How College Hill Maintains Its Local Roots Amid Growth & Expansion
Gabi Gebauer-Lewis of Pullman, WA, distributor College Hill (asi/164578) details her company’s journey from selling T-shirts to college students to becoming a full-service one-stop shop for promo and print customers.
College Hill (asi/164578) has always been part of the Washington State University community. Beginning just a few blocks off campus above a popular student bar, the distributor is still based in WSU’s hometown of Pullman, WA.
Over the years, though, the company has evolved from specializing in T-shirts for students to now being a full-service branded merchandise agency, offering a full gamut of services for customers like graphic design, print solutions and a wide offering of products across promotional hard goods and apparel.
In this Convergence Corner podcast, Gabi Gebauer-Lewis, general manager for College Hill, traces the company’s trajectory over time to where it is now. She stresses the importance of being that “one-stop shop” distributor while also sharing an inspiring case study.
“A lot of these services were added because we were getting asked for them, and instead of saying no, we said ‘Sure, we’ll figure it out,’” Gebauer-Lewis says. “We have, for instance, adapted into virtual storefronts. It started with simple pop-ups, and that evolved into warehousing, inventory and employee company stores.”
Having an in-house design team allows customers who might not have a dedicated branding department, or who might want some added assistance with design, to collaborate with College Hill to create something tailor-made for a particular application.
One campaign that stands out especially for Gebauer-Lewis is an ongoing project that College Hill has done with the family of former Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski, who tragically committed suicide in 2018. With the organization Hilinski’s Hope, founded by Hilinski’s family, College Hill has created kits for students across the U.S. to educate them about mental health.
“Giving back and doing good is a core value at College Hill, and this one really just hits home for us,” Gebauer-Lewis says. “Being so close with this client, it’s been hugely rewarding for a lot of our team to get to know Kim [Hilinski] and just see their growth, where over 200 schools have signed up to be on the board for Student-Athlete Mental Health Awareness Week.”
Key Takeaways
Growth & Evolution of College Hill: College Hill’s growth has been driven by its willingness to adapt to client requests. When clients asked for new services, the company responded by figuring out how to provide them. This approach has led to the addition of services like virtual stores and kitting solutions, which became particularly popular during the pandemic.
Case Study: Hilinski’s Hope: A notable project for College Hill is its work with Hilinski’s Hope, a nonprofit organization focused on mental health awareness for student-athletes. College Hill created kits with branded merchandise for the organization’s Student-Athlete Mental Health Awareness Week. The project involved significant logistical challenges but was highly rewarding due to its meaningful impact and close collaboration with the client.