Barnes & Noble Lets Adults Color, Too

New York — While coloring is primarily associated with children, it is experiencing a groundswell of popularity among adults. It’s a trend that Barnes & Noble noticed firsthand through an increasing shopper appetite for coloring books and artists’ supplies.To capitalize on the trend and educate customers on the different coloring books and supplies available, Barnes & Noble brought its customers together on Nov. 14 for “The All-American Art Unwind,” an in-store, five-hour event at the chain’s 600-plus locations.“As we got into this, I’ve heard so many stories of people saying, ‘You know, I used to do this, but I would sneak it in my kid’s coloring book. I would take it when they were sleeping and color it myself because I like to do it,’” says Alex Perruzzi, vice president of gifts at Barnes & Noble. “It was almost like something they couldn’t really express out to the general public. So once someone told them that it was OK, it was like the floodgates opened.”The event included three main components: Create, Connect and Color. The Create component gave customers the opportunity to color a panel from a piece by artist Millie Marotta and submit it over social media for potential inclusion as part of a final nine-panel mosaic made up of submitted panels from across the country.Marotta, an independent illustrator who specializes in coloring books, appeared on the day of the event at Barnes & Noble’s Upper West Side and Upper East Side stores in New York City. While there, she signed books and spoke with kids and adults about her art and what inspires her. Her work, like that of many other artists in the new coloring movement, features intricate illustrations designed to be colored by adults and older children.The Connect component gave people the opportunity to win a year’s supply of Hallmark greeting cards by personalizing a Hallmark card using color and submitting it using the #BNColoringContest hashtag. Hallmark also sent artists to three Barnes & Noble stores – in Santa Monica, California; Brooklyn, New York; and Kansas City, Missouri – to share tips and techniques from their work on greeting cards that are relevant to the coloring trend.The Color component provided shoppers the opportunity to get a free taste of coloring in-store using free colorable art pieces from many popular coloring books. Attendees also had the chance to use seven different types of art supplies, including markers, pencils, glitter pens, neon pencils and other items. In-store signage provided a menu of these supplies and guidance on how to use them.“The spirit of the whole event was that we really just wanted customers to know about everything that was out there,” Perruzzi said. “It was really to get everything in front of them. There was a lot to choose from. And I think that the customers loved that.”BNArtUnwind.com, a dedicated promotional site, housed event information and displayed the final mosaic featuring customer art. Leading up to the event, Barnes & Noble promoted “The All-American Art Unwind” on its Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as through customer emails and media releases. In stores, the retailer used in-store signage and window banners.Barnes & Noble gauged the success of the event based on sales, social media impressions and customer reactions. The events were part of the retailer’s ongoing focus on in-store events that has continued to grow beyond book signings to include more interactive offerings. In November 2015 alone, these events included a three-day “Mini Maker Faire” for DIY technology enthusiasts and a “Vinyl Day” timed to coincide with the release of pop singer Adele’s new album. “We’ve been doing these kinds of more experiential national events for a few years,” Peruzzi said. “But they’ve been getting bigger, more exciting and more adventurous as we go along.”The retailer declined to name the vendors it worked with on “The All-American Art Unwind” program.

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