Top 6 Back-to-School Audiences to Target in 2025

What is a Back-to-School Audience?

In programmatic marketing, a back-to-school audience refers to consumers segmented on the basis of their online behaviors related to the school season, such as students, parents, educators, or shoppers looking for school supplies and tech gear usually for their kids.

OnAudience organizes audience data in a granular taxonomy, giving you both predefined segments and the flexibility to craft custom AI Audiences built for the upcoming Back-to-School season.

Examples of Back-to-School audiences from OnAudience’s taxonomy:

• Education → Students 
• Education → K–12 Educators 
• Education → College Life 
• Interest → Style & Fashion → Clothing (Men / Women) 
• Interest → Technology & Computing → Educational Software 
• Interest → Technology & Computing → Gaming Notebooks 

These categories help find your target audience and align targeting precision with campaign objectives, from stationery bundles for parents to premium devices for college students.

Research Insights: Why Segmentation Matters in 2025

Recent PwC, Deloitte, and ZetaGlobal reports reveal nuanced shifts in back-to-school shopping behavior that directly impact how marketers should segment audiences:

• Gen Z parents are more likely to shop exclusively in-store (PwC), while Millennials prefer hybrid channels. 
• Households earning $75K+ are nearly twice as likely to shop exclusively online (PwC). 
• Tech-savvy shoppers—especially younger parents—use social media and AI tools to find deals and spend up to 1.8× more (Deloitte). 
• Value-seeking families are spreading purchases over time, leaning heavily on promotions and trading down brands (Deloitte). 
• A quarter of parents plan to spend over $500 on tech (PwC), making high-value electronics a competitive category. 

These patterns mean your programmatic targeting should reflect channel preference, budget size, and purchase priorities, not just broad demographics.

OnAudience’s 6 Back-to-School Audience Segments

Below are six high-impact segments from our data taxonomy, paired with best-use cases informed by current shopper trends:

1. Audience Segment: Education → Students

Best Use Case
Promote student discounts or textbook bundles 
Research Tie-In
Younger students influenced by parents’ value-seeking behavior

2. Audience Segment: Education → K–12 Educators

Best Use Case
Target with classroom tech offers
Research Tie-In
Rising demand for affordable, functional education tools

3. Audience Segment: Education → College Life

Best Use Case
Feature campus essentials like laptops or apparel
Research Tie-In
College households often higher-income, more online-oriented

4. Audience Segment: Clothing (Men/Women)

Best Use Case
Highlight school-appropriate fashion lines
Research Tie-In
Gen Z and Millennial parents increasingly shop hybrid/fashion-focused

5. Audience Segment: Educational Software

Best Use Case
Advertise edtech platforms and online learning tools
Research Tie-In
Tech-savvy parents using AI/social to shop

6. Audience Segment: Gaming Notebooks

Best Use Case
Engage gamers looking for school + play setups
Research Tie-In
25% of households plan significant tech spend

Creating Custom Segments in Seconds with AI Audiences

When predefined segments don’t fully match your brief, AI Audiences lets you create new ones instantly—saving hours in planning.

How it works:

1. Choose the AI option in the dashboard 
2. Paste your brief (e.g., “Parents of university-bound students purchasing study tools”) 
3. Get precise segments instantly, with reach estimates and clear descriptions 
4. Push them to your DSP and activate—no manual taxonomy crafting needed 

Benefits:

• Scalability – Launch more campaigns efficiently 
• Speed – From hours to seconds 
• Precision – Fine-tuned targeting reduces ad waste 

Benefits of using Back-to-School Audiences for Programmatic Marketers

• Precision targeting: Improves relevance and campaign ROI 
• Privacy-safe: Fully GDPR & CCPA compliant 
• Cross-device readiness: Seamless messaging across screens 

With these tools, you can reach the right shopper, with the right message, at the right time, even in the highly competitive school season.

Future Trends in Back-to-School Audience Targeting

• Retail Media Networks (RMNs) will handle up to $179.5B in ad spend by year-end, offering unmatched first-party targeting opportunities. 
• Cross-channel integration will be critical, enabling real-time adaptation of messaging across devices, channels, and creative formats. 

Final Thoughts

Targeting back-to-school audiences with OnAudience equips you with precision, speed, and data-backed efficiency.

Whether you’re activating predefined segments or generating AI Audiences, you’ll be ready to outperform, reaching Gen Z in-store loyalists, affluent online-first shoppers, big tech spenders, and every high-value segment in between.
 

Build Custom Back To School Audiences