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The Challenge
As the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering completed their capital campaign and broke ground on the new Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center, they wanted donors, alumni, and guests to take home a memory and a symbol of what’s to come.
To complement the ceremony for the new facility, the college partnered with Magellan Promotions to create a thoughtful, branded merch item that would tie directly into the event’s theme: groundbreaking, growth, and transformation.
The Solution
While the event planners could have chosen other crowd-favorite merch items like a water bottle or t-shirt, they wanted to be innovative and bring meaning to their merch.
The solution? A customized plant starter kit that acted as an unexpected yet fitting party favor for the event. Each kit contained everything needed to grow a plant including the soil, container, and the seeds themselves.
These sustainable, foldable, cardboard planters were printed with renderings of the future building, the College of Engineering’s logo, and the powerful tagline: “We’re Engineering the Future.”
For the seeds, they chose forget-me-nots since the building is named after Phillip A Levy, the brother of the two major donors. The decision to select an item with soil and seeds was a great way to turn a tangible item into a symbol of what’s soon to take root on campus.
Cassandra Bocchieri, Alumni Relations Manager for the College of Engineering said, “The planters were a hit at the event. Guests were delighted to have such a unique takeaway that leaned into the spring season, and the symbol of soil and growth aligning with the new building.”
The Outcome
With hundreds of faculty, students, alumni, and dignitaries in attendance, the event marked not just the start of construction, but a new chapter for Wisconsin engineering. The planters, like the building, will grow into something bigger, continuing to remind attendees of the groundbreaking day and the purpose behind the new facility.
What symbolic keepsake could help your next event live on long after the event ends?
using sustainable merch
