Point of sale packs will go out to 200 members of the Independent Booksellers Forum in the next couple of weeks as the primary stage of the Booksellers Association IndieBound initiative, Meryl Halls of the BA told an LBF seminar on initiatives for independent bookshops and as reported today in BookBrunch.
Modeled on the US IndieBound, the promotion is aimed at uniting independent retailers within communities and highlighting the importance of buying local goods, and the packs will include everything a shop needs to begin its marketing campaign.
The packs will include posters with tried and tested slogans - "Eat. Sleep. Read" was printed on material from badges to t-shirts in the US, as well as on bookmarks and information sheets explaining the benefits of buying locally. There is also a website, which provides advertising templates to adapt and tips on how to co-ordinate with other businesses.
These activities reinforce the aims of Independent Booksellers Week (14-21 June), and Halls said that IndieBound would enable booksellers to promote their businesses and values all year round.
It is hoped that IndieBound will spread beyond the bookselling sector to other businesses, encouraging a grassroots movements towards sustainable communities that preserve high levels of personal service.
