It was just my 20 year college reunion at Barnard / Columbia, and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. to see my classmates and wander through our freshman year dorms! It brought back so many memories that had us all laughing through the night. The reunion team worked to make a beautiful experience for everyone who attended.
Now, onto the merch and swag: they gifted everyone a Barnard Alumnae tote bag and a Barnard fanny pack. The tote bag is fine — I generally love anything that says Barnard — but I’m not a fan of tote bags in general. Now that we all have to take bags to the grocery store, I am absolutely overrun with extra bags and have completely run out of space for them.
But the fanny pack. The fanny pack. Why the fanny pack? It’s not a cute cross-body bag that’s useful and in style. It’s a flip-phone hold-my-scrunchie bag. Here’s the thing— attendees are eager and happy to go to the Barnard merch shop and spend money. Instead of giving out tote bags & fanny packs, take the exact same amount of money you were going to spend and give people credit to the merch shop instead. There are two huge benefits to giving a gift card instead:
- No waste from unwanted tote bags and fanny packs
- Get people into the college store and SHOP.
They will absolutely spend beyond what’s on the gift card. With that being said, how about gift cards in 2024? What do you think?