“School yearbooks not only chronicle educational achievement and school tradition but are a part of them.” -President Ronald Reagan, Sept. 17, 1987
It's been more than 30 years since President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first-ever National School Yearbook Week. Reagan recognized the importance of yearbooks “to commemorate the accomplishments of the school year and to compose a lasting record, written and pictorial, of campus, classmates, teachers, and school staff.” He also recognized the long-lasting historical and personal benefits.
“In later years, alumni treasure their yearbooks for the memories they hold of times gone by and friends of long ago. The students who compile yearbooks likewise treasure all that the experience can teach them about teamwork and about writing, the graphic arts, and business skills. The practical cooperation and specialization that students learn in yearbook production stand them in good stead when they enter college or pursue other opportunities.”
This honorary week, the first full week in October, is dedicated to the role yearbooks play in America. It’s a great time to celebrate our emotional connection to yearbooks—both past and present—and what yearbooks mean to students, schools and alumni. Here are a few ways to celebrate with your staff and promote the yearbook, Oct. 6-12.
Go Big
Get creative with your marketing plan. You have an entire week to offer promotions and boost sales. Consider having a special sale just for National Yearbook Week, featuring a special price, giveaways or free items with purchase (like nameplates, icons or autograph pages).
Think about creating marketing signs that connect to your yearbook, like Harrisonburg High School did last year with their “Think Big” theme. They painted giant vertical signs in bright colors to hang in the hallways and draw attention to yearbook sales. Or go even bigger with a splashier marketing campaign like Northern Highlands Regional High School did for their 2018 book. They brought in a ball pit, photographed students diving in and used the images on the cover and inside of the book.
Honor the past
Feature old yearbooks in social media posts to showcase the historical importance of yearbooks. Highlight unusual covers, fun themes and significant moments in school history. Showcase traditions that define your school and resonate with current students. Consider getting your faculty involved. Last fall, Foster High School gave the first yearbook to every faculty member who was part of the staff the inaugural year.
Throwback Thursday
Did your principal, school nurse, yearbook adviser or other faculty member graduate from your high school? Show us their picture in an old yearbook, alongside their current photo. Use it on sales posters or social media posts, like Whitehouse Junior High School did with their promotional material. Also, consider creating a short video with alumni talking about their high school years and the importance of yearbook. Showcase images of the covers, school portraits and candid yearbook photos.
So, let’s #celebrateyearbook! Get creative and let your imagination fly. Have fun with it! Share anything that captures the yearbook’s place in your community: your yearbook staff space, staff antics or fun, unusual sales campaigns or promotions—anything that shows what being a part of the yearbook staff means to you.
Tag your social media posts with #celebrateyearbook so we can celebrate with you.
