As Donnie Jackson, a freshman majoring in communication, makes her commute through USC Village, her environment is shaped by the overwhelming presence of advertisements around the University.

Walking along Trousdale Parkway on USC’s campus seems like a small part of students’ daily routine, but a closer look reveals a dense marketplace of brands, organizations and campaigns all competing for their attention.

Ambassadors call out from their branded tables, offering samples or membership to an organization. Colorful posters are stacked along nearby walls. Flyers are handed out, strategically designed yet often discarded in minutes. These promotions are everywhere but are often avoided or unacknowledged by many in the USC community.

However, this lack of awareness doesn’t diminish their influence.

“People are simply overwhelmed,” said Lars Perner, an associate professor of clinical marketing at the Marshall School of Business. “There’s just so much going on around … you kind of have to move on and ignore a lot of it.”

This sense of excess shapes the foundation of how these promotions are received. Students are constantly exposed to new persuasive content, but most of it is ignored almost instantly. Beyond visibility, an ongoing challenge for organizations is drawing attention long enough to make a lasting impact.

“Around campus, I don’t generally notice that many [advertisements], but they probably are there,” said Chris Sanchez, a junior majoring in legal studies. “When I do see something, it’s probably because it caught my attention.”

Many students might not consider how the ads they consume could impact them, but Perner explained that their consumption may not always be conscious.

“Life is a kind of lifelong learning process,” Perner said. “By learning, I don’t mean learning in the academic sense so much as being exposed to different brands or different behaviors of people.”

Navigating this gap between visibility and influence requires student organizations to utilize strategic planning, sometimes paired with trial and error.

“Our major promotion is through Instagram, but sometimes we’ll do fundraising,” said Harley Chen, a member of the Chinese American Student Association and a junior majoring in cinema and media studies.

While social media builds long-term recognition, tabling on Trousdale can create an immediate familiarity.

Still, with USC’s busy environment, getting people to stop by remains one of the biggest challenges.

“Usually it’s because they’re busy and there’s a lot of fundraising going on here,” Chen said. “Maybe they’ll get overwhelmed, and a lot of stuff is overdone, so it’s kind of hard to get people to actually be interested in your advertising.”

To counter the noise, organizations rely on various tactics, some simple yet effective. Chen noted giveaways featuring popular drinks or items like matcha were a key tactic for effective marketing. Even brands not affiliated with the University can be seen around campus.

“We had the Summer Fridays pop-up that showed up a few weeks into the second semester, [where] everyone was able to go and get free things,” said Jackson.

The presence of a group or a known brand creates a certain sense of trust, which Perner described as “social proof.” This strategy can entice passersby to stop and interact with a given product. Still, for some students, the promotional material they encounter daily proves tedious.

“To an extent [the advertisements] can get overwhelming,” Jackson said. “It stresses people out more than it helps, even if that advertisement is exciting or has some sort of reward system attached to it.”

While many students acknowledge the bombardment of marketing they face, Perner said that some may not realize the cost of this distraction.

“If you have a speaker on campus that you would’ve been interested in, but you don’t notice the poster for that speaker because you’re looking at so many other things … all of the different stimuli are actively distracting [you] from what you want,” Perner said.

As students enter the final stretch of the spring semester, they will continue to navigate through the competitive web of advertising at USC, ultimately shaping the marketing trajectory and consumer behavior of the upcoming academic year. While the quantity of advertising may not change, students can find a better understanding of their consumer relationship.

“If you have a certain level of self-control, you can monitor whether it controls your behavior,” Jackson said. “But I have to always remember the relevancy in which it can actually contribute to my college life.