community relations
BOOKMARK THIS
With a rise in temperature, Quinte Mall talks titles
Last year, Quinte Mall (Belleville, Canada) started Cub Club, a children’s
reading program, to support the cause and strengthen community relations.
Combined with the success of the club, the shopping center’s positive
working relationship with tenants Chapters and Starbucks led to the natural
evolution of the initiative and the addition of an adult program. Originally
designed to run a full calendar year, in January the team decided to span
the program over three months (June, July, and August). Described as long
enough to engage current customers and attract new ones without imposing
a long-term commitment, the QM Summer Book Club aimed to gain the
interest of seasonal readers.
“There are thankfully billions of people in the world [who] still love the
feel of a book in their hands for reading. Summer is a great time [to read]
as many people plan vacations or downtime to indulge in scratching some
book titles off their reading wish list. We asked Chapters to choose the
titles based on current store goals and promotions, and touch on multiple
genres to reach a broad range of customers,” noted Erin Graham, marketing
manager for Quinte Mall.
As a plus, the mall invited readers to participate in monthly discussions
over coffee and cookies. Here’s a closer look at the strategy behind the book
club program and its expansion:
THE RUNDOWN
• After meeting with Chapters about the program early on, the marketing
team touched base with the retailer’s team throughout the year to decide
on club meeting timing
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• Once Chapters chose the title of the book (one per month), the shopping
mall promoted it via social media and other digital platforms
•
At the point of sale, shoppers received a bookmark as a tracking
card (with space for each of the three titles) and a Starbucks voucher
redeemable for a free pastry
• By strategically making the tracking card a bookmark, the team expected
that readers would use it and keep the program in mind
• For tracking purposes, the Starbucks vouchers were color coded each
month
• Reward levels for the QM Summer Book Club:
∙ Buy three books: Earn one C$5 Chapters gift card (US$3.85) and two
C$5 Quinte Mall gift cards
∙ Buy two books: Earn two C$5 Quinte Mall gift cards
∙ Buy one book: Earn one C$5 Quinte Mall gift card
• To receive their gift card(s), shoppers were required to show their
bookmark to guest services any time after the release of the third title
• Since Chapters doesn’t have an interior mall entrance, the promotion
helped to increase retail sales and shared traffic
REACHING OUT TO READERS
• Social: Periodic social media contests to boost the program
∙ To kick off the club, ten copies of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret
Atwood were given away
∙ To promote the final month, a prize package of all the titles was given away
• Digital: Mall website with club details, book titles, and discussion dates