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Virginia Tech Takes Top Honors as the 2008 Innovation Achievement Award Recipient
Torchlight | Spring 2008
Virginia Tech, an independent, nonprofit corporation is the 2008 NACS Foundation Innovation Achievement Award recipient.
The awards committee chose the Virginia Tech entry for its innovative 56-page newspaper, What's In Store, which is a marketing alternative to traditional collegiate retail advertising. It also shares the story of their rich relationship with the university and why it makes a difference to shop with them. Notably, Virginia Tech does not incur any expense for the publication of What's In Store. It is 100% paid for by participating advertisers.
"Virginia Tech's nomination did an outstanding job in identifying creative solutions to existing store issues as well as new ideas to drive traffic, increase inventory turns and encourage more effective communication within the faculty, staff, administration, and local community," explained Peggy Falgien, CCR, Innovation Achievement Award Task Force chair, University Bookstore, University of Wyoming, Laramie.
"The awards committee was really focused on finding nominations that were detailed, highlighted applicable financial information, profit and loss data, as well as any customer service advances, and Virginia Tech's nomination surpassed all of the committee's expectations of an outstanding program expressing true innovation," continued Falgien.
Virginia Tech Executive Director Donald J. Williams was encouraged to submit a nomination to the Innovation Achievement Award program when he first learned about the program through the direct mail piece he received in August from the NACS Foundation. Upon reviewing the guidelines and criteria about the award nominations, Williams felt the corporation's program was worthy of a submission.
"What's In Store is a strong marketing tool that has been successful with our marketing program here at Virginia Tech," said Williams. "The paper presents an opportunity to share information on our operation, is self-supporting, and does not cost us anything to publish. Additionally, it is a forum for telling the story of Virginia Tech and our stores."
Williams is most proud of What's In Store as a marketing tool because the Virginia Tech academic community and the corporation's vendor partners value the paper as well, as demonstrated by their advertising in and contribution of articles to the paper. With this marketing tool the bookstore joins its story with its university and its vendor partners.
"The paper makes our bookstores the center of communication on collegiate retail subjects pertinent to Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff. It reinforces our position on campus and in the local community. Winning the 2008 Innovation Achievement Award just solidifies that Virginia Tech is consistently focusing on ways to bring innovation to our campus and community. We are flattered to carry on the tradition as a recipient of the NACS Foundation Innovation Achievement Award," explained Williams.
Virginia Tech is honored to have won this year's Innovation Achievement Award. Because this award was given for a Virginia Tech marketing tool, Williams will use the $5,000 award to invest in their marketing program for the overall benefit of the corporation.
The NACS Foundation Innovation Achievement Award, funded by the Martin D. Levine Endowment Fund, recognizes outstanding development, implementation, and creative entrepreneurship of a new and/or existing collegiate retailing program or service. A $5,000 award is presented to the top program with additional honorable mention awards presented as determined by the NACS Foundation Innovation Award Task Force and Board.
The intent of this award is to both recognize innovation in the college store industry and to share new and creative ideas with others to strengthen the industry overall. An in-depth look at this year's winning innovative ideas will appear in the May/June issue of The College Store magazine or view Virginia Tech Services, Inc's. complete award-winning entry or view the 2008 honorable mention submissions at www.nacs.org/foundation/recipients.asp.
Call for nominations for the next Innovation Achievement Award will begin in summer 2009 with the award and honorable mentions being presented at CAMEX 2010. For information on entering the 2010 Innovation Achievement Award program, contact Kristi Runser at (800) 622-7498, ext. 2206, e-mail krunser@nacs.org, or visit www.nacs.org/foundation/award.asp.
-Meredith Bruder/Kristi Runser
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