Branded Merchandise for School Open Days and Orientation

A school open day is not a trade show with classrooms. Families arrive with different questions, students move between buildings, staff need to be easy to identify, and prospective students often leave carrying prospectuses, course information and enrolment material. That changes what good branded merchandise looks like.

The best school open day promotional products Australia schools, universities and education providers use should make the event easier to navigate first and promote the institution second. Lanyards can identify staff and student ambassadors. Tote bags give visitors somewhere to carry information. Notebooks and pens support presentations and campus tours. Reusable bottles can add more value for longer orientation events.

The aim is not to put five branded products into every visitor's hands. Instead, choose merchandise around the event journey.

Table of Contents:

• Start With the Audience
• Open Day Merchandise Comparison
• 1. Lanyards: Use Them as Event Infrastructure
• 2. Tote Bags: Best When Visitors Actually Have Things to Carry
• 3. Pens: Still Useful When There Is Something to Write
• 4. Notebooks: Better for Orientation Than a Quick Open Day
• 5. Reusable Bottles: Stronger for Longer Events and Orientation
• Give Different Products to Different Visitor Types
• Do Not Turn Every Open Day Into a Goodie Bag
• Think About Age Suitability
• Use Colour to Make the Event Easier to Navigate
• Make the Tote Bag Part of the Information Strategy
• Branding Should Match the Institution
• Plan Quantities by Distribution Point
• Lead Times Matter More Than the Event Date
• Order Backwards From Packing Day
• School Open Day Merchandise Planning Checklist
• FAQ: School Open Day Promotional Products Australia
• The Takeaway

Start With the Audience

An open day can involve several groups at once. Prospective primary-school families have different needs from Year 12 students visiting a university campus. Likewise, parents attending an information evening may value different merchandise from students beginning orientation week.

Before ordering, divide the audience into practical groups such as prospective students, parents, enrolled students attending orientation, staff, volunteers and student ambassadors. Then decide who actually needs merchandise.

For example, every staff member may need a lanyard, but only attending families may need a tote bag. New students could receive a reusable bottle during orientation, while parents may only need an information pack. That approach controls costs and avoids unnecessary giveaways.

Open Day Merchandise Comparison

1. Lanyards: Use Them as Event Infrastructure

Lanyards are one of the most useful products for school and university events because they can perform an operational role. Use different lanyards or inserts for staff, student ambassadors, volunteers, speakers or registered attendees.

Visitors can quickly identify who to approach for directions or questions, while the school maintains consistent branding across the event.

Kiss Promotions currently carries a large custom lanyard range, including printed, woven, cotton and RPET styles. Its 20mm Premium Full Colour Lanyard with alligator clip and safety breakaway allows full-colour sublimation and is listed with an approximate two-to-three-week lead time from artwork approval, depending on quantity.

Think about safety as well as branding

For school environments, attachment style matters. A breakaway fitting is particularly relevant where lanyards will be worn around active environments or by younger people because it is designed to separate under force.

The premium full-colour Kiss option includes a safety breakaway, while its cotton lanyard also includes a safety clip. Do not choose a lanyard only because it offers the largest print area. Choose the attachment and construction for the intended wearer first.

For younger children, schools should assess whether a lanyard is appropriate at all under their own safety policies and event conditions.

2. Tote Bags: Best When Visitors Actually Have Things to Carry

Open days generate paper. Visitors may receive:

• Course or curriculum guides
• Campus maps
• Enrolment information
• Scholarship material
• Event schedules
• Faculty brochures

That makes a tote bag much more useful at an education event than it might be at a short corporate function.

The basic Shopping Tote Bag currently available through Kiss Promotions uses 90gsm non-woven polypropylene, measures approximately 278 x 330mm and starts from an indicative $2.73 + GST, including one-position screen printing and setup under the stated pricing conditions.

For larger orientation packs, a more substantial tote can make sense. The Market Tote Bag, for example, measures 420 x 370mm with a 200mm gusset and long shoulder handles, making it better suited to bulkier contents.

Which tote should you use?

For a high-volume open day, an inexpensive lightweight bag can be enough. For enrolled students receiving orientation merchandise, consider cotton or a more durable reusable style because they are more likely to keep using it after the event.

Kiss Promotions' current shopping-bag collection includes more than 40 styles across simple shoppers, cotton totes, jute bags, foldaway options and larger carry formats.

3. Pens: Still Useful When There Is Something to Write

Pens make sense when visitors need them. That sounds obvious, but promotional products often get ordered because they are inexpensive rather than because the event requires them.

Use branded pens around:

registration tables, enquiry desks, application support, scholarship information sessions and presentations where visitors may want to take notes.

Kiss Promotions' stationery range currently lists plastic pens from approximately $0.53, alongside metal, deluxe and stylus options. For a broad open-day audience, there is little reason to select a premium executive pen. A reliable, affordable pen with a readable school or university logo is usually enough.

4. Notebooks: Better for Orientation Than a Quick Open Day

Notebooks become more useful when attendees will spend several hours at the institution. That makes them particularly suitable for: university orientation, new-student induction, senior-school transition programs, faculty information days and longer workshops.

The Alpha Notebook is a compact example at 89 x 140mm with 160 lined pages and indicative pricing around $4.50 + GST under its stated bulk branding configuration.

For a larger format, the Columbus Notebook measures 135 x 211mm and includes 160 lined pages, a bookmark ribbon and pen loop.

The important distinction is duration. If families are visiting for a 45-minute school tour, a notebook may add unnecessary cost. If students are attending an entire orientation program with sessions, schedules and course information, it becomes much more useful.

5. Reusable Bottles: Stronger for Longer Events and Orientation

Australian orientation events can involve long periods moving between buildings, outdoor campus tours and summer conditions. That makes reusable bottles a useful higher-value product, particularly for students who have already enrolled rather than every casual open-day visitor.

The Sydney Drink Bottle currently offered by Kiss Promotions is a 600ml aluminium bottle with a carry handle and screw-on flip closure. Its current indicative price is approximately $11.18 + GST, including one-colour, one-position print and setup, with a stated 12-day lead time.

A reusable bottle works especially well for:

new-student orientation, university O-Week activities, sports-focused schools, campus tours and welcome packs.

Because it costs more than a pen or lightweight bag, consider reserving drinkware for registered or enrolled students rather than distributing it indiscriminately.

Give Different Products to Different Visitor Types

One of the easiest ways to waste an open-day merchandise budget is to create one large pack for everyone.

Instead, match the product to the audience.

This approach also helps staff identify which merchandise should be distributed at each stage of the event.

Do Not Turn Every Open Day Into a Goodie Bag

A bag full of six inexpensive products does not automatically improve a prospective family's impression of the school. For recruitment events, information and experience matter more.

Prioritize the things visitors need:

clear directions, helpful staff, accessible schedules, useful enrolment information and opportunities to speak with teachers or faculty representatives.

Promotional merchandise should support that experience. For example, a branded tote holding a clear campus map and course information is useful. The same tote filled with unrelated keyrings, novelty products and five brochures nobody requested simply creates clutter.

Think About Age Suitability

Education events have unusually broad audiences. A university orientation program may mainly involve adults, while a school open day may include preschool-aged siblings, primary students, teenagers and parents.

That means the same merchandise should not automatically go to everyone. Consider product size, small detachable components, cords, lanyard attachments and how recipients are likely to use the item.

For younger audiences, schools should apply their own safety and age-appropriateness requirements rather than treating promotional merchandise as universally suitable. Where a product is intended primarily for parents or staff, distribute it directly to them instead of assuming children will be the end users.

Use Colour to Make the Event Easier to Navigate

Branding does not have to mean printing the same logo on every product. Colour can also perform an organizational role. For example, different lanyard colours can identify:

staff, volunteers, faculty representatives, student ambassadors and event organizers.

Similarly, orientation groups can receive different coloured materials when students need to move between sessions. This can make the merchandise part of the event's wayfinding system rather than purely decorative branding.

Make the Tote Bag Part of the Information Strategy

If you use a bag, think carefully about what goes inside. A useful open-day pack might contain printed material that is difficult to replace digitally, plus a QR code directing visitors to updated information online. This prevents the bag from becoming overloaded with brochures that may quickly become outdated.

For orientation, you might include:

a campus map, first-week schedule, important service contacts and information on where students can find digital resources.

The bag itself then remains useful after the paperwork has served its purpose.

Branding Should Match the Institution

School and university merchandise is often used beyond the event. A student may carry the tote into town. A parent may reuse it for shopping. A staff member may continue wearing the lanyard. Keep permanent branding clean enough to work outside the event.

Instead of printing:

OPEN DAY 2026 – SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER

across a reusable bag, consider using the institution's normal crest, logo or wordmark. Put event-specific dates on removable inserts or printed information instead. This gives leftover stock a longer useful life and makes reordering easier.

Plan Quantities by Distribution Point

Do not calculate product quantities from total expected attendance alone. Think about where each product will be handed out.

For example, if 1,000 people are expected but registrations show 400 prospective students with parents attending, you may not need 1,000 orientation-style packs. Likewise, staff lanyards should be based on staffing requirements, not visitor attendance.

Estimate quantity separately for each product and allow a modest operational buffer. That gives you much tighter control over spend.

Lead Times Matter More Than the Event Date

Custom branding requires artwork approval and production before freight begins. Different products can have very different timelines.

The premium 20mm full-colour lanyard currently recommends allowing about two to three weeks from artwork approval, while the budget full-colour breakaway version advises approximately three weeks, depending on quantity.

By comparison, Kiss Promotions says selected stationery and bag products can offer production options as fast as three days or even 24 hours, depending on the specific product and order. Do not interpret those express claims as universal. Always confirm the timeline for the exact SKU, quantity, artwork and delivery postcode.

Order Backwards From Packing Day

The merchandise does not simply need to arrive before the open day. It needs to arrive before your team packs and organizes the event materials.

For example, if the open day is Saturday, your admissions or marketing team may want everything sorted by Wednesday. Build the procurement schedule backwards from that internal deadline.

Allow time for product selection, quote approval, artwork preparation, digital mock-up approval, production, freight, stock checking and pack assembly. This matters even more when different products come from different production schedules.

School Open Day Merchandise Planning Checklist

Before requesting a quote, confirm:

• Event type and date
• Expected visitor numbers
• Number of prospective students
• Age groups attending
• Staff and volunteer numbers
• Which products go to which audience
• Quantity required for each product
• Budget per attendee or pack
• School or university logo file
• Branding colours
• Safety requirements
• Required delivery date
• Internal packing date
• Number of campuses or delivery locations

Kiss Promotions currently advertises a typical MOQ of around 25 pieces for medium and larger products such as drinkware and bags, although minimums remain product-specific. It also offers free digital mock-ups from supplied logo artwork.

FAQ: School Open Day Promotional Products Australia

What are good promotional products for a school open day?

Tote bags, pens and lanyards are practical choices because they support activities already happening during the event. Reusable bottles and notebooks can work better for orientation or registered-student programs where recipients spend longer on campus.

Are lanyards suitable for school events?

They can be useful for identifying staff, volunteers and student ambassadors. Where lanyards are used around younger people or active environments, consider safety-breakaway designs and follow the institution's own safety policies.

What should go in a university orientation pack?

A practical pack might contain a reusable bottle, notebook, pen, campus information and a reusable bag. Keep the contents focused on what students need during their first days rather than adding unrelated giveaways.

Should parents receive promotional products too?

Only when the product is useful to them. For example, a tote containing enrolment information can be useful for parents at a school open day. More expensive merchandise can be reserved for prospective or enrolled students.

How early should schools order branded lanyards?

Allow several weeks. Current full-colour lanyard listings from Kiss Promotions recommend approximately two to three weeks from artwork approval for selected products, with actual timing depending on quantity.

Are branded water bottles good orientation gifts?

Yes, particularly for longer campus events and enrolled students. They are reusable, relevant to active campus days and provide more perceived value than low-cost giveaways.

How many promotional products should go in an open-day pack?

Usually fewer than you think. Start with what visitors need during the event. A useful bag, relevant information and perhaps one additional item can create a stronger pack than several inexpensive products with no clear purpose.

The Takeaway

The best school open day promotional products in Australia make the event work better. Use lanyards to identify the people who can help. Give visitors bags when they genuinely have information to carry. Use stationery where note-taking is part of the event. Reserve higher-value bottles and orientation merchandise for students who will benefit from using them beyond the day itself.

Most importantly, separate recruitment events from generic corporate giveaways. A school open day is part of a family's decision-making process, while orientation is the start of a student's relationship with the institution. Choose merchandise that supports that experience rather than distracting from it.