A Web Site is born!

A Web Site is born!  We’re proud parents, she’s beautiful! And she’s even sleeping through the night!  Although our web guy, sadly, is not. Yet. He and his team are still working around the clock, putting the final touches on this new beauty. So bear with us while we iron out a few glitches, add some more functionality, and continually add products and services to the basic offerings that are currently available.

As you work through order placement, feel free to offer suggestions for improvement, or ask any questions you may have. If there’s a product you’d like to order online but it’s not yet offered on the new site, by all means let us know.  (and call us to order in the meantime…don’t do without, that would be silly) We love our customers, so we want this to be as easy and fun to use as possible! And by all means, share the good news that a star (um, web site) is born!

Cyber Monday Discount Code

I have friends that just LIVE to shop Black Friday. It’s their favorite day of the whole year, surpassing Christmas, Thanksgiving, and even their own Birthday. Something about the hype, the novelty of standing out in the cold with other like-minded people while the rest of the world sleeps…. and ultimately, seeing how many bargains can be scored before the specials are snapped up, someone catches an elbow in the eye, or the coffee wears off…whichever comes first. I understand the people watching is out of this world. And I believe it.  But I’ll just have to live vicariously through these brave souls because I always miss the hoopla in favor of surfing the bargains–from the comfort of my couch.

Which is where Unique Impressions comes into this story. We have traditionally remained closed on Black Friday so the malls can have their day. And that was true this year as well, however with one fantastic twist: we launched a gorgeous new web site so that bargains can be had at your favorite small store as well!

So now that you’ve dabbled in the big box shopping shenanigans, shopped Small Business Saturday, and rested up on Sunday, curl up with your new favorite web site, and check out our Cyber Monday deal! Be sure to order all the students on your list a gift that signifies the pride they have in the Greek organization they’ve joined for life.  At a discount, and with free shipping no less! Happy shopping and happy holidays!

Today’s discount code is: CYBER10FREESHIP

Get the Word Out!

It’s amazing what advertising will do.  Think about it:  plenty of football fans (and non-fans, actually) are as excited about Super Bowl commercials as they are about the big game.   Companies like McDonald’s and Pepsi are recognized the world over just by a glimpse of their logo.   The big guys know a little something about getting the word out.  But it doesn’t need to be complicated, and it’s not just for business.  It works for organizations too.

So how do you get the word out about your organization?

• Be sure to post and tweet your events on social media….not just on your official page, but members should be getting in on the act as well on their personal pages
• Encourage members to volunteer in the community and wear letters while out there doing good
• Join in a cause you believe in, and bring along your brothers or sisters
• Donate!  Give of your time, your resources, your canned goods, your used clothing, whatever you can in order to help those less fortunate.
• Share the good news.  Post the positive happenings of your members or organization anywhere you can, be it scholastic, athletic or philanthropic
• Hang banners, post flyers and shout from the rooftops when your organization has a philanthropy event
• And by all means, WEAR YOUR LETTERS!

One real life example? When Unique Impressions opened its doors in 1988, more than a decade before web sites were born, the ONLY place to get Greek merchandise was the local or regional Greek store, followed by phone/catalog orders to those stores.  It’s still the best place of course But since UD had no store, not nearly as many letter shirts were walking around campus.  Once we opened our doors, and UD students had ready access to purchasing letters, the Greek population increased by 50% within 5 years.  Of course, we’d love to say it was OUR letter shirts that made the difference, but the truth is, ANY letters worn on campus increases awareness about Fraternity and Sorority life.  Show the administration, the community and campus what Greek life is really all about…..leadership, philanthropy, and community. Wear your letters proudly…in other words, advertise… and those around you will notice!

Way to Be Trendy

Decades ago, when a trend came around, it STAYED around. Good or bad, ugly or adorable, it was with us for a looooong time. Girls had big hair, often up in a scrunchie, and at Unique Impressions, we stocked oversized Champion sweatshirts up to the rafters because they were hard to come by, and when the shipment came, it literally took over what was then a pretty small store. Every sorority girl had a closet full of thick lettered sweatshirts (crew necks mind you) in colors like Tea Rose, Jade and Butter. All we could do was await the next shipment, hope the new colors would be in those giant boxes, and focus on finding great fabrics to match up with these Champion hues. We didn’t know any different, but after a decade of making scrunchies to match lettered Champion sweatshirts, we in the biz were ready for a change.

And oh yes, the times, they have surely changed.  Thanks to the internet, reality TV, and a global economy, trends come and go in the blink of an eye.  As soon as we see one roll in, here comes another, as polar opposite as it can be.  And because there’s so much overlap in trends, styles evolve rapidly, and just about everything is acceptable.  How cool is that?   If you’re preppy, fantastic.  Lilly, Vera, popped collars, flats and flower prints are all the rage.  Classic?  Coach, riding boots, houndstooth, and argyle are probably for you.  Are you a wild child (animal prints and heels) or a flower child (tie dye and peace signs)?  Sparkly, goth, sporty or neon?  Yep, that’s fun too.  Heck, you can dress based on your personality, or just your mood.  That same American Apparel v-neck tee with a little vinyl lettering design can go from class to gym.  Wash it (please), throw on a scarf and blazer, and out for the night you go.  It’s hard to go wrong….and we love it.  Way to be Unique …..Happy shopping!

Web Woes

We were in on the world wide web at its infancy.  It’s true.  While our parents were still apprehensive about plugging credit card info into an anonymous black hole in cyberspace, Unique Impressions built a complicated web site featuring thousands of Greek gifts for sale that could be ordered at 2 am, and delivered right to your door.  UPS was happy, customers were happy, we were happy.  And then the world wide web rocketed to fame, and we were left in the cyberdust.   Kind of.   Turns out, as we enjoyed our complicated, old school web site, which worked reasonably well for us, the internet as we knew it morphed from caterpillar to butterfly.  Newer sites moved faster, had intricate visual appeal, and did things our “tried and true” site could never do, like take custom shirt orders and entertain at the same time.  Thank you, YouTube.

So what’s a really cool, cutting edge Greek store to do when the cyberworld leaps ahead of its early pioneering efforts?  Hire one of the best web companies around to save our site and **whoosh** catapult us to the new century.  STAY TUNED!!!