Where’s Waldo? Just Around the Corner!

Monkey See, Monkey Do, a children's bookstore in Clarence, New York, will kick off its Find Waldo Local campaign with a scavenger hunt at Coca-Cola field, home of the Buffalo Bisons.

The finishing touches are in place in communities around the country for the highly-anticipated launch of Find Waldo Local, a month-long campaign marking Waldo’s 25^th anniversary that’s also designed to promote shopping at local independent businesses.

Events will take place throughout the month of July in hundreds of cities and towns nationwide. “Find Waldo Local” is sponsored by Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association.

“The staff at Books & More of Albion and their downtown partners are excited to celebrate ‘Where’s Waldo in Albion?’” said Sylvia Benavidez, the bookstore’s public relations coordinator. The Michigan indie began promoting the event and priming customers’ search skills with a “mini scavenger hunt” on the store website. The winners were given free smoothies from the coffee shop located inside the bookstore.

Earlier this month, Waldo made an appearance at the Greater Albion Chamber of Commerce breakfast, where fun facts about Waldo and the upcoming scavenger hunt were shared. In July, Waldo will be making appearances at the children’s room of the local library, an area garden center for an outdoor Waldo Festival, and a children’s museum.

In Albion’s senior center newsletter, Books & More placed a “Where’s Waldo?” word scramble alongside an article urging grandparents to join in the fun of the scavenger hunt in the downtown area.

Books & More is asking community members to share their experiences of finding Waldo on the store’s Facebook page, and members of the local media have been invited to all Waldo events.

To bring the month-long hunt to a close, Books & More will host a Waldo party on July 31.

R.J.Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut, has been busy promoting the campaign through various media outlets. Shore Publishing provided a preview of the celebration in last week’s issue, and an R.J. Julia staff member will appear on New Haven’s Better Connecticut television program in early July to discuss the Find Waldo Local campaign and other upcoming events. A dedicated e-mail to more than 11,000 customers was sent this week, and Where’s Waldo in Madison! is listed on the store’s Facebook page as are details about the store’s closing celebration on July 31. A number of notable guests, including local politicians, business owners, school principals, and board of education members, have been invited to the closing event.

“We have a fantastic small downtown merchant community,” said R.J. Julia New Business Manager Kirsten Hess. “They are all excited and enthusiastic to participate in the hunt.” R.J. Julia’s front window will feature a display of Waldo books and sidelines, and the store has hired a real Waldo to walk the downtown area. Social media fans and followers will be asked to find him and take photos with him throughout the town. The store plans to move Waldo each day and will also run a side promotion that asks children to identify what books Waldo is reading at the store.

Byrd’s Books in Bethel, Connecticut, is fortunate to have the services of a staff member from Molten Java, the downstairs coffee shop, who bears a strong resemblance to the famous man in stripes. He will be posing for photos at all 20 participating stores, and they’ll be posted on the store’s Facebook page to encourage customer interaction.

“We have lots of fun upcoming with Waldo,” said Alice Hutchinson, who opened Byrd’s Books last December.

The bookstore is also very involved in a Shop Local drive during July that is being promoted by the town’s Chamber of Commerce. Waldo will be out and about during these events as well, said Hutchinson.

The bookstore has been promoting the campaign by placing fliers and ads in the local Pennysaver, which is delivered by mail to about 10,000 local residences, and in Bethel Magazine, which is direct-mailed to Bethel homes and is free at many local businesses.

Find Waldo Local has also been featured in the store’s electronic newsletter and on its Facebook page. Additionally, Byrd’s has sent out four “digital newspapers” featuring press releases about Waldo events, and Hutchinson expects local newspaper coverage at different times throughout the month.

“I think this is a good start for my brand-new 450-square-foot bookstore!” she said.

Booksellers who would like to provide photos of their Find Waldo Local events for future coverage are encouraged to e-mail them to Bookselling This Week.