Download the PDF here.
Nielsen’s tracking of sales of finalists in the Ockham NZ Book Awards over the past few years has shown a marked spike in figures over the shortlist period, so this is an excellent opportunity for you to make a visual splash in your shop, promote the awards and sell more books.
NZBAT will be inserting the 8-page finalist booklet into 39,000 copies of The Listener and running a full-page advert in 45,000 copies of the Auckland Writers Festival programme, plus other print and electronic advertising, all with a retail message to help drive customers to your stores. The NZBAT publicist is a legend at securing brilliant media and has a widespread publicity campaign planned, so the shortlist will be everywhere, and on social channels, too, creating heaps of interest in the shortlist.
- Ockhams window and in-store displays:
– Create an eye catching, surprising and striking window display featuring only award-winning books, using the Ockhams POS, and highlight previous winners. Purchase the POS material here.
– Design a designated shelf or area in your store exclusively for award-winning books, categorised by award category. - Author signings and events:
Host special author events featuring authors of recently awarded books, offering book signings and Q&A sessions. Contact publishers to arrange online interviews, events and shop visits. - Podcast! Get together with your staff or local book lovers and share your thoughts on the Ockhams.
- Highlight one shortlisted book a week, diving deep into reviews, and highlight with special promotions
- Host a ‘meet the shortlisted books’ event in your store where your staff talk about each novel. You could even collaborate with your local library or another organisation (Rotary, Lions, Chamber of Commerce, etc.) to hold an event.
- Social media campaigns:
Run a social media contest where customers share photos of their favourite award-winning books, offering prizes for the best entries. - Guess the Winner competitions:
Create a fun in-store competition where customers can pick who they think will win in each category. - Award-themed gift guides:
Create curated gift lists for different occasions based on award-winning titles, promoting them through newsletters and in-store signage. - Create a subscription box for shortlisted books, combined with a chocolate bar, bookmark or small gift so customers can read the shortlist before the awards.
- Partner with local media:
Collaborate with local newspapers, libraries, radio stations, wine bars or influencers to promote upcoming award announcements and feature your store as a place to find award-winning books. - Ockhams Book Club:
Start a dedicated book club focused on reading and discussing the shortlisted titles. Bookclubbers can choose which book to read, or all read the same one and meet to discuss. You could also package up the shortlist and create a special offer or bonus loyalty credit when bookclubbers choose all four shortlisted books in a category. - Highlight the mana and prestige of the Ockhams:
The Ockhams is our flagship book awards for Aotearoa. Ensure your marketing clearly communicates the significance of the awards and why readers should seek out award-winning books. Highlight previous winners and the impact the awards has on the literary culture of Aotearoa NZ. - Omnichannel promotions! Use a mix of in-store displays, online marketing, and community outreach to reach a wider audience – and don’t stop! The shortlist has a big promotional window and can be filled with a lot of dynamic promotion and engagement.
- Engage with customers:
Encourage interaction by asking for their favourite award-winning books or running polls on social media. - Write your own shelf talkers for the shortlisted books and encourage readers to purchase and read.
- Become a bookstore Champion for #theockhams. This year Champions will have access to the finalists before the awards and on the night so they can create some great content.
- Attend the Awards ceremony!
The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards ceremony will be held in Auckland as one of the first public events of the Auckland Writers Festival on Wednesday 14 May. Tickets go on sale on 14 March.
If you have any queries about the awards, contact New Zealand Book Award manager Belinda Cooke on manager@nzbookawards.org.nz