Why the UDT eBook Program Offers the Greatest Value

The Universal Digital Textbooks Program, developed by MBS Textbook Exchange, was the first to bring eBooks to the college bookstore. Recognizing that new online competition was mounting, MBS created the UDT Program to keep today's tech-savvy yet price-sensitive college student shopping in the bookstore.

What makes the UDT Program successful at bookstores throughout the country is a multi-faceted approach to serving both the needs of students and those of the bookstore.

Be Recognized as Adding Value for Students
Students are comparing your bookstore to your competition. With the UDT Program, you can be recognized as a store that understands student concerns related to time, money, and convenience, while remaining proactive at finding solutions. Implementing the UDT Program into your bookstore reflects a deep commitment to delivering a response to the high-cost-of-textbooks discussion while offering students an important choice for their learning environment. Bookstores throughout the country are offering eBooks as a way to attract students by catering to their need for convenient and cost-effective textbook options.

Success Story

Titan Shops Offers Cal State Fullerton Students Money-Saving eBooks

"The MBS Universal Digital Textbooks project gives our bookstore a competitive advantage over both traditional and online competitors. Where we might not always win pricing comparisons, we now have something new that the other guys don't offer. With eBooks, we have more tools to build on the traditional bookstore advantage, that of service and choice, reinforcing our position as the store where the students come first."

Omar Iftikhar, MIS Director

Titan Shops, Cal State Fullerton

Capitalizing on a Growing Market

Between Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 rushes, Titan Shops more than doubled their sell-thru rate on digital textbooks. By spring rush, eBooks accounted for over 4.5% of textbook sales where both the print and digital versions were available, up almost 3% from fall. Read how Titan capitalized on the growing demand for digital textbooks by launching an awareness campaign.

Driving Digital Textbook Sales
Best Practices from Titan Shops

  • Create a central eBooks marketing area using the kiosk concept. Within a high-traffic area, set up a computer running a full working demo of an eBook. Use the dedicated location to promote eBooks by using tools such as a screensaver displaying promotional images, as well as traditional banners and posters. Make your display bright and highly visible so you can really draw attention to eBooks.
  • Create a two-sided flier that is both attractive and informative. Devote one side to eBooks promotional material (an image of the card students should look for, the benefits, screenshots, etc.). On the other side, list all of the classes using eBooks and the digital titles available for each class. This gives students a quick look at which of their courses has eBooks available.
  • This is an exciting new product—advertise it! Because eBooks are new to college bookstores, students and faculty aren't familiar with them yet. To get the word out, run some ads in the student newspaper. Also, use email marketing to announce that your store carries eBooks. Information in email messages is easily shared by forwarding it, so there's a good chance that a single email will travel between multiple students.
  • eBooks cards are smaller than print textbooks; use bright shelf talkers to draw attention to the cards so they don't get lost. Small is great in terms of saving space in the stockroom and on the floor, but the downside is that small products can get lost amongst bigger items. To prevent a loss of visibility, use shelf talkers to mark wherever eBooks are available. At Titan, they used a large bright-orange shelf talker that got straight to the point by stating "BUY DIGITAL AND SAVE OFF THE NEW PRINT PRICE."
  • Embrace eBooks and integrate them into your general bookstore marketing approach. Talk about the eBooks option wherever and whenever educational materials are mentioned. The faster you make eBooks a part of your regular business, the easier it will be for students and faculty to understand all of their options and make informed choices.

From MBS,
the Nation's Largest Textbook Wholesaler.

Universal Digital Textbooks