branded can merch help with staff retention

How Branded Merch Can Help
with Staff Retention

March 3, 2022

In 2022, one of the biggest topics continues to be the Great Resignation and the strategic imperatives that organizations need to implement to retain staff. As we all know, there are a number of inputs that affect retention. While the Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Y are all different, studies (and common sense) consistently show that employees are attracted to organizations that care for them, provide work/life flexibility, are engaged in creating a better society and feel connected with their co-workers. Branded merch can help with staff retention by

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promo merch trends

Promo Merch Trends and Other Observations

February 18, 2022

The promotional product industry is constantly evolving with the types of products available. To stay on top of what is new and trending in the industry, every January our company attends the PPAI EXPO in Las Vegas (our industry’s largest trade show). At this event, our production partners showcase their product lines, giving us the opportunity to see, touch and sometimes even smell at over 1000 booths. This show is always a good opportunity to reflect on what promo merch trends we are seeing from a macro perspective.  After walking

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direct mail for college recruitment

Make Direct Mail Even More Effective with Merch

February 14, 2022

With so much attention focused on the ever-changing digital and social landscape, traditional marketing methods don’t seem to get as much love these days. Even highly-effective tactics like direct mail stay at the bottom of the priority list for those who remain convinced digital is superior in every way (spoiler alert: it’s not). Direct mail for college recruitment (especially when combined with branded merch) is still one of the most effective ways to encourage prospective student engagement, build positive relationships, and motivate action. It’s a missed opportunity. Direct mail is

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print and promo

The Powerful Combination of Print and Promo

February 11, 2022

“It can be hard to tell a nuanced and moving story in a typically small imprint area of a promotional product. A printed piece can be a great vehicle for a story but does not have the emotional impact and staying power of swag. Together, print and promo products, the customer stories come to life in a unique and compelling way.” I recently heard that quote and I wanted to share it.  This quote resonates so strongly with us. As a promotional product agency, our mission is to help our

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college enrollment promo success

College Enrollment Success Amidst Uncertainty

January 20, 2022

It wasn’t that long ago that I worked for a college president who would lightheartedly lament May 1 as the day that the mercurial decisions of 17-19 year olds could determine the fate of an institution (or at least its financial wellbeing). College enrollment success is by no means an easy feat at any time, but in these uncertain days, anticipating its achievement is especially fraught with concern. I suspect no small number of admissions professionals would joyfully embrace that familiar unpredictability if it were the only unknown during this

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branded-merch

Reading Roundup: Through the Merch Monocle

January 6, 2022

To make sure we’re always giving our clients the most relevant and forward-thinking solutions, we like to stay up to date on news, trends, and ideas that can empower our clients. There’s tons of great content to consume, but not enough of it talks about the value of integrating branded merch, especially since promo can help in so many ways.   Fortunately, the question “How would merch help?” is always in mind at Magellan when we read, share, watch, listen and scroll basically any professional content. So, even though most of

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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”