ABA Members Win Exclusive Access to Harry Potter Sweepstakes

This week, ABA announced that ABA member bookstores have the chance to give away a trip for four to London to one of their customers as a Grand Prize in the "Independent Muggles for Harry Potter" sweepstakes, sponsored by Book Sense. ABA member status provides independent bookstores with exclusive access to sweepstakes POP, as well as exclusive art -- including the sweeps logo and tagline -- and other materials on an "Independent Muggles" sweepstakes "mini-site" located on Bookweb.org.

"Independent bookstores have really raised the bar when it comes to Harry Potter events and parties," said Meg Smith, ABA membership director, "and we hope that the idea of 'Independent Muggles for Harry Potter' really resonates. Stores can offer their customers not only a chance to win a trip to London, but a chance to declare themselves as both an independent and a Muggle!" Smith added, "The sweepstakes is a perfect opportunity for independent storefront ABA-member booksellers to celebrate the dramatic finale of the Harry Potter series in their own unique ways."

Customers enter the giveaway by completing entry coupons -- which booksellers can download from BookWeb.org -- that booksellers will collect in the store. It is intended that the coupons will be used for customers attending booksellers' midnight parties or other events, or otherwise coming into the store during a very limited time. The sweepstakes entry period is from July 20, 2007 at 10:00 p.m. ET to July 24, 11:59 p.m., ET. Booksellers should not accept entries completed at other times. ABA's promotion firm, Promotion Mechanics, Inc. will choose the winner.

At the conclusion of the sweepstakes, booksellers can mail the coupons to the American Booksellers Association, Attn.: Meg Smith, 200 White Plains Road, 6th Floor, Tarrytown, New York 10591. All entry coupons should be mailed so that Smith receives them no later than August 2, 2007. Bookselling This Week will announce the winner sometime after.

Here is a look at the POP sweepstakes and other materials that booksellers will find on Bookweb.org:

• The "Independent Muggles for Harry Potter" sweepstakes publicity poster. The poster can be printed in a variety of sizes. The poster can be slipped into a plastic sleeve and sit on a counter top, go in a front window or on an endcap, or on a front table display. Booksellers can download the poster to a disc and take it to their local printing business for as many copies as needed in their store. Or they can print it on-site.
  
  
• Sweepstakes entry coupons. Booksellers can print out the coupons in whatever quantities they prefer, either in-house or via an outside company. There are two versions of the entry coupon. One allows front and back copying -- the customer information is on the front, the sweepstakes rules are on the back. The other contains the customer fill-in lines and rules on one side. Booksellers that choose to use version two should be sure to include the back portion of the rules, so the sweepstakes complies with all applicable laws and regulations. It is imperative that customers be aware of all aspects of the sweepstakes, including their right to mail in a postcard as their means of entry.
  
  
• Sweepstakes Official Rules. Booksellers should make sure to review the Official Rules, which should be posted conspicuously in the store. The rules will explain all the pertinent dates -- when the sweepstakes period closes, when the winner will be announced, and some details on the trip. If anything is not clear, booksellers should contact Smith at [email protected].
  
  
• Harry Potter Poster. Scholastic has created another poster exclusively for ABA member bookstores, which is also posted on BookWeb.org as well. This poster promotes all the books in the Harry Potter series.
  
  
• "Independent Muggles for Harry Potter" Art. ABA is making available transferable exclusive "Independent Muggles for Harry Potter" art on BookWeb.org for those stores wanting to create additional Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows free promotional goodies -- hats, mugs, tee-shirts, etc. Importantly, Scholastic must approve all promotional items related to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Please e-mail Becky at [email protected] with the following information: Store location, description of the item, quantity to be produced, and when/how the item will be distributed. All promotional items must comply with Harry Potter guidelines. Booksellers should contact Becky for more details.

In addition to the sweepstakes, booksellers should note that Scholastic has launched a campaign centered on the seven most frequently asked questions regarding the content of the final volume in J.K. Rowling's record-breaking series. Scholastic sent stores a campaign kit that includes a pack of promotional buttons for store employees and seven envelopes, each with instructions as to the date it should be opened. (Read more.) The questions will also be available on BookSense.com.