Q. At the beginning of each term, my campus holds a student activity fair. Our LGBT office offers a give-a-way to entice students to visit our table. We want to know what items have been successful on other campuses so we can try something new.

A. LGBT offices can give a wide variety items to expand their visibility or to entice students to a booth to learn more about their programs/services. Many of these novelty items are available from more than one vendor. Vendors listed below are not endorsed by the Consortium but are noted here for your convenience. You might want to comparison shop among promotional vendors or see if there is a local LGBT-owned distributor who would work with you. In the latter case, you might get better prices and you're helping to support the community. Several members and friends of the Consortium* suggested the following items:

The University of Illinois at Chicago gave out three sided highlighters-- flat (triangle shaped). They were a big hit and were seen being used around campus for months afterwards. You can decide on the color you want for the body and the three colors of ink you want to use. These run about $1.25 a piece if you buy 500 from Best Impressions (800-635-2379)

Texas A&M gave away little wooden nickels that said "make good decisions" on one side and had their logo on the back. They went "like hotcakes."

USC- Los Angeles distributed strong paper bag with handles -- like nice stores give you -- that students could use to put all the other stuff from the fair in! Students pick up lots of pieces of paper, other giveaways, etc., and are delighted with the offer of an attractive bag, complete with a nice logo and information about your office (USC includes their motto about being open to all, gay, straight, or undeclared...)! Then, the bag becomes advertising for you all day and as long as they keep using the bag. USC gave away smallish bags capable of holding 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Any silkscreen outlet can print them. They paid about 70 cents per bag including printing for a quantity of 1000.

Rainbow slinkys (Spring Things) were a real hit at Beloit (they ordered them through Design by RAS; 803 West Ave #128; Rochester, NY 14611). They can be printed on two sides with different messages. When ordering 500, they were $1.55 each.

Indiana gave out 5-minute phone cards to encourage students to "CALL HOME & STAY FOR THE FUN." The cost was about $1.25 per card when they ordered 2000.

UC Davis has given out candy -- it's inexpensive and students will come to your table to get it. Indiana has also given out Hershey's Hugs (a little less "intimate" than Kisses) and report that they are always popular. (Be careful if it's warm and sunny, though.). UC Santa Cruz goes a little farther. They put up a sign reading, "Have a Queer Kiss!" and give out chocolate Kisses. The sign is provocative in a fun way . . . Some students ad lib and tell the takers "Now you can say you've been kissed by a queer!"

University of Connecticut had ballpoint pens made with their name, phone number and web address printed in rainbow colors. They were quite inexpensive at about $.25 per piece for 500. The supplier was National Pen Corp (800) 854-7367.

New York University gave away rectangular buttons (with pins on the back) made up with their logo and contact info on them. People seem to like them. As a side benefit, many students stuck the button on their bookbags - great advertising!

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities' Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Programs Office distributed a GLBT Poetry Magnet Kit which proved VERY popular. The magnet is 4" x 5.25" and has a business card top which features website information for the GLBT Programs Office and Schochet Center for GLBT Studies. There are 60 fun GLBT nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and conjunctions. It is full color magnet with the words in rainbow colors. The kit was produced by US Magnetix, 404 N. Washington Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55401. Telephone is (612) 338-1866. Fax is (612) 338-0341. In 2001, they produced 3,000 kits at a cost of 77 cents apiece. If you are interested in producing your own version of the kit, they would be happy to forward a copy of the U of Minn. artwork ( it is on file with the company). For more information, contact the Office at 612-625-0537 or by email at glbt@umn.edu.

You may want to try giving away Post-It packs. Each sheet could have your office name and contact info on it. This way each time a student uses a post-it for a message to a professor / friend / staff person etc., the student and the receiver are reminded / notified of the existence of your office. These are inexpensive (under $1.00), depending on the size and number of sheets per pad. Try Campus Marketing Specialists in Maryland if you are interested or look for other vendors that will imprint these pads.

You Name It Promotions is a Gay-Owned company which specializes in promotional and custom products (rainbow pride pens, clothing, computer items, edibles, etc). Visit their website or call toll-free: (877)YNI-PROMO.

Listings of the above promotional companies are provided as a service -- not as an endorsement.Look through other novelty/promotional product catalogs or web sites. There are a wealth of other options out there. Be creative!

If you have suggestions for other giveaways to list here, please contact David Barnett. We regret we are unable to list contact information for all promotional vendors at this time due to time limitations of our volunteer staff.

Compiled by David Barnett. Dr. Barnett may be reached at davidcbarnett@earthlink.net.

Thanks to Deb Abbott, Doug Bauder, Billy Curtis, Elizabeth Davenport, Teresa Leopold, Martha Nelson, Todd Smith, Allison Subasic, Shaun Travers, B. David Galt and Shane Windmeyer for providing information and suggestions for this page.

Last updated 7/26/02

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