Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

Titan Shops, at Cal State University – Fullerton, always seems to be doing something to get new customers into their store. Whether it’s putting on an open house or traditional sales to coincide with holidays like National Student Day, Titan Shops Marketing Coordinator Katie Cover is usually busy planning something new and exciting. The most recent special event was a “secret sale,” something that the store likes to do a few times each semester.

The ‘90s may have been, like, the coolest decade ever. (You don’t have to convince us; just check out this marketing plan.) And we aren't the only ones flashing back — the Elizabethtown College Store dedicated a whole day last week to celebrating the ‘90s, with special sales, games, prizes and plenty of social media interaction inspired by everything fresh from back in the day.

The University Store at Murray State University recently rolled out the red carpet for the crème de la crème of its customers.

MBS welcomes Jerry Lynch to the family, in the role of Strategic Accounts Executive. Lynch brings a wealth of knowledge from more than three decades of experience in the textbook distribution industry, with a career that began almost 33 years ago as a sales representative for Follett. Lynch’s long tenure there included a position as National Sales Manager, and then for the last 14 years, as Vice President of Sales.

If you were to walk around the University of Arizona campus this fall, it would be difficult to ignore the university’s colors being worn by students, faculty and visitors alike. The supplier for a great deal of the apparel you would see is the University of Arizona BookStores, and considering they offer 25 percent off of a variety of items, there’s very little reason for customers to go elsewhere.

After a few months of being back at school, it’s time to give your students a break and have some fun! In honor of Booktober, we’ve brainstormed some activities inspired by their favorite fictional characters. From a literary costume competiton to a fictitious feast, these events are guaranteed to get students engaged and into your store, as well as prompt some serious social media interaction. And with the recent trend where absolutely every book ever is turned into a film, even the less-than-literary can still get into the spirit.

Several people at MBS took the plunge recently and participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge.

During their years at school, many college athletes get to experience at least a small taste of celebrity, even if it’s just on a local level. Their names and faces instantly recognizable to the hardcore fan, and if they are really successful, to the casual fan as well. But once players graduate and are no longer playing for what has now become their alma mater, they tend to fade from memory, only to be seen about once a decade when they are brought back to celebrate the anniversaries of their teams’ achievements. Some never get to experience anything as great as their college days, while others transition seamlessly and become successful in whatever endeavor they’ve chosen after leaving the sport that earned them varsity letters.

Would your employees be willing to “get pied” for a great cause? Last week, the staff of College Corner Coffee & Books in Alma, Mich. volunteered their faces for target practice for a pie-throwing event to raise money and awareness for Relay for Life of Gratiot County.

As they transition to their new store, Wingate University Bookstore found themselves with excess inventory that they knew they couldn't bring to the new location. But rather than just throw things away, Assistant Director Rachel McCullough and the rest of the bookstore staff came up with a creative way to get customers in their store while shedding their surplus items.