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Strategy

Promo Products Take Over Temple University

Temple University welcomed its incoming freshmen class this week with TempleFest, an annual festival where student organizations and local vendors entice potential members with games, free food and promotional products.

Samia Akhtar, a student fellow at global college entrepreneurship program Blackstone Launchpad, urged visitors to spin the wheel to win a T-shirt, beach ball, pen, portable phone charger or pair of sunglasses—all emblazoned with the Blackstone Launchpad logo. The luckiest spinners won a “power pack” consisting of all the prizes.

“We had about 30 people come up within the first 30 minutes,” Akhtar said. “It’s a fun way to get our name out there and tell them what we’re about.”

Temple Student Government took to social media to host free giveaways every 20 minutes to celebrate the Class of 2020. By answering trivia questions, tweeting photos with the hashtag #TempleTSG or being the 20th person to favorite certain @TempleTSG tweets, students could win swag bags stuffed with water bottles, ribbons, and lanyards. “Basically, anything you want for your first Temple football game,” said junior Alexa Monteleone.

In addition to clubs handing out free candy and packs of Ramen noodles, there were wooden spoons dipped in chocolate and sprinkles as part of Spoon University’s advertising campaign. A trio of juniors, Sabrina Dobosh, Maxie Ehrlich and Jamie McNulty, founded Temple’s chapter of the national college foodie outlet, which recruits journalists to document their campuses’ local eats. McNulty, the marketing director of the Temple chapter, plastered the tiny spoons with @Spoon_TempleU in the hopes that students will check out the group’s Instagram account after licking the sweet treat.

Freshmen flocked to all of the tables, grabbing information pamphlets and snatching plenty of promotional items. Shagar Biswas filled his swag bag with cups, pens and a USB charger. “I came out here looking to get involved, so this stuff is a nice perk,” Biswas said.

“I picked up so many things,” said freshman Lynn Warwick. “Cups, bags, pens, shirts—they have everything here.”