Back to School!

While many parents tout back-to-school as the most wonderful time of the year, it can also be a boon to the promotional products industry at all levels—from kindergarten to college. Pens, pencils, highlighters, pocket folders, notebooks/notepads, journals, totes/backpacks, and even reusable drinkware items are essentials during this busy time of year.

According to Stephanie Esse of Chameleon Like, paper is making a comeback, especially in the technology industry. “If you looked at trends over the past decade, the days of, ‘What’s the hottest tech product’ has been replaced with analog type products like notebooks/journals and other stationery-type products,” she comments. “It’s become ‘cool and hip’ again to write. And we’re seeing this demand increasing substantially right now.”

Full-color imprints are also trending, Goldstar’s Jessica Gonzales relates. “Many schools, colleges, athletic teams—and more companies nowadays—have full-color logos,” she says. “Choosing a full-color imprint is the number-one way to showcase a logo or brand in all of its glory.” Gonzales adds that branded school products not only help build brand awareness but will also strengthen school pride and camaraderie.

At Warwick Publishing, Kelsey Rankin states that pocket folders for universities, faculty, new students, campus organizations, student groups, etc. are hot commodities. “Padfolios also are a useful giveaway for new students and visitors on campus tours,” she notes. “Full-color personalization allows for high-quality imagery of the campus and printing a campus map on the back if desired.”

Co-branding is often employed in the back-to school market. “A local business will co-sponsor a product with the schools,” Gwen Brey of Beacon Promotions comments. “They are looking for useful products. That way the product is kept and the advertiser’s name is seen over and over again.” She adds that more people are trying to be eco-friendly, so they are looking for products that people will use and keep, which will keep products out of the landfill. 

Suppliers have rolled out a number of new products to complement best-selling back-to-school items. Over at Beacon Promotions, Brey shares that the Lex Commuter Backpack with Charging Port has been very popular for high school or college students, as it has a built-in port to charge all their electronic devices as they head to school and class. “Other great sellers in the college setting are flashlights and the Safety Alarm,” she adds. “These are very popular with on-campus safety initiatives.” Pocket folders and padfolios are still top sellers at Warwick Publishing for a variety of grade levels.

Full-color Commuter Journals are top at Chameleon Like. “These slim, sewn bound journals are easy to slip into a briefcase, purse, or backpack,” she states. “With 4CP capability on the cover, graphics on range from beautiful full-color designs to a simple logo on a PMS matched cover.”

Last December, the company started its #WriteOn or Give Back incentive with underfunded schools. “Over the past eight months have contributed to five schools with 500 logoed journals plus two to three boxes of surplus journals we have in-house,” Esse comments. “We currently have another eight schools we will be reaching out to in the next few months, prior to school starting and throughout the year.”

The following are best sellers at Goldstar: SimpliColor® writing instruments, including a pen/highlighter duo and a wide-barrel pen; metal pens with full-color imprints; plastic pens with full-color imprints; and drinkware items with full-color imprints, such as water bottles, double wall dups, and stadium cups. “SimpliColor® imprints offer anywhere from one- to four-color imprints, and most SimpliColor® products (such as pens), offer extra-large imprint areas, which are great for including things like an inspirational message for students, etc.,” Gonzales explains. She also believes that branded school products not only help build brand awareness but strengthen school pride and camaraderie.

Brey at Beacon Promotions recommends that distributors advise their customers that any type of business can do back-to-school promotions. “Financial institutions are great for college kids as they head off to school and often open new bank accounts in the community they now live in,” she emphasizes. “Any local business that wants to attract college kids to come see them, restaurants, retail shops, gas stations, etc. As for the K-12 schools, any business who wants to show their support of the school and educating the students in community affairs is the perfect advertiser—especially those who cater to kids: pizza places, arcades, sporting goods store, police departments, technology stores, etc. 

“Many communities have ‘Backpack’ programs where people can donate to fill backpacks for kids,” Brey continues. “Businesses could put their information on a pen/highlighter combo, and have it included in packages such as this. When a business does this, it shows their support for the school. It creates great community goodwill—at a low price.”

CASE STUDIES

Kelsey Rankin, Warwick Publishing: A school's athletic program was struggling to pay for recurring expenses. Game attendance had dropped over previous year, and alumni attendance was weak. The school wanted to increase game attendance to boost ticket revenue, concession stand sales, and encourage alumni donations.

The #1820 Custom Wave Calendar was personalized with highlighted home and away games printed on pop-out waves. The men's schedule was printed on one side of the calendar, and the women's schedule was printed on the other. The full schedule—including opponents and locations—were printed behind the pop-out waves.

Every athlete was given one to take home to parents. Calendars were available at the ticket table and concession stand at every game. Calendars were also mailed out to alumni and local business owners with a letter from the coach, as well as notes from the team captains, thanking them for past support, and encouraging them to attend some games. There were calendars placed on tables in the cafeteria and library to inspire school pride.

Game attendance went up for both the men's and women's teams. More students and alumni were present. Due to increased attendance, the program could make necessary investments, like better training equipment and new uniforms.

Jessica Gonzales, Goldstar: The California College of Applied Science and Technology is a small, highly regarded technical school. As part of their culture, the school created motivational workshops for students lead by successful entrepreneurs and alumni—designed to instill core values and develop leadership skills. The school was looking for a branded giveaway item that could carry a speaker’s message while retaining usefulness and relative permanence. 

For each event, the school created custom pen designs featuring motivational sayings, statistics or other factual pieces of information from each of the speakers. With an average lifespan of eight months, and the highest regarded form of advertising for college students, promotional items were the best choice to help deliver their messages. The pens quickly became a collectible. Hashtags, photos, and general discussions about the pends started popping up on social media. Event attendance grew 300 percent over the course of the school year.

Gwen Brey, Beacon Promotions: At a college freshman orientation session, the TR100SA, Safety Alarm Key Chain, was given to each incoming student. The item served two purposes—a thank you gift for coming to their school as well as a reminder to practice safety at all times. The students were encouraged to attach it to their dorm/car keys to utilize the light and alarm if necessary. 

Also, every college student has the need for office items, but usually doesn’t have the space in a dorm room for full-blown office items. The registration/orientation committee gave out the BA116OK Portable Office Kits to their incoming students when they completed registration and orientation. The kit contains useful items they’ll need in their college career and builds their school brand.