Sticker Postcards for Higher Education

Not All Sticker Postcards Are Created Equal

June 9, 2026

Magellan has produced more than 10 million sticker sheets over the past decade. Through that experience, we’ve learned an important lesson: not all sticker postcards are created equal. As stickers continue to grow in popularity, more sticker postcard options are entering the market. While many look similar at first glance, some miss a critical component: overlamination. Overlamination is a thin protective layer applied over the printed sticker sheet. It helps prevent scratching, scuffing, tearing, and other damage that can occur as pieces move through the mailstream. This added layer protects

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Magellan Promotions PPAI 100 2026

Magellan Promotions Named To PPAI 100 List for 2026

May 26, 2026

Magellan Promotions is proud to announce that we have been named to the PPAI 100 list for 2026. Extensively researched and objectively scored, the PPAI 100 is one of the highest honors awarded by Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), recognizing the top-performing organizations across the branded merch industry. The prestigious list highlights 100 exemplary distributors and 100 exemplary suppliers demonstrating excellence across a range of business measures. Selection for the PPAI 100 is based on more than revenue alone. Rankings consider a variety of factors that reflect overall organizational strength,

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blind box merch for higher education

The Thrill of Not Knowing: Why Blind Box Merch Belongs in Your Higher Ed Strategy

May 20, 2026

What if the best part of your next branded merch campaign wasn’t the item itself? What if it was the moment before someone opened it? If you’ve been to a Target lately or scrolled through any social media feed, you’ve probably seen the Labubu craze in full force. Those quirky little vinyl figures come in mystery bags, and buyers have no idea which version they’ll get. Or maybe you’ve noticed Mini Verse blind balls popping up at checkout counters everywhere. These aren’t toys for kids. They’re collectibles that adults are

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branded candy for college admissions and advancement

Candy by Color: A Surprisingly Strategic Tool for Admissions and Advancement

May 6, 2026

When a prospective student walks away from your campus visit, what do they actually remember? Not the PowerPoint about financial aid. They remember how they felt: the warmth of a welcome, the unexpected delight of a small gift. And if that moment came with a handful of color-matched gummy bears in a beautifully branded bag? That memory just got stickier. Candy by color (custom-branded confections matched to school colors, mascots, and messaging) has become one of the most strategically savvy promotional tools in higher ed. It’s easy to dismiss food

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easy campus activations for higher education events

Easy Branded Activations Your Campus Teams Can Run Themselves

April 16, 2026

Live activations continue to stand out at events because they invite people to participate rather than simply receive something. When attendees participate in creating an item, it becomes more personal and memorable. The good news for higher ed teams is that these experiences do not require large budgets, outside staffing, or complicated logistics. Many can be set up and managed by your own team with minimal effort. Before looking at how admissions, alumni, and advancement teams can use them, here are a few activation formats that are especially easy to

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reduce summer melt in higher education

From Deposit to Decision Day: How Branded Merch Can Reduce Summer Melt

April 14, 2026

A deposited student isn’t the same as an enrolled student. And in the gap between those two moments, a lot can change. Each year, admissions teams work hard to earn a student’s “yes.” But after that deposit is submitted, many institutions reduce their communication, or it evolves to be more transactional. The emotional momentum that carried a student to commit begins to fade. That’s where melt begins. The challenge isn’t just how to get students to deposit. It is how to keep them connected, confident, and excited all the way

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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”