Advocacy Articles

Advocacy That Works For You
By Mark Palmore, Connect2One Institutional Store Advocate

By now, you have had an opportunity to read about and discuss the many changes we have made here at Connect2One. We feel the changes will have a positive impact on Connect2One members in many different ways. Along with the new programs to help your store succeed in this extremely competitive time, we have added a full-time position of Institutional Store Advocate. I am honored to have been selected for this position and stand ready to help our institutional store members compete against the on-line booksellers while promoting the self-operation institutional store model.

As I begin this new position, I feel it is important to let you know the plans we have to help your store. In mid-August, with the assistance of a very prominent nationally known communications company, we sent each institutional store a Back-To-School store marketing kit, which included ad slicks and editorials on the value of the institutional store. This is only the first component of an on-going program to promote the "Brick and Mortar" institutional college bookstore. By the way, I feel it is important for you to know that the professional communications company we are working with is Fleishman-Hillard. They have a client list that includes Anheuser-Busch, Charles Schwab, Dell Computers, Hasbro, McDonald's, and Procter & Gamble, to name a few.

Fleishman-Hillard and Connect2One conducted numerous focus groups with students, faculty, and bookstore professionals in the development of these materials. We hope you find this material helpful, and I look forward to ANY comments you have regarding the quality and how they can be improved. In the near future, we will be conducting research on how this material has worked for you and will continue to make changes based on your input. By the way, this material was sent to members of Connect2One as a value to membership free of charge.

Besides promoting the value of the "Brick and Mortar" institutional store, we are developing a series of materials for your use in promoting the value of your store to campus administrators. This material will include extensive scientific research on the value of institutions maintaining the self-operation model for their college bookstore. The membership role in the quality of this material will come from your input and our Connect2One Advisory Group. Connect2One and Nebraska Book Company are both strongly committed to creating, refining, and making available to our members "Advocacy That Works For You." You will be hearing more details on the advocacy program in the near future. If you ever want to discuss any advocacy issues, please contact me either by phone at (800) 563-9034, e-mail at mpalmore@connect2one.com, or write me a note at Connect2One headquarters here in Ohio. I am YOUR Institutional Store Advocate!