Alabama Booksmith's Friday Night "American Idol"

Although it might not seem possible, a bookstore did mount a very successful event during the evening of Friday, July 20, that did not revolve around Harry Potter: The Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, Alabama, was the host of an offsite event featuring Taylor Hicks, the 2006 winner of TV's American Idol. "Taylor Hicks: Up Close and Personal" drew folks from as far away as New York, New Jersey, Texas, Kansas, and California, as well as a dozen other states, to Birmingham's historic Boutwell Auditorium.

Store owner Jake Reiss told BTW that local Fox Television personality Janice Rogers emceed the event, which began with a five-minute video tribute to Hicks shown on a huge screen. Tickets were presold through Ticketmaster and Kid One Transport, Hicks' favorite charity. Each ticket came with a signed copy of Hicks' new inspirational memoir, Heart Full of Soul (Crown). The Alabama Booksmith also sold and continues to sell signed copies of the memoir through its BookSense.com website.

While radio, newspapers, and signage were all used to promote "Taylor Hicks: Up Close and Personal," the most massive part of the campaign was conducted by FOX 6, WBRC, the sponsor of the show. According to Reiss, the TV station ran 277 spots promoting the event, excluding contests and news coverage. If these were paid spots, Reiss noted that promotional costs would have totaled more than $158,000. And the TV station continues to feature a video of the event on its website, myfoxal.com.

"There was nary a Soul Patroler in attendance who would have swapped their signed copy of Heart Full of Soul for that of another big book event we understand was going on around the country on the same night," said Reiss. --Karen Schechner