custom apparel decoration techniques

Beyond Basic: How Apparel Decoration Has Evolved and Why It Matters

Apparel decoration isn’t just about putting a logo on a shirt anymore. Today, the decoration technique you choose can determine whether branded apparel feels memorable or forgettable. custom apparel decoration techniques While embroidery and screen printing still have an important place in branded merch, expectations have changed. Across campuses, there’s a growing demand for apparel that feels elevated, intentional, and worth wearing beyond the moment it’s received. Decoration has become part of the design strategy, not just a final production step, helping apparel feel more like something you’d buy than

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interactive college marketing products

Interactive Experiences and Self-Mailers That Make Colleges Stand Out

Over the past few months, we exhibited at several collegiate conferences. At our booth, certain products consistently stood out to attendees. Two key themes emerged: interactive products and self-mailers. For those who couldn’t attend, here’s a closer look at some of these standout solutions. Interactive Products Interactive products invite participation. These products invite students, donors, and alumni to engage, customize, or build something themselves, creating a more memorable brand experience. Pen Bar. Live activations are trending, and our Pen Bar fits perfectly. Attendees assembled pens from six pieces, with three

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GivingTuesday 2025

Magellan Promotions Celebrates #GivingTuesday With Record Impact

GivingTuesday is one of our favorite annual traditions. It’s a day when our team comes together to support causes that matter deeply to us. Each team member chooses an organization that aligns with their personal passions, and Magellan matches their donations to amplify the impact. Many organizations also offer Giving Tuesday–specific matching opportunities, helping contributions go even further. This year, Magellan is proud to share a total 2025 Giving Tuesday impact of $6,990, including individual team member donations, Magellan’s matching gifts, and additional outside matches. This surpasses our 2024 total

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bed party merch

Bed Parties Are Booming. Here’s How Your College Can Join In.

Every spring, social media fills with proud parents and excited high school seniors celebrating college commitments in creative and colorful ways. Students pose with their acceptance letters, hang yard signs, and wear new collegiate gear. One celebration that continues to gain momentum is the bed party. The trend started during the pandemic and has only grown in size and creativity. Families surprise their student by decorating their bedroom in the school’s colors, complete with balloons, streamers, snacks, and merch. The family then captures the big reveal for social media. It’s

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Branded merch strategies for college admissions

The ROI Case for Branded Merch, Even in Challenging Times

In a time when financial, political, and AI pressures on higher education seem to be at an all-time high, it makes sense for colleges to be cautious. When the future is uncertain, it is natural to approach marketing with caution.   During uncertain times, colleges naturally want to be cautious. But being overly careful with revenue-driving departments like admissions and advancement can be a penny-wise/pound-foolish strategy (one of my favorite phrases from a previous boss). Cutting marketing resources for areas that generate revenue can backfire, potentially creating a downward spiral. Of

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McJeans

When Merch Becomes a Movement

The best branded merch doesn’t just promote a logo – it captures a moment and turns it into meaning. When something feels special, people connect with it on a deeper level. They want to wear it, share it, and be part of the story it tells. That’s the power of merch that taps into emotion, not just logic. It leverages a few timeless principles: Exclusivity builds loyalty. Owning something “not everyone can get” makes people feel like insiders. Collaboration creates energy. Partnering with another brand, artist, or influencer brings audiences

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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:

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: