Marketing

July 31 is the deadline for receipt of photos from booksellers participating in the Book Sense Make Some Magic With Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix sweepstakes display contest. The winner of the contest will receive a $2,000 credit from Scholastic, Inc.

Book Sense stores participating in the BACARDI Mixers & Book Sense Book Club Sweepstakes should be on the lookout for a carton containing a point-of-sale entry box with tear-pads, a poster, and a BACARDI Mixers Book Club party kit, which can be used for individual store events and includes glasses, coasters, drink charms, free BACARDI Mixers, and more. The materials should arrive at stores by July 14, the sweepstakes start date.

During the week of July 14 -18, The History Channel is traveling the highways and byways of America during Hit the Road Week, and, to complement the series, stores with Book Sense will be featuring bookmarks for Fodor's The Thirteen Colonies and Fodor's Old West in their History Channel/Hardcover History in-store displays. The bookmarks were sent to participating stores in the June white box mailing.

On Thursday, May 29, approximately one hundred booksellers attended ABA's Marketing Workshop, held during BookExpo America in Los Angeles. The session, moderated by Michael Hoynes, ABA's marketing officer, focused on strategies and tactics that independent booksellers can use to gain a greater share of current customers' business and to introduce new customers to the unique values of independent bookstores.

ABA is finalizing details of its national electronic gift card program for stores with Book Sense and will begin rolling out details regarding program costs, equipment requirements, and sign-up in the July 10 edition of Bookselling This Week. The association will also soon finalize a selection of generic gift card designs with a generic backer or presenter. Booksellers will be able to add their store logo and information to the front of the card and to the backer for an additional fee.

The BACARDI Mixers & Book Sense Book Club Sweepstakes is set to begin in July and will run for four months. Book Sense and The Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company teamed up to create this in-store national sweepstakes promotion to drive consumers participating in reading groups to independent bookstores with Book Sense and to raise awareness of the Book Sense brand. Bookstores with Book Sense should be on the lookout for sweepstakes materials, which should arrive no later than July 11.

Here's a reminder for booksellers regarding expiration dates on Book Sense gift certificates. Expiration dates do not apply in California, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and, possibly, other states.

The number of national and local newspapers, magazines, industry publications, and Web sites featuring Book Sense Bestseller lists (national, regional, or category) continues to grow each month. Four newspapers recently joined the list: Bellingham, Washington's Bellingham Weekly (Pacific Northwest list); Burlington, Vermont's Burlington Free Press (Northeast list); Park City, Utah's Park City Record (National list); and Seattle's Queen Anne/Magnolia News (Pacific Northwest list).

This fall, Southeasterners will be able to tune into author readings hosted at independent bookstores all over the region. Starting October 1, the Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA) will be the presenting sponsor of The Spoken Word, a series broadcast by Atlanta's public radio station, WABE. The Spoken Word features author readings and talks and performances about literature and the arts that are recorded around the Southeast.

On Thursday, May 29, over 300 independent booksellers from around the U.S. converged in Los Angeles for the ABA Education Day, which included ABA's first annual "What Are You Reading Lunch." The day's numerous sessions were packed with prospective, novice, and veteran booksellers alike, each looking to enhance their bookselling skills. According to comments from a number of booksellers, the programming did not disappoint.