Client
Unite Students: the UK’s largest student accommodation provider
Event
Welcome gifting
Sector
Real estate / property development
Background
We’ve worked with Unite Students for a number of years, supporting them with branded merchandise for student-facing campaigns.
For this project, the focus was on welcome gifts for students moving into accommodation. Items that felt fun, approachable, and genuinely useful. Not something that would be left behind after the first week.
Branding needed to feel confident but playful. Products needed to stand up to daily student life. And with a large student audience, choice and usability were key.
The Challenge
Welcome gifts set the tone for the student experience.
Unite Students wanted items that would be enjoyed, used, and shared. Not overly corporate. Not forgettable.
Alongside the creative brief, there was a logistical challenge too. Deliveries needed to be split across a large number of locations, with everything arriving on time and in the right place.
Our Approach
We worked closely with the Unite Students team to curate a range of items that balanced fun design with everyday practicality.
We shared a broad selection of product options early on, focusing on items with strong branding areas and plenty of scope for creativity. This allowed the team to explore different directions before narrowing down the final range.
Given the scale of the order, we also supplied pre-production samples before bulk manufacturing. This gave the brand team confidence in how everything looked and felt in real life, from colour matching to print finish.
The Merchandise
Bespoke Oregon bottle: A reusable bottle designed for everyday student use. The standout detail was a Pantone-matched lid, bringing the branding to life in a way that felt bold and intentional rather than overworked.
Maxi Card Box of pineapple rings: A playful addition that added personality to the welcome packs. Fun, eye-catching, and easy to enjoy straight away.
A5 sticker sheets: Designed for laptops, notebooks, and personal items. Stickers gave students a way to engage with the brand on their own terms, long after move-in day.
Going the Extra Mile
With deliveries required across 35 different addresses, logistics needed careful handling.
All items were delivered to our warehouse first, where we managed fulfilment and split the stock by location. From there, we coordinated delivery to each address, removing complexity for the Unite Students team and avoiding multiple inbound deliveries at site level.
Combined with pre-production samples ahead of bulk manufacturing, this approach helped keep everything running smoothly, even at scale.
The Impact
The welcome gifts landed exactly as intended:
- Students received items that felt fun, useful, and easy to keep
- Branding felt bold without being overwhelming
- The move-in experience was elevated with thoughtful details
- Deliveries were streamlined across all locations
The result was a welcome moment that felt considered rather than generic.
The Takeaway
Student gifting works best when it feels personal.
By focusing on products students actually use, playful branding, and logistics that take pressure off internal teams, Unite Students were able to create a welcome experience that made a strong first impression.
