The Globe and Mail - Saturday September 24, 2005

The Taming of the Brew
Corporate Sponsors, not Keg Parties, Fire Up Frat

By JOSHUA ERRETT special to the Globe and Mail

For a frat house with over a dozen residents, the Delta Upsilon fraternity has an unexpectedly pleasant scent. The fragrance, which manages to overpower any smells of stale beer or old pizza boxes, comes from the stacks of AXE Body Spray samples in the front library. "My favourite one is Essence," DU frat brother Anthony Dileo says, referring to a variety of the spray.

"It really hides the stench." But they're not just using the spray; they're promoting it. Delta Upsilon is one of many established Toronto fraternities that now take corporate sponsorship. In between playing foosball and wooing neighbouring sororities, frats are aiming at big-name marketing money. Indeed, with no funding from universities, Toronto fraternities have moulded themselves into mini corporations, with roles like president, marketing director and public-relations officer.

(Mr. Dileo, who wears business attire even going out for the night, is the Director of Loss Prevention.) And though it's drab in comparison to a keg party, corporate partnership is fast becoming a central part of frat life. Advertisements "It's used as a [recruitment] tool for us," 20-year-old frat member and PR official Jonathan Pinto says of the thousands of bottles of deodorant body spray. "How do you get students to check out the frat? Give away free products. Plus, everyone in the house uses it."

Delta Upsilon gives out samples at events like the University of Toronto's Clubs Day and throughout the year at its own events. "They give us the products like Excel chewing gum and Trojan condoms," Mr. Pinto says, "and we hand them out at tables at [U of T's] Sidney Smith [Hall] or wherever. "It doesn't hurt to have a box of condoms in the house, anyway." In some instances, frat-savvy companies are paying for inexpensive promotion in the coveted university market.

Delta Upsilon distributes advertisement-based calendars, earning about 10 cents for each one handed out. "As long as [marketing products] don't negatively affect us," reasons DU president Firman Latimer, "then why not? " A large part of running a "frat business" is in public perception, Mr. Latimer says. "We're eager to shed the Animal House image people have of us." Some image-conscious fraternities have even given up keg parties.

"Keg parties can be a bust," Mr. Latimer says. "They're a hassle; with preparation, promotion, effort, time. Not to mention, they're illegal." Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity, attracts corporate sponsors to finance their charity events. Since forming in 1999, the fraternity has attracted the likes of M.A.C. Cosmetics, Virgin Music and Juicy Couture to underwrite its parties at downtown clubs. And it's no accident that the list favours products that are marketed to women.

Working with a cosmetics company, after all, offers side benefits to the brothers. "Our ratios are hilarious," say house vice-president Mr. Gulersen of the events, at which M.A.C. gift bags valued at $50 each are given out to hundreds of college-aged women. "There are way more girls than guys." Profits from their parties go to charities like the Diabetes Hope Foundation, Mr. Gulersen says, but he acknowledges the value of a positive community image. By hosting corporate-sponsored charity events, he believes that Alpha Epsilon Pi members are "creating a name for [themselves]" in future dealings -- and their careers.

Alumnus Scott Reynolds, who pledged as a Delta Upsilon brother in 1986, is impressed. "When I was an active member in DU, the majority of its money for its social budget came through keg parties," Mr. Reynolds recalls. "So things have definitely changed for the better." Mr. Reynolds, 37, says the bond between fraternities and corporations is about long-term goals, not simply free products. As fraternities continue to function like small-scale corporations, with defined roles, image concerns and lofty objectives, frats become better equipped for the business world. "Over all, I think it's a smart move," Mr. Reynolds says. "And hopefully, some of the guys end up with jobs out of this."