Because National Student Day is celebrated in October, Tri-County Technical College Campus Store chooses a charity to support each year during this time. In the past, the store has collected pet food for a local animal shelter as well as diapers and wipes for a nearby non-profit organization. While trying to decide what they should do this year, Kelli Harrison, assistant manager, came across MBS’ Monthly Marketing plans.
“I saw that this month featured a Paint It Pink event for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I thought, ‘That’s it!” she said. “All of the marketing materials we needed were ready to go, so it made my job much easier.”
Putting their own twist on the event, TCTC Campus Store decided to sell t-shirts to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The dark gray t-shirts, which sell for $10, simply feature the ‘Paint It Pink’ logo created by MBS and were produced by a local vendor.
“When I told our vendor what we were doing, he gave us a deal on the t-shirts so that more of our proceeds could benefit the cause,” Harrison explained. “It’s going to allow us to make an even bigger impact, which is great.”
To encourage participation, the store will enter each student who purchases a shirt into a drawing for a Nexus 7 tablet. Faculty and staff who decide to Paint It Pink will also be rewarded by being entered into separate drawing for the same prize.
“We’re going to announce the winners on the last day of classes this December, so there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to get their shirts,” she added. “We definitely want to sell all of the shirts we ordered, but our goal is to have to reorder even more.”
Harrison believes that the promotion will not only help drive traffic, but also help enhance students’ perception of the store.
“It’s a good way for us to show that we’re not just all about profits,” she said. “We’re here to help the community and others, as well.”
As a demonstration of that dedication, the staff at TCTC Campus Store will sport their own Paint It Pink shirts every Friday.
“I think it will give us more of a personal connection with the students, and show them that we really do care,” she described.
Although the promotion has only just begun, Harrison says that it’s off to a great start.
“We’ve sold over thirty in just a week!” she added.
To others who are interested in new marketing ideas, she suggests checking out MBS’ Foreword Online.
“It’s a great source for ideas,” she said. “The marketing plan made it simple for us to implement this event. We just sent their file to our t-shirt vendor, then advertised using their customizable poster template and Facebook Cover Photo; it was so quick and easy!”
