Promotional items carry NIU's identity into the world, and how they are ordered is governed both by university brand standards and by current budget restrictions.
This page explains what University Marketing can supply, what departments may purchase, what is restricted and what must be reviewed before any order is placed.
Before you place or approve any order: the vendor's digital proof must be reviewed and approved by the NIU Clearinghouse. This applies to every promotional item purchase, regardless of who is paying or which brand appears on the item. Ordering without approval risks receiving merchandise that cannot be used.
University Marketing maintains an inventory of NIU-branded promotional items for student recruitment. We supply these at no cost to your department.
We cannot currently supply items for current-student events, including involvement fairs, student organization events and college activities for enrolled students. Our inventory is designated for prospective student recruitment. We recognize this leaves a gap, and we are raising it with division leadership.
If you are tabling at an involvement fair or campus event, promotional items are not the only option and often not the most effective one. Creative Services can help you put together a professional NIU table presence with table runners, display panels, banners and document holders.
Request Event Display Materials
Under NIU's promotional items and catering guidelines, departments may not purchase promotional materials through FY27 except in limited circumstances. Every purchase requires vice-presidential approval regardless of fund source.
The Office of Admissions, the Office of Orientation and First Year Programs, the Graduate School and the College of Law may purchase promotional items for student recruitment and onboarding without an exception from us. Brand review still applies. See Before You Order below.
All other purchases require an approved exception from the Division of Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications before you order, including purchases funded by a sponsor or by a grant or contract that budgets for promotional items. Submit your request before you commit to a vendor or place an order.
Two steps apply to every purchase, including purchases that do not need an exception.
Do not send your vendor a logo file you found or one you have used before. Get the specifications from your vendor and submit a Creative Services request. We will create the artwork to those specifications so your vendor receives a correct, print-ready file.
Once your vendor produces a digital proof, submit it to the Clearinghouse for approval before you place or approve the order. Build this into your timeline; approving a proof directly with the vendor is how off-brand merchandise gets produced.
Items carrying a college or unit sub-brand are held to the same standards as items carrying the NIU institutional logo. Sub-brands are extensions of the university identity, not alternatives to it, and using one does not remove the need for Clearinghouse review. This applies whether or not budget restrictions are in effect.
School counselors and teachers working with NIU-bound students can request NIU materials directly.
University Marketing
Still Hall 110
marketing@niu.edu