Promotional Products For UK Freshers'

The dust has officially settled on another academic year and now, with the whole of summer looming ahead, students across the UK will be preparing for a few months of rest and relaxation before they prepare to embark on their next round of academic adventures.

For companies, however, it's business as usual - and now is the perfect time to start considering your brand's presence at Freshers' Fairs across the country in the autumn. These much-attended events are the perfect opportunity to introduce your business to university students, and whether you're exhibiting at a single event that's taking place somewhere nearby or have plans to showcase your company at a range of different campuses, promotional merchandise is essential to helping you get the word out there about your business.

Stats from youth marketing agency BAM show that 67% of university students attend Freshers' fairs with one simple goal in mind: to grab as many freebies as they can. And who can blame them? It makes perfect sense - after all, Freshers' fairs are famed for being a source of promotional goodies that can help out cash-strapped students as well as sow seeds of awareness for the businesses involved at the same time.

The Benefits Of Giving Out Promotional Merchandise Freshers' Fairs

Of course, it's not just businesses that can benefit from handing out branded giveaways at Freshers' Fairs - universities can, too! A Freshers' fair can offer a huge range of opportunities for a university or college to encourage students to engage and interact with the various societies, clubs and services it has available on campus. It's also a fantastic chance to showcase promotional items - such as embroidered jackets, printed hoodies and branded accessories - that students can wear out-and-about, guaranteeing extra awareness for the institution.

With that in mind, there are plenty of ways universities can interact with students at Freshers' fairs - for example:

Clubs and societies can welcome (or entice!) new members with promotional hoodies or printed T-shirts, which are ideal for handing out to sign-ups.
On-campus services - such as health and wellbeing organisations, for example - can provide promotional products printed with their contact details, should a student need to contact them in an emergency. Think promotional stress balls, fridge magnets, novelty keyrings... Anything that can put contact details in front of the people who might need them.
If the gym has an on-campus sports facility, it can encourage memberships with the help of promotional fitness items, such as printed sports bottles or logo-embroidered towels.
Clothing - such as university-branded promotional caps, hoodies and jackets - also make great options for students to purchase.
For general 'souvenirs', which students can purchase to mark the beginning of their academic career, promotional teddy bears make a great option... And even more so if they're 'bear'-ing the institution's logo!

Universities can also benefit from providing students with 'general' goodie bags, filled with promotional treats to welcome people to campus and the start of the new academic year. Items to consider for this include...

Basic promotional stationery: for example, branded erasers, promotional calendars and printed notepads are always popular.
Essential toiletries: Total Merchandise offers a wide range of health and beauty products, all of which can be branded with your logo.
Sweet treats: think branded tins of mints, for example, or our best-selling promotional chocolate neapolitans, which can feature the university's logo and branding on the outer wrapper.

Need an inspiration fix? Get inspired by our five best-selling Freshers' promotional products. These are the items that are most frequently ordered by our clients and are tried-and-tested Freshers' classics that students will love - and that will give your brand awareness a boost, too.

Why Hand Out Promotional Merchandise At A Freshers' Fair Event?

With 1.77 million undergraduates entering the higher education system between 2017 and 2018, it's safe to say the potential for new customers to clock your branding is huge - and even more so if they can walk away with a promotional giveaway that features your branding on it, too.

Freshers' fairs have the potential to generate fantastic awareness for your business, with items such as branded tote bags and printed notepads providing the perfect canvases for logo visibility. And after all: if you've already booked your stand at the Freshers' Fair (which we're assuming you have, as you're reading this article), you might as well do what you can to max the effectiveness of your presence!

According to recent research, 80% of people are more likely to remember a business if they receive a promotional product, with 81% of people keeping a branded giveaway for a year or longer.
Creating brand loyalty at a young age is a great way to form potentially life-long relationships between your business and customers.
If your business operates locally, a branded giveaway at a Freshers' Fair can make a great introduction for students who are new to the area.

Of course, there are many other reasons you might want to consider promotional freshers' giveaways - and our wide range of branded items will make the perfect freebie giveaways for freshers across the country!

Promotional Curvy Ballpens

Lead time: From five working days.

Why you should consider it: This chunky-grip pen is perfect for allowing students to make notes in lectures and classes. From a branding perspective, the pen is available in a wide range of colours, meaning it's as spottable in a bag as it is ideal for flaunting your company's logo.

Promotional Mint Cards

Lead time: Three working days.

Why you should consider it: Who doesn't love mints? Put the 'fresh' into Freshers with this handily-sized promotional card, which is ideally sized for slipping in to pockets or purses. With a dazzling full colour print option available, it offers fantastic awareness for your business every time it's reached for.

Promotional Message Bug

Lead time: Seven working days.

Why you should consider it: Cute, fluffy and a little bit silly, a will certainly give students a bit of aww-factor and can make an adorable addition to desks. A promotional logo bug is a highly cost-effective giveaway option - prices begin as low as 16p per message bug for our classic design, shown above.

Oyster Travel Card Wallets

Lead time: 10-15 working days.

Why students love it: These highly practical printed Oyster card holders are ideal for keeping bus passes or train tickets safe for daily use. Pick from a huge range of colours for your logo to be printed on to for a perfectly practical giveaway option.

Printed A5 Budget Soft Touch Notebooks

Lead time: Six to 12 working days.

Why students love it: These luxe-look promotional notebooks are ideal for making notes in class and are the perfect size for slipping into bags or backpacks. With your branding clearly printed or debossed onto the front, it offers fantastic awareness for your brand with every use!

For more ideas, browse our range of promotional Fresher's giveaways and contact our friendly team today for your rapid quote!