Postsecondary enrollment in the United States has fallen nearly 9% since 2011, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The onus is clearly on schools to boost their recruiting efforts to combat the decline, which is a huge opportunity for distributors to capitalize on. And there are plenty of schools to discover in the tradition-rich East, especially in New York and Pennsylvania, which boast 634 and 544 colleges and universities respectively – second and third most in the country.

That doesn’t include the wealth of related clients throughout the educational system – testing companies, textbook publishers, booster clubs, consulting firms and much more.

Linda Brickel McCreesh of Absolutely Apropos says that Philadelphia-based Temple University is her biggest client. “Temple played a big role in us having our best year of sales in 2018,” McCreesh says. “We have a great client base because schools like Temple will always be around.”

When Green Screen Graphics added promotional products to its signage and banner offerings a little over a year ago, Nikki Pfeiffer says schools were one of the primary markets the company focused on. “Schools are always looking for bags, glasses and pens,” Pfeiffer says. “We’ve been trying to push that kind of stuff and the results have been good.”

In addition to various tech products, McCreesh says, gray and black heather backpacks are the most popular products for students and faculty. Larry Alford agrees, adding that Axis Promotions has been selling a lot of brand-name and nicer quality backpacks over the past year.

“People want items that support quality of life, things that make the work-life balance easier,” Alford says. Drinkware remains popular among students, especially the h2go SYNC stainless-steel bottle, Alford says. It’s ideal for students keeping their coffee warm or water cold on the way to class, and for athletes to stay hydrated throughout games and practice.

Computer backpack (3750-16) with 15” laptop sleeve from Leed’s (asi/66887); pcna.com/leeds

Double-wall 16.9-oz. stainless-steel bottle (994571) from ETS Express (asi/51197); etsexpress.com