For a business in a college area, whether you are in financial services or the local pizza shop, getting your name to college students during Back to School Time is important. These are the customers that will continually be bringing you business throughout the school year, so getting to them early is the key.
What types of products are most effective? It turns out we have 4 experts in what college students like, what they use, and what they want: our summer interns! Here are their stories:
 "While backpacks and pens are highly practical gift items for students, chances are they've already brought a backpack and some pens from home. One of the more useful promotional products I've received from a promotional booth around campus is an imprinted mini-stapler. I've gotten a ton of use out of it and my dormmates repeatedly asked me to borrow it throughout the year. Because of the communal nature of dorms, businesses don't even have to give out products, like staplers, to everyone on campus to maximize their company name's exposure."
- Andrew, Brandeis University '10
 "I didn't have a solid cup for drinking water in my dorm room, and I became broke buying bottled soda and bottled water. A local ice cream store, solved my dilemma, giving out plastic logo imprinted mugs with
a
purchase. My ice cream was inhaled in five minutes, but the mug lasted me the entire year, and I continued going to the ice cream shop."
- Brendan, Fairleigh Dickinson University '11
 "Among the many promotional items I received at school, the ones that lasted me all four years at school were also the most simple products. It became a JMU tradition to keep all the imprinted fridge magnets from various businesses plastered on the fridge and freezer, so rather than scrolling through the phone book all students had to do was look for the company logo before making a call. This always came in handy for late-night snacking on the weekends."
- Kye, James Madison University '09
 "My favorite giveaways are always things I didn't realize I needed until I got it. For example, when I went away to college, a local bank gave me a free laundry bag for opening a student checking account. Despite all the things I had thought to bring to school with me, a laundry bag was not one of them-- and it was something I needed since the washing machines were not in my building. The bank has gained a
lot out
of the deal: their thoughtfulness and great customer service has kept me with them, not to mention all the free advertising they got every time I washed my clothes and left the bag in the laundry room."
-Elizabeth, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill '10
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| Make it Useful: 4 Products Every Student Wants - But Never Get!
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Want some ideas on unique products that students aren't getting but would love to get? We asked our interns: "What products do you always need in school - but never have?" Here are their answers:
 "The one common scene that you will most likely see at any college apartment are the habitual card games which are played on the weekends before students venture out of their residence. A deck of promotional cards is rare and very valuable to our generation, given the popularity of poker and card games played in the college environment. I would have praised any business who gave me this product, since I've gone through several decks of cards that were either lost or ruined from spilt drinks and food."- Kye, James Madison University '09
 "I
could never have enough Post-it Notes, but I was always running out or
losing them. If a college business offered me Post-it Notes or a
Post-it Note holder with their logo on it, I would have definetely
remembered their business name. If the note holder had slots for other
supplies like tape or staples, I would have used it everyday."
- Brendan, Fairleigh Dickinson University '11
 "When
I returned to school last fall to start my junior year, my school
launched a sustainability initiative, and distributed a free
lightweight blue aluminum water bottle with a carabiner and screw top
cap that had my schools name and Campus Sustainability Initiative
imprinted on it. It was a hit with most students, and everyone almost
instantaneously began carrying their bottles all over campus. I would
have liked the water bottle to be a bit bigger, a 26oz. aluminum water
bottle would have been better suited for students needs."
- Andrew, Brandeis University '10
 "Over the past few years I've collected lots of free promotional products that I use all the time-- drawstring bags, laptop sleeves, travel mugs and T-shirts, to name a few. Still, something that really would have come in handy last year was a USB drive. Between group projects and papers I was constantly carrying my laptop to and from campus with my books, so my bag was always pretty heavy. A USB drive would attach easily to my key ring, so I'd have it with me at all times-- making it much easier to stop into the library to finish a paper or share parts of a project with a group."
-Elizabeth, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill '10
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| | Upcoming Promotional Event Dates | | |
August is Beach Month
With the summer weather at its best in August, Beach Month encourages everyone to visit a nearby beach and bask in the sun and sand. Whether people are looking to play some beach volleyball or stroll along the shore to collect seashells, August offers you a great opportunity to advertise your company with various beach-related promotional products.
From custom designed beach towels and folding chairs to imprinted flip flops and sunglasses, ePromos has a wide variety of high quality products that will help your clients and employee
s
celebrate Beach Month while showcasing your company name and logo to other beach goers.
Plan ahead and take advantage of the
following promotional
opportunities.
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| | September
| October
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Backpacks Any Student Would Love!
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A back to school promotion wouldn't be complete without promotional backpacks. We went through our category of backpacks and chose three of our favorites. Here are three of the most popular used by college students :
Sling Bags:
With students always searching for a lightweight bag to ease the burden of carrying their books and laptops around campus, sling bags offer a comfortable and practical solution. Students appreciate a gift that will help them stay organized and mobile throughout the school year.
Drawstring Bag:
Ideal for students who frequently visit the gym, drawstring sports packs offer a great alternative to bulkier sports bags. With an external mesh pocket, students can take advantage of the additional compartment with a pair of sneakers or any extra athletic gear.
Classic Backpack:
With compartments for your books, pens, water bottle, sweatshirt, etc, this versatile backpack is perfect for traveling around campus. It's comfortably designed with padded shoulder straps and comes in multiple colors for every taste.
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Teen Spirit Promos
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What are the hottest and most popular team spirit items being used in colleges and universities? Our four interns told us some of their favorites:
"Giveaways like foam hand mitts can easily get a crowd going because everyone recognizes them. Student athletes would get more fan support; attending students get a free classic sporting event product; schools generate more school spirit at no cost; and most importantly, the business that hands them out - gets an unrivaled opportunity to advertise their own business to a huge crowd of college students."
- Andrew, Brandeis University '10 Boom Boom Sticks
"A custom school spirit product that is dispersed at every JMU football game is inflatable boom boom sticks. It's a JMU tradition to smash these bad boys as hard as possible during every kickoff, and Duke Dog fans have signature beats they clap to every game with hopes of aggravating opposing teams. More importantly, many JMU students keep these scattered in their apartments, signifying that they can be decorative and fun even when the game is over."
- Kye, James Madison University '09
"My school is huge on school spirit, and people tend to go all out on gameday-- body paint, facial tattoos, you name it-- and everyone is definitely decked out in Carolina Blue. At every football game, you can pick up free promotional pom poms to cheer along with the band. My friends and I have collected a whole bunch at this point, and they still get brought out well into basketball season. They're perfecting for accentuating the end of the alma matter, which gets sung at the end of every game."
-Elizabeth, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill '10
"The last football game of the year draws a huge crowd at my school, but the magnitude of the event was enhanced by a promotional product. The college bought a large signature and autograph towel for the campus to sign, and everyone wrote messages to wish the football team good luck. The message I wrote will always be there for the coach to read. I feel like I left my mark on something special."
- Brendan, Fairleigh Dickinson University '11
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| Imprinted Drink Insulators Highly Successful as Party Favors for Sorority Delta Gamma’s Winter Formal
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Challenge: A sorority had to find a long-lasting, gender-neutral giveaway for guests at an upcoming formal dance.
With their winter formal rapidly approaching, the sisters of the Delta Gamma sorority at Cornell University racked their brains to come up with the perfect party giveaway. As they reflected on the gift choices from the years before - customized martini glasses and other "girly" items - they decided that this year they would pick something more gender-neutral so that the sisters' dates could enjoy the party favors as well. They also wanted a promotional item that would get the name of the sorority out there and increase campus-wide recognition. The sisters knew that the more people who were aware of the sorority, the easier it would be to recruit new pledges year after year.
As they threw around some ideas, one of the Delta Gamma sisters noticed a shark fin can cooler sleeve on her desk which she had received at a beverage promotion nearly a year earlier. Surprised with the long-lasting staying power of the can cooler, she ran the idea by the rest of the sorority. All of the sisters agreed that a Delta Gamma cooler sleeve would be a fun party favor that everyone could enjoy. Delta Gamma sought the expertise of The Promo Know-How People to find the perfect can cooler sleeve for their formal dance and future promotions!
Solution: Delta Gamma chose an inexpensive beverage cooler sleeve that put their name on display!
Delta Gamma was paired up with Promotions Specialist Caitlin Powers for their can cooler campaign. Armed with plenty of knowledge about the top-selling beverage coolers, Caitlin recommended a basic model that was both inexpensive and highly customizable. The Folding Can Cooler Sleeve that Caitlin recommended was a perfect match for the sorority's needs, and they decided to go with it right away. Delta Gamma chose a royal blue drink insulator imprinted with their sorority name and an anchor logo in green ink. The large imprint area allowed the girls to create a highly-visible promotional item that could be easily seen.
Result: The cooler sleeves were a big hit - even after the formal was over. To this day the sisters spot their branded drink insulators all over.
The cooler sleeves arrived on time for the December 7th formal dance and there were plenty of extras that would eventually find their way into the hands of prospective pledges all over the Cornell campus!
The Delta Gamma custom drink insulators were a huge success and a big hit with everyone who attended the formal. The sisters’ dates in particular appreciated this year's lack of martini glasses and have been making use of their can coolers ever since!
Since the sorority had plenty of extra cooler sleeves, they began to give them away as part of a general promotional campaign. As the drink insulators spread around campus people started to come out of the woodwork asking how they could get their hands on one! Even weeks after the formal was over the girls reported spotting their custom cooler sleeves all over campus and were thrilled with the amount of inexpensive exposure the sorority was getting. Delta Gamma was very pleased with their investment and plan to run similar campaigns for future events.
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