New Candlewick Campaign Puts the Focus on Picture Books

As part of the Candlewick Handselling Indie Recognition Program (CHIRP) – which was introduced in 2010 to commend and further assist independent booksellers in their handselling efforts – Candlewick Press is launching a yearlong “We Believe in Picture Books!” initiative beginning in September, to coincide with the press’ 20th anniversary. The campaign offers booksellers generous CHIRP terms, tools to bolster merchandising, and handselling incentives for frontline staff.

Central to the initiative is the “We Believe in Picture Books!” Boutique Offer, which incentivizes indies to merchandise fall 2012 frontlist picture books with tried-and-true backlist to create an ongoing picture book boutique in stores. The campaign offers Candlewick’s best terms yet, as well as attractive merchandising collateral including shelf-talkers, standees, literature holders branded with the campaign’s design, consumer giveaways, and more.

“Being 100 percent employee-owned and 100 percent independent, Candlewick is fully committed to supporting indie bookstores,” said Elise Supovitz, director of field sales at Candlewick. “Our ‘We Believe in Picture Books!’ Boutique Offer makes great business sense for ABA member stores and showcases Candlewick’s amazing picture book offerings.”

Other elements of the initiative include Fall 2012 frontlist titles stickered with the “We Believe in Picture Books!” message; a “Look for the Bear!” T-shirt featuring Candlewick’s anniversary bear; a 13-month calendar spotlighting beloved bears from Candlewick picture books; special promotions on Facebook and Twitter; and a dedicated picture book website (readingstartshere.com) to launch in August 2012 and featuring a video each day generated by people from all different parts of the book industry.

Booksellers who submit videos honoring their favorite Candlewick picture book will be entered in a drawing to win a trip to ABA’s Winter Institute 8 in Kansas City, Missouri, from February 22 - 25, 2013. Visit CHIRP’s website for submission details.

“A picture book is a family’s first book,” said Valerie Koehler, owner of Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas. “This is where stories begin. We learn, we laugh, and sometimes we even cry. The wonderful teams of authors/illustrators/editors have gifted us with these for years. And from the samples I’ve seen so far, fall 2012 is going to be a banner year. Picture books have the place of honor in our shop and they consistently trade top category for sales with adult fiction. We are very excited about being part of Candlewick’s ‘We Believe in Picture Books!’ campaign.”

Additional details are available in the campaign brochure accessible here and through a bookstore’s Candlewick rep.