Idea # 1 - How entering a contest helped me sell more books
Gary Grinaker - The Photo Express - Cleverly Hidden in Kirkwood Mall, Bismarck, ND USA website
I love a marketing contest because it encourages you to put into action plans that have been sitting on the back burner.
So when Fujifilm announced the 2010 "Best Photo Book Promotion Ideas" contest I immediately thought about one of my favorite charities that affects my best target market - Moms.
2011 Bismarck School Group Fundraiser
With little Grayson, my youngest, entering grade school in three years I want our local PTO to be fully funded and lots of new playground equipment in place.
The most effective fundraisers require the least amount of time and effort from parents, students and staff. Why? Because we're all busy these days. I often find myself short on time and space, and others do too.
Speaking of space, that's in short supply. I have boxes of our older childrens' artwork and school projects taking up space in my basement, attic and closets.
Combining those two challenges inspired an award winning idea. Why not have some fun and a fundraiser by storing each child's artwork in a hardcover art book.
It was very gratifying to hear from Fujifilm that I was the winner of the First Prize. We're using the prize money and marketing support to develop and support the fundraiser.
Parents purchase a full-color hardcover art book
Here's the Reader's Digest version of the idea. This spring, parents pre-buy a book from the local school organization for $20. Checks are made out directly to the organization.
Parents know hardcover photo books sell for $20-$50 retail, so it's a great value.
We send the parents a gift certificate for a basic book plus links to helpful hints on our website.
At the end of the school year, parents bring photos of their child's artwork to The Photo Express. We'll help them create, print and bind a hard-cover full-color book filled with the child's artwork and photos.
Seeing their artwork in print is great for the child's self-esteem, parents can toss the original artwork guilt-free and the organization has made some money.
Oh yes, and The Photo Express has a database of parents with school-aged children who now know how to build a photo book on our kiosks.
Promotional Support We're building a support webpage for the schools and parents. Take a peak and let me know what you think: http://cleverlyhidden.com/pto/group_intro.html
It's a work in progress, just started, so your comments and suggestions would be most welcome. I'll share the eventual results and with those who email ideas and comments. Send your thoughts to: Gary@ThePhotoExpress.net
Many thanks to FujiFilm for their support of the independent retailer. The idea developed out of their photo book webinars of last year which focused us on our target market of Moms and the triggers that get them excited about building photo books.
