The Petite Keep Sisterhood Experience: Ole Miss Kappa Delta

 

200 personalized Petite Keep Sorority Trunks, one unforgettable Bid Day surprise

By: Emily Stisser, Associate Brand Manager

 

In late June, I got a message from Clara, Petite Keep’s Vice President of Brand, and Lindsay, our Founder and CEO, with an incredible idea. We were preparing to launch our Greek Collection in just a few weeks and wanted to dream up a meaningful way to celebrate alongside our collegiate community!

 

What if we could show up for one sorority chapter on Bid Day and surprise every new member with a Petite Keep Trunk?

 

On July 14, we officially launched the Petite Keep Greek Collection across 14 sororities. The very next day, applications opened for the Petite Keep Sisterhood Experience, a nationwide contest created to give one chapter a Bid Day they would never forget.

 

We dreamed of surprising an entire new member class with their own personalized Petite Keep Trunks and creating a truly unforgettable gifting experience, celebrating the excitement of finding your sisterhood and the beginning of a new chapter together.

 

Less than two months later, we were standing outside the Kappa Delta house at the University of Mississippi, ready to create the unforgettable Bid Day experience we had envisioned.

In one week, we received 288 applications from 141 universities, 13 sororities, and 40 states, representing more than 55,000 current sorority members and an estimated 23,000 incoming new members.

 

Each submission gave us a glimpse into a different sisterhood. It was clear how much these women loved their chapters, traditions, and the friendships they have found through Greek life. We thoughtfully reviewed each application based on its alignment with Petite Keep's values, chapter story and traditions, sense of community, enthusiasm, and creativity.

 

Kappa Delta at Ole Miss stood out immediately. We were incredibly impressed by the chapter's commitment to excellence, from holding the highest GPA across Ole Miss fraternity and sorority life to its strong member retention and dedication to philanthropy. Their application reflected a genuine sense of sisterhood and pride in the traditions and community they have built together. 

 

On Thursday, July 23, we called Julia, Kappa Delta's current President, to share the good news: we were headed to Oxford! From there, we had just a few short weeks to bring the entire experience to life.

Behind the scenes, this was an all-hands-on-deck project for Team PK. Our Graphic Design team created the custom van vinyl wrap of our dreams, as well as personalized Trunk insert cards with letters for the new members. Our Operations and Artisan teams created, personalized, and packed 200+ Kappa Delta Mini Trunks and Engraved Padlocks. Our Content team built thoughtful guides to make sure we captured every part of the weekend, from running home, to the new members' reactions as they received their Trunks. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, we got Missouri Class E licenses to could drive our custom PK van from St. Louis to Oxford!

The night before Bid Day, we loaded up the van and headed south. By Saturday morning, we were outside the Kappa Delta house as the chapter prepared to welcome their newest members home!

I was in Greek life during my college experience, but experiencing Bid Day at Ole Miss was completely new. The energy was incredible, but what stood out most was how warmly the Kappa Delta sisters welcomed us into their home. Getting to celebrate alongside the sisters and their families made such a meaningful milestone even sweeter.

 

And then we got to hand out **200** Mini Kappa Delta Trunks!

After nearly two months of planning, seeing the newest Kappa Delta members find their Trunks and watching their reactions was surreal. We hope these Trunks are filled over the next four years with Bid Day cards, photographs, letters, pins, and all of the little keepsakes that tell the story of their time at Ole Miss.

 

Getting to show up for our community is my favorite part of what I do, and this weekend was such a special reminder of why. In less than two months, this experience went from a quick message to 288 applications across the country to a van full of Trunks pulling up outside the Kappa Delta house in Oxford.

To the Kappa Delta sisters, advisors, alumnae and families, thank you for welcoming us into such a special day. And to every chapter that applied and shared its story with us, thank you for making our first Petite Keep Sisterhood Experience one we will never forget.

 

We can’t wait to see where the Petite Keep Sisterhood Experience takes us next!

 

xx,

Emily and Team PK