1. Why do educational institutions need promotional bags?
1.1 Stay Ahead Of The Competition
Educational institutions need promotional bags for the benefits they offer. Just in case you are unaware, the education industry is very competitive, with brands battling it out for students. Having good facilities and teachers is important but not enough; you have to get the word out that your school is as good as you claim and has all the facilities every child needs to excel academically. By giving out promotional bags to students, you promote your brand far and wide, and this helps to make your school competitive.
1.2 Easy Identification
Promotional bags can do more than just serve as a promotional tool; they can also be used to identify your students. Imagine if your school went for an excursion or tour in the company of other schools. Identifying your students from among a crowd of students can be quite challenging. The same is the case in a crowded street, but if they have a promotional bag, your bold and bright logo will help staff identify them easily and quickly.
2. Why is a promotional bag better?
A promotional bag is ideal for all the right reasons. For instance, it is affordable and easy to secure. Today, there are different advertising methods, but not all of them guarantee the kind of awareness and traction you need.
Tv adverts are very effective but expensive. Internet ads create online buzz, but they may not attract the clientele you seek; moreover, online ads are not the best for primary and middle school institutions, only tertiary institutions.
Billboards are not bad, but they are stationary, so only pedestrians and motorists within their line of sight of them will see your brand.
However, promotional bags are cost-effective and organic for obvious reasons. They are not as expensive as TV adverts and have much better traction than online ads. Promotional bags are efficient because you don’t have to keep paying for them to remain active. You make only a one-time payment, and your brand will reap the long-term promotional benefit for a long time.
Nothing beats the effect of branded bags carried around proudly by students of your school.
3. Types of backpacks suitable for branding in education
So can you brand all bags for promotional purposes? No! Not all bags are used for education, so not all bags are suitable for branding. Here are good bags you should consider for branding.
3.1 Backpack
A backpack is known by many names such as a schoolbag, knapsack, pack, book sack, backpack, etc. This type of bag has a very simple frame and is worn on the back with two secured straps to hold it over the shoulders. Backpacks are popular among students of all ages, including those in tertiary institutions. They have a main compartment and a few other mini compartments including several pockets, which all have zippers.
Backpacks are mainly used to carry books and gadgets like laptops and phones. Some have pouches for keeping water bottles and lunch boxes. A backpack may or may not use water-resistant fabric, but they have enough space to carry the child’s school supplies.
3.2 Pencil Pouch
Also known as a pencil box or pencil case, it is much smaller than a backpack and designed for one sole reason; to store classroom stationeries like pencils, glue, pens, sharpeners, erasers, rulers, sticks, calculators, scissors, etc. Pencil pouches come in different shapes and sizes and can be made with metal, wood, or thick fabric. The interior of the pouch is designed in a way that allows the user to carefully arrange items in an orderly fashion so they can reach them when they are needed.
3.3 Cooler bag
Another bag students use is a cooler bag. These bags present school administrators with more opportunities to promote their brand. A cooler bag is used to carry meals. This bag is made with protective materials that have insulation properties. The idea behind cooler bags is to keep the food or drink warm or cold for a significant period. Cooler bags are portable and lightweight and boast an easy design, and they play an all-important role in the lives of school-going children. Customizing a cooler bag is one smart way to advertise your brand.
3.4 Cross Body Bag
A cross-body bag is another type of schooling bag, but it is different from a backpack. It has a purse style with a long strap that is worn over the body across one shoulder and resting on the waist. Crossbody school bags are much lighter than backpacks and contain less load, but they are easier to carry. This type of bag was popularized by mail carriers, but in recent times, students fancy them.
3.5 Tote Bag
A tote bag is a big bag with unfastened handles with side pouches. Totes are made with sturdy fabrics like leather, and they have pebbled surfaces. This type of bag is mainly used for shopping and has reusable value. You may choose to issue parents and guardians a branded version that they can use for shopping which is a smart way to create visibility for your brand.
3.6 Trolley Bag
Trolley bags are transport bags with wheels used for transporting heavy luggage. This type of bag is very common at airports and train stations, and these are areas with high visibility due to a large number of people within the location. If you brand trolley bags, more people will see users carrying them about and commit your school name and logo to memory.
4. How to choose the right promotional bag for education?
So how do you choose the right promotional bag for education? Below, we review the selection categories so you will make the right choice.
4.1 By Age Group
One sure way to choose the right bags for your school business is to do so by age group. What is the age bracket of children in your school? If you have an age bracket in mind, then you can pick a suitable bag for that age bracket. For instance, infants and kids in elementary school don’t need backpacks but kiddie bags.
Children between 5-10 may be given knapsacks or conventional school bags, while older kids and those up to 18 years of age may get backpacks. You can use the average age of the student population to make your selection. This way, you won’t make the mistake of choosing a promotional bag that is too small or too big for the users.
4.2 Regular Subjects
Another way to choose the right promotional bags for education is on the basis of their subject. Consider how many subjects the average student is taught in class on a school day, then select bags that can accommodate the number of books and materials required for daily school work. For instance, older students who do an average of 10 subjects a day will need bigger bags than younger students who do fewer subjects daily. Even if they all use the same sling bag or backpack, their sizes will vary based on need.
4.3 Fitness
The fitness of the children matters a great deal. You don’t want to issue bags that are too heavy for the child or an inappropriate model, so fitness and purpose should go hand in hand. If bags for extracurricular activities are required like barley, swimming, martial arts, and dancing, you should go for a tote or duffel bag. The bag of choice should suit the purpose.
4.4 Cooking
Cookery classes require a different style and design, so you must choose wisely. A cooking bag needs to be stain-resistant since it will be used to carry food ingredients. It should also have enough interior space to accommodate cooking utensils like plates, pots, and pans. Furthermore, there should be separate compartments for storing ingredients and utensils separately.
4.5 Photography
Photography classes require special camera bags for storing cameras and other accessories. The bag you choose must be secure, water resistant, and have strong straps and quality zippers. The color of the fabric should be preferably black polyester for two reasons. Polyester is water resistant, and black is a neutral color that will make your promotional logo very visible.
4.6 Arts & Craft
You can also make your pick for special arts and crafts classes. This type of need requires a bag that allows for easy arrangement of items. A very good choice is a pencil pouch. This model allows you to arrange your scissors, watercolors, pencils, markers, stickers, and any other item in an orderly manner instead of haphazardly. This allows easy access to any item needed at every point.
4.7 Soccer & Basketball
All the bags recommended above are mainly indoor bags for activities performed indoors. For sporting activities like soccer and basketball, you should select something bigger. A backpack may not be the best option for sports; you need something bigger like a duffle bag that can carry sporting gear. However, there are special sporting bags designed as backpacks but with enough interior space.
When choosing the right promotional bags for your brand, answer these questions.
- Will the bags meet the needs of the student?
- Will the bag be too heavy or too small?
- Is it made with proper materials to suit the requirement?
- Is it durable and affordable?
These are important questions to ask and if the answers you get are positive, then know that it is the right bag for your school.
5. Do School Bags Need To Be Waterproof?
This is one question many people ask, and it is a pertinent one. In a nutshell, it is best for school bags to be waterproofed for the following reasons.
5.1 Protection From The Weather
A waterproof school bag is the best protection against rain. The waterproof fabric prevents water from entering the interior compartment to ruin books and other materials. Without water resistance, the child will always be at the mercy of the weather anytime it snows or rain.
5.2 Protection From Internal Spills
The weather is not the only thing to be worried about. Internal spills should also be of concern. This is why the best school bags have a separate external water bottle pouch to protect items inside the compartments. Also, sections for keeping food and drinks should be designed with insulated and water-resistant materials, so spills do not spread to other parts of the bag.
6. When To Start Ordering Your Bags For Promotion?
So you have decided to use promotional bags for education to promote your school brand, which is a good first step. However, timing is crucial with every promotional move, so you need to get it right. One thing to plan for is the order timing. When is the right time to order promotional bags from a supplier or manufacturer?
The perfect time to start the process is before you open your school business to the public. Getting all your materials ready is the best policy because you will have all you need at hand, and there will be no delays. Note that it may take a few days or weeks for the supplier to arrange your order, depending on the quantity of bags you order.
Then you have to factor in the shipping timeline as well. Overall, it may take 1-2 months to receive your order, so planning ahead of time is critical to the success of your campaign.
The Back To School season is actually the most important season of the year in the education industry. This is because, at this time, parents, students, and educators start planning for the upcoming academic calendar. During this season, you can begin distributing your promotional bags and other materials to school students in preparation for the new term.
7. Ordering Method: How To Order For Promotional Bags For Education?
There are basically three methods to order school bags for promotion. Here they are.
7.1 Online Shopping
Shopping online for promotional school bags is the easiest and most convenient method via eBay, Amazon, Google, and other online platforms. You can order the bags with your phone or computer as long as you have an internet connection; however, this method is quite costly, and there is a limit to the number of bags you can order. Moreover, online shopping is not a cost-effective method for large orders running into hundreds or thousands.
7.2 Local Distributors
Using the network of local distributors is much cheaper than online shopping if you want to order a significant number of backpacks for your school. You can place orders in a hurry, and the bags will be delivered to you within a short time. This method is ideal if you have a very short window, but it is not cost-effective if you require hundreds of bags as you may end up paying more than you expected. Furthermore, local distributors will not give you attractive discounts to reduce the order cost.
7.3 Bag Factories In China
The best method to order bags is to contact bag factories in China. Bag factories offer buyers the following advantages:
Low MOQ: These days, many Chinese brands offer buyers a low minimum order quantity of under 500 units which was not the case in the last, so you can buy from them even if you have a small budget.
Affordable Prices: The cost per unit is so affordable you will save a significant sum on your order. While online sellers and local distributors sell at a higher price, you can save as much as 30% per unit if you buy directly from a manufacturer.
Custom Design: The manufacturer can customize the bags to suit your needs. Having a unique nag design will set your brand apart from competitors, and you can also have them brand them by adding your name and logo for promotional value. Honeyoung Bag can customize the backpacks according to your needs. A bag sample will make us understand what you are looking for.
Bulk Orders: Chinese backpack factories have massive economies of scale and can produce hundreds of bags daily to meet your order. No matter how many bags you need, they can produce them at short notice and ship them safely to you.
These and more are good reasons to buy directly from a China backpack factory instead of online orders or dealing with local distributors. Moreover, you will always be sure of the quality you get. The use of promotional bags for education is a novel method to promote your school in your city, and if you work with a good brand, your promotional goals will be achieved. So consider these factors before you place your orders for promotional bags.