Making Merchandise Work Harder: How To Get Your Brand Noticed During The Freshers’ Week

When the academic year starts at university so do the new students or ‘Freshers’. A host of events are traditionally held to welcome new faces and help undergraduates acclimatise to student life.

The length of the induction varies from university to university. Freshers participate in a wide range of social activities, sports and other open-air events. They learn about the university, become familiar with representatives of their Student Union and get to know the city or town that’s home to their uni, often through some form of pub crawl!

Fresher’s Week is synonymous with good times – money is spent and a bounty of freebies collected, such as vouchers for cheap or free food, branded stationery and other promotional gifts from brands commonly sought by students assimilating into their new life of extreme budgeting and new-found independence.

The Fresher’s Fair – one of the main events during the week – is a great opportunity to promote one’s brand with giveaways as turnout is consistently high.

It’s also a good opportunity to gather data among the demographic. Face-to-face time with students can be extremely valuable, particularly for local businesses, franchises and brands looking to offer samples. Domino’s Pizza is an almost ubiquitous presence and certainly makes it count. By reminding students what a slice of pizza can do for a mid-week hangover, it initiates numerous customer relationships, highlights its presence in the local area and obtains personal data for direct marketing.

Choosing the right promotional products for Freshers’ Week is essential to make a lasting impression. Students are often living away from home for the first time so practical gifts are likely to be well received and kept – key rings, bottle openers, tea towels, clothing, pens, branded USBs and mobile accessories. Bags for life will hold all the literature that gets handed out, while goodie bags with sweets and drinks always prove popular. Use banners and flags to draw students to your stall.

For more great Freshers’ Week giveaway ideas and quotations, contact us at sales@arcadiaonline.co.uk or call +44(0) 845 130 2620.

Make Memorable Merchandise

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Jason Markwick

Having worked in Promotional Merchandise for the last 25 years I have been exposed to all aspects of the industry. Starting out as an account manager working with some of the worlds leading brands, I have learnt to understand the needs of a client, manufacturing processes, and what it takes to deliver a successful promotional campaign that is on brand, on time and within a given budget.