Name-Dropped Products and Souvenirs

Name-Dropped Souvenirs (From page 78) grand opening. “The grand opening is an extra special time for us, as it is also the 10-year anniversary of the refuge itself. We’re really looking forward to these events. We have been in a hurry up and wait for so long, and now we are so excited to finally be able to plan things.”

Selecting which items to namedrop is still a work in progress for Dix. “Because we are still in the process of building out our nature store, we are certainly looking for more things in alignment to our mission and values. Sustainable materials are important to us and carrying items that are locally made or at least made in the United States. Along with our name-dropped items, we also carry other merchandise including books, jewelry, pens, and the like that aren’t name dropped,” she said. “I think we choose what items to name-drop based in part on the room available for a logo and name, like our glassware, T-shirts, and hats provide.”

At the Tucson branch of the Western National Parks Association National Parks Store, Manager Kris Luecker said originality helps to boost sales of the name-dropped souvenirs and gifts that the store carries. “What does best for us are apparel items, and cards and stationery. I think they do well for us because the artwork and design we use are unique, and they are very much in keeping with the Tucson and Southwest theme of our organization. They’re great items for locals who want a piece of the southwest, and for tourists to take home, as well.”

In store display is key to sell these items. “We keep all our name-dropped items in one place, but within the appropriate area of the store. So, our namedropped T-shirts are in the apparel area of the store, and stationery is in housewares. Keeping things together and in the right area of the store is important to sell more,” Leuker attested.

Debbie Ketel Speas , COO at the Mount Rushmore Society in Rapid City, S.D., explained that the supportive society has three stores. “We have locations at the Mt. Rushmore Memorial, downtown Rapid City, and at the airport. We have somewhat different restrictions in what we sell at the park store, and specifically sell namedropped postcards with our logo and website on them, and a Cloisonné hat tack/pin.” The society also does well with passport stickers for the National Park Passport book. Despite the small size of the hat tack, the society can include their logo, website, and mission.

“Both the postcards and the hat tacks are very popular. The hat tack sells very well for us both because it is a unique item in design, and because it is also a collector’s item. Many people collect pins like this,” Speas said. As to the passport stickers, Speas reported,

When Name-Dropped Souvenirs Don’t Sell

When name-dropped souvenirs are not selling well at public lands partner stores, what do shops do with this merchandise?

At Yellowstone Forever, the official non-profit partner of Yellowstone National Park, located in Bozeman, Mont., Product Manager Deborah Collins said, “We try to put them on sale, reduce the price, and then if we still have them, we reduce the price again, until they are gone.”

At Friends of Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge in Albuquerque, N.M., Executive Director Katie Dix noted that the answer is yet to be determined in the organization’s new brick and mortar store, but the plan is “to likely both reduce pricing to see if that helps the items to sell, and to see if they are appropriate items to use as gifts for our volunteers.”

At the Tucson branch of the Western National Parks Association National Parks Store, Manager

Kris Luecker said she hasn’t experienced any name-dropped items selling poorly, “at least not in the time I have been here.” She agreed that reducing price should this occur, could be an option.

Debbie Ketel Speas, COO at the Mount Rushmore Society in Rapid City, S.D., explained, “What we offer sells well. If something didn’t sell well, then it’s simply that the director of retail wouldn’t reorder it.” ❖

“They are also a collector’s item. We have all the information about us on the stickers, as well.” The society additionally does well with, but does not place the organizations name-drop on, round and square coins. These coins do have the name of Mount Rushmore on them, however, Speas asserted.

Selling more name-dropped souvenirs are based on both display and media. “I send out email blasts; for example, just today I blasted that the hat tacks were back in stock. We also promote them on our website.” However, she added that “Mostly people buy them in the moment at the park, and the most successful sales are due to displaying them together, and close to the register where they can be seen.”

Choosing which items to name-drop is primarily about tradition. “We’ve had the hat tacks since I started 20 years ago, and they’ve always been popular, and remain that way.”

At the Big Sur Natural History Association in Big Sur, Calif., Bookkeeper Jaci Pappas said for the present, the association only sells name-dropped maps and firewood. “But we are working on getting a pressedcoin machine with name-dropped coins. We are aware that this could be a money maker, but we haven’t decided as to our design yet.” She said the last few years have been devoted to setting up the association’s visitor center. “There’s a lodge with a gift shop in the park, so people tend to go there for souvenirs.”

She said there’s a need for some name-dropped merchandise, however. “Our maps include the name of the association, and they show the hiking trails and amenities in each of the three parks. Selling them and the firewood is how we make money, and how we were able to rehabilitate our nature center and purchase electronic equipment for films and Power Point presentations.” But any name-dropped merchandise the association plans to carry will need a compact footprint. “Our visitors center is only approximately 600feet,” Pappas said.

All in all, when public lands partner stores offer name-dropped merchandise, it sells well, appealing to both visitors’ interest in souvenir and gift items, and supporting the organization as well. ❖