The 2025 Branded Merch Trends Shaping Higher Ed Marketing

  • by Katie Flores, Sales and Marketing Manager

Staying ahead of trends in branded merchandise is key to creating influential and memorable experiences for students, alumni, and donors. After attending PPAI’s (Promotional Products Association International) 2025 Expo – the largest promotional products showcase, we’re excited to share some of the most relevant trends and how they can help admissions, alumni, and advancement teams elevate their engagement strategies. Here’s what’s making waves in the world of branded merch and how your institution can take advantage.

1. Live Activations

With more events returning to in-person formats, interactive brand experiences are more important than ever. Whether it’s an admitted student day, alumni reunion, or giving day event, incorporating branded merch into live activations makes a lasting and memorable impact.

The PPAI showroom floor was filled with live activations; here were our favorite ideas: 

  • Live t-shirt and tote bag screen printing with the bonus option to choose what design you wanted
  • Made-to-order personalized laser etched luggage tags and key tags
  • Hat Bar used to create a one-of-a-kind customized hats from different patches, accessories, colors, and styles 
  • Claw Machines and other gamification of branded merch  

 

Higher Ed Branded Merch Trends and Strategies

 

2. Kid-dulting: Fun & Nostalgic Merch

The rise of ‘kid-dulting’—playful, nostalgic items designed for adults—resonates with students and younger alumni. This trend taps into the joy of childhood favorites while making them relevant for today’s audience. It’s a way to reconnect with simpler, carefree times while adding a modern twist to familiar products. 

Think retro lunchboxes, color-changing cups, holographic stickers, and buildable brick sets—all the greatest moments of your childhood!

3. Glimmer Moments: Small, Joyful Touches

The term Glimmer Moments refers to small, joyful surprises that create moments of delight and emotional connection. In an era where attention is pulled in many directions, these micro-moments of joy stand out, making recipients feel valued and engaged. Whether it’s a thoughtful welcome gift for incoming students, a hand-written sticker postcard thanking a family for visiting campus, or an unexpected token to celebrate a donor milestone, these small gestures are making a big impact.

4. Social Sports: Building Community Through Play

Social sports—like pickleball, cornhole, and intramural leagues—are booming because they offer a simple, enjoyable way to disconnect from technology and engage in face-to-face interactions. These activities foster community and connection in an inclusive, low-pressure environment. Branded merchandise presents a unique opportunity to enhance these experiences and build school spirit with items like branded pickleball sets, water bottles, athletic socks, or towels. These products not only strengthen alumni and student engagement but also offer a fun and useful way to connect with the institution.

5. Lasting Luxury: Timeless & High-Quality Gifts

In today’s fast-paced, disposable world, there’s a growing demand for high-quality, long-lasting merchandise that reflects both sustainability and premium branding. People are more conscious than ever about the environmental impact of their purchases and are drawn to items that are built to last, rather than inexpensive, short-lived products. For donor appreciation and alumni engagement, selecting timeless pieces with enduring value helps to elevate the perceived worth of your institution’s brand. Premium items, such as elegant, laser-engraved drinkware or leather-bound notebooks, not only reflect the high standards of your institution but are practical, meaningful, and can be used daily, making them a constant reminder of the relationship between the donor and the institution.

Bringing It All Together

These 2025 trends provide exciting opportunities to create branded merch experiences that are engaging, relevant, and meaningful for your audience. Whether you’re welcoming new students, reconnecting with alumni, or stewarding donors, choosing the right promotional products can help strengthen relationships and build school pride.

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Variable Data Best Practices

  • At the quoting stage of your project, please let us know how many fields of variable data your piece will have as this can affect pricing.
  • Data should be provided to us as an Excel spreadsheet with only the applicable data included.
  • Verbiage for variable data fields on artwork file should match up exactly with data fields on spreadsheet.
  • Spacing on artwork must allow for longest data entries. We recommend that your designer tests this in advance to confirm that the fields in the design can fit your longest pieces of data.

Postage Permits

We are happy to mail using a client’s USPS non-profit number. Here are a few best practices for this to go smoothly. Let our team know up front on the project so we can make sure to get the information we need right away. 

While our mail house does prefer to use their permit number for the mailing, we can use the client’s permit, If using their permit number, ensure there is enough postage to cover the mailing.

The information we need to in order to use a client’s nonprofit number includes the following:

  • CRID (customer registration ID)
  • Non-Profit Authorization Number (with USPS, not their nonprofit number for the university)
  • Non-profit indicia
  • Return address that is on file with USPS for the non-profit authorization number
  • Permit number

Formatting the Mailing List

Our account team will advise on specific requirements for your project’s mailing list.  We generally recommend these best practices to format the mailing list:
  • Send your data in a spreadsheet, saving it in the comma-separated values (CSV) format
  • International addresses must be separated from domestic addresses
  • Domestic addresses should at least contain data fields for “first name”, “last name”, “address 1”, “address 2”, “city”, “state” and “ZIP code”