of inventory. Its value lies in connecting context, audience, creative and measurement. When those elements work together, retail media can build the memory and consideration that later support conversion.

For Ben, a brave first test produced measurable brand impact in only two weeks. For Appèl, it demonstrated the strength of its MBO network and CRAFT ecosystem. And for marketers, it offers a simple conclusion: attention is still available, even among Gen Z, when a brand earns its place in the right moment.

Campaign partners.

Brand  Ben  Odido
Media agency  WPP
Education and catering network  Appèl
Campaign activation  RetailMedia.One
Effect research  NORM Retail Media Intelligence