Second Place Grow with Shojo Display Contest winner All About Comics fielded an extensive display of products that include shojo titles as well as the kind of shonen titles (Ranma, Inu-Yasha, Shadow Lady, etc.) that also appeal to shojo fans; but the strength of their presentation was especially evident in their integration and use of video, both in merchandise displays and as outreach by playing key shojo titles in store to get more fans interested in these exciting properties. Here is their description of their store, the display, and the effects.
The Store
All About Books and Comics has been serving the comic book industry since 1972. Winners of numerous local 'Best of Phoenix' awards, AABC has also been recognized nationally as the winner of Capital City Distribution's Master Retailer Contest, as well as being a 3-time recipient of a Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award. Our formula for success is simple -- we love this industry! We are not content to just put out the open sign and wait for the customers. As our entry in this contest illustrates, we have the desire, effort, and drive, to be successful in today's market.
The Display
Our display started with knowledge. Utilizing information from sites such as ICV2.com, darkhorse.com, viz.com and tokyopop.com we were able to pinpoint the products we felt would excite our existing customers and bring new customers into our store. In order to build a dynamic display we took advantage of the free p.op. items offered for this promotion. Next step -- educate our customers about this exciting genre. We set up a TV in our store, showing many of the best Pioneer shojo videos and DVDs. We also created a lending library, enabling our customers to borrow select videos and TPB's for free.
The Results
While the impulse buying our shojo display created can't be denied, it was our customer education that we feel provided the best results. Showing videos in the store introduced our customers to the wonderful characters in series such as Fushugi Yugi, Sailor Moon, and Ceres Celestial Legend. Sales of our videos and DVDs immediately spiked as a result. Many of our customers also sought out the adventures of these characters and more in publications such as Anime Extra. Virtually every customer who borrowed a video or TPB from our lending library ended up purchasing a related product in our store.
For an overview of the contest winners, along with links to the other winners, to the lists of prizes, and to articles on the promotion and on successfully merchandising shojo, click here. 
