Collective Goods

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For 25 years, Books Are Fun had a good run. They brought the convenience of pop up retail to schools and hospitals in rural parts of the country. Their line up was well curated and sold at great value. Best of all, 10-20% of purchases went directly back to the institutions that hosted them. But the main product offering, books, was no longer the only thing in the line up. Their sales force was retiring. And nobody knew that Books Are Fun was so cause based. It was time for a change.

In 2016, Books Are Fun rebranded to Collective Goods. Local Sales Reps were given the tools needed to communicate this change in direction that focused on giving back. They received branded clothing and vehicle graphics. Sales kits targeting school and hospital administrators were deployed.

Next, Collective Goods went on a recruiting blitz. We targeted entrepreneurs, husband and wife teams, veterans, and people with a love of community.

For the events themselves, we developed a versatile, easy to implement merchandising program. Way finding became intuitive. The visual excitement kicked up a notch. We rolled out a mobile app specifically for schools, letting teachers purchase outside of school hours. And at every event, local cause became a driving factor for why to buy.

As 2017 closed, the business had lots to celebrate. We had hired over 100 new sales reps. Mobile app purchases exceeded $1.5 million. $400k in new business came in. And the number of events was on the rise. There’s still plenty to do. But the foundation for growth is there.

Collective Goods

Published: April 7th 2018

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