IndieBound Refresher Pack Offers Tools for Sharing the Shop Local Spirit

At the request of booksellers looking to re-familiarize themselves with the IndieBound program and its mission of sharing the shop local message, the American Booksellers Association is developing the IndieBound Refresher Pack. In February, the pack will be sent to stores currently receiving ABA Red Box mailings that have participated in IndieBound for at least two years.

The IndieBound Refresher Pack contains an introductory pamphlet that details the mission of IndieBound, offers tips for sharing the spirit of shopping local in stores and online, and gives a list of talking points to encourage customers to shop local. Booksellers will also find:

• Two packs of bookmarks, each with a new IndieBound design
• ​“We’re Local, We’re IndieBound” window decals
• ​A ​pack of rally cards that promote the experience and power of shopping local
• A bag of “Love Your Local” pins

Digital versions of the materials in the IndieBound Refresher Pack are available in the IndieBound DIY on BookWeb, where booksellers can also find IndieBound logos and editable posters, bookmarks, ad slicks, T-shirt designs, and more.

The idea for the IndieBound Refresher Pack grew out of a meeting of ABA’s Marketing Task Force during BookExpo America 2015 in New York City. The task force’s members — booksellers from around the country — recalled the usefulness of the IndieBound Liberation Box, which is sent to stores when they join ABA to introduce them to the IndieBound program.

Members of the Task Force requested that ABA create a toolkit to help them re-familiarize themselves with the items in the box, with the messages of local first, and with IndieBound’s adaptable designs and marketing tools available to members in the DIY.

The IndieBound Refresher Pack serves to remind members about the importance of sharing the shop local message by offering a variety of materials for use in-store, while also pointing booksellers to the IndieBound DIY for designs and downloads featuring the shop local message.

Bookstores that don’t receive an IndieBound Refresher Pack next month can contact ABA Membership & Marketing Officer Meg Smith to request one.