Sunday, June 22, 2008

book promotion story 4: Summer reading at Six Flags

When you think "amusement park," you probably next think "books."

Some Six Flags locations feature Superman-themed rides. I approached the company in the winter to see if we could somehow promote Boys of Steel there. They were open to considering it, particularly for the parks with the Superman attractions. I pitched ideas, trying to focus on promotions that would not be labor-intensive for them. My favorite was what you might call super hide and seek:

Before opening, the park would "hide," say, fifteen small durable placards of the Boys of Steel cover throughout the park. These would be affixed to places that can be easily
—but not too easilyseen, such as on the side of a garbage can, a fence or wall that encloses a ride, even on a bathroom door.

Upon entering, kids would be offered the chance to play a hide and seek game for a chance to win a signed copy of the book. They'd be given a small card listing possible locations for the placards
—but the list would contain, say, three times more locations than placards, so some would be red herrings.

Any child who, upon leaving, turns in a list on which he's circled only the locations of the fifteen placards receives a signed book. It is not a scavenger hunt and is not a race
—an important factor to parks since running can lead to injury. No matter what time a child leaves, so long as he turns in a correctly completed list, he's a winner.

I saw this as win-win: it encourages patrons to explore the entire park and it exposes my book to a key part of my audience in a memorable way.

No matter. Six Flags said no.

6/30/08 addendum: Could this be why?

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