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| National Yearbook Program of Excellence DECEMBER 2012
NATIONAL YEARBOOK
PROGRAM OF EXCELLENCE
Your staff has accomplished a lot
since the beginning of the school
year. Now is a great time to see
how you are tracking toward the
National Yearbook Program of
Excellence designation. Check
out the Excellence tab on the
home page of Yearbook Avenue
to view your progress in each of
the three categories.
As you continue to work toward
your goals, your Jostens team
is here to help and cheer you
on, every step of the way.
We understand that a great
yearbook program doesn’t just
happen, and we are dedicated
to helping you continually
strengthen yours by providing
the tools and personal guidance
to help you succeed. When that
happens, we will have the honor
of recognizing you and your staff
as a National Yearbook Program
of Excellence.
Review the Excellence criteria.
Page 7
A meaningful book for all students
Meeting your coverage goals requires focus and creativity.
Find out what one winning staff did to shine the spotlight
on students throughout the school.
Pages 2–3
A book in every student’s hands
Now is the time to let students and parents know that
time is running out to reserve their copy of the yearbook.
We’ve got ideas that will get the word out. Plan your
winter campaign now!
Page 4-5
Effective project management
Meeting page deadlines can be a challenge. One
Excellence award winning staff shares their secrets for
getting the job done.
Page 6
FEB
FALL
delivery
schools
Submit your
cover and
endsheets to the
printing plant by
Feb. 15.
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| National Yearbook Program of Excellence A MEANINGFUL BOOK
Use the Coverage Report
on Yearbook Avenue
to track who is in the
book and who’s not.
Not familiar with how
it works? Check out the
Coverage Report video in
the Page Creation section
of the Digital Classroom
video library.
If you are using InDesign
to create your pages, use
the Coverage Report on
the YearTech toolbar to
get this information.
surveys
Make your yearbook
more inclusive
“All About Me” feature expands
student coverage
“Probably the statistic that I am most proud of from last year’s book was that
we were able to get 93 percent of our student body into the book at least
three times. This is the accomplishment that means the most to me because
it proves that this is a memory book about and for all of the students and
not just a certain clique or group of students. I want the yearbook to be a
keepsake that everyone will want and treasure. I believe the 93 percent proves
this sentiment to be true,” said Jamie Manhart, yearbook adviser at Silver
Lake High School [KS].
An inclusive yearbook features as many students as possible and tells stories
that are relevant and interesting to the reader. The Silver Lake staff, a 2012
National Yearbook Program of Excellence winner, came up with a creative
design concept they were able to carry throughout the book to add interest
and personality to their student coverage.
“We chose the ‘All About Me’ concept to not only include students who may
not be in a lot of activities, clubs or sports, but to allow readers to get to know
those students better. We had them write their answers and then we scanned
in their paper to add a more personal flair and to jazz up the aesthetic look of
the page,” Manhart said.
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| National Yearbook Program of Excellence A MEANINGFUL BOOK
quotes
Make your yearbook
more inclusive
The staff also used student quotes and personality profiles throughout the
book for additional coverage. The Jostens Coverage Report on Yearbook
Avenue helped them stay on track with their goals.
“Honestly, as the book developed, we monitored the coverage report daily.
If someone started to be in the yearbook a lot, we pulled them from the ‘All
About Me’ section and chose someone else. It was all about the coverage
report!” Manhart said.
A credit to all their
creativity and
hard work, the
2011– 2012 Sliver
Lake High School
yearbook staff was
among the firstyear
winners of the
National Yearbook
Program of
Excellence award.
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| National Yearbook Program of Excellence A BOOK in every Student’s hands
Looking for fresh new
ideas to promote your
book? Take a look at the
“Promoting and Selling
the Yearbook” video in
the Digital Classroom.
You’ll find it in the Sales
and Promotion section
of the video library.
Yearbook sales
and promotion
Winter campaign checklist
Use the Winter campaign to create excitement and anticipation. Show
previews of the book and let students know they are in it. Get them involved
by asking them to submit photos using ReplayIt. This is also the time to let
students and parents know that time is running out. This is their last chance
to reserve their copy of the yearbook.
Pre-sale planning activities
❑ Set up selling locations and times for in-school sales.
❑ Make sure you have plenty of order forms and/receipt pads.
❑ Run the Coverage Report in Yearbook Avenue. Highlight students
who are in the book, but have not yet purchased.
❑ Check out all the great resources available in the Sell It section of the Digital
Classroom on Yearbook Avenue to help you promote and sell the book.
Create buzz in school
❑ Display Yearbook Kit posters or create your own.
❑ Display “Share the Book” poster and attach printouts of yearbook pages.
❑ Display window clings on windows and doors.
❑ Use the new Share feature on Yearbook Avenue to share select pages
on Facebook or through email.
❑ Create daily announcements – make them fun to generate interest,
but be sure to let students know how to buy.
❑ Use locker stuffers to remind students to buy.
❑ Create “You’re in the Book” cards and send to non-buyers that appear on
the coverage report.
❑ Put an ad in the school newspaper.
Additional ideas
– Create a yearbook Facebook page to share news about the book. Ask
each staff member to send friend requests to 25 students.
– Create a staff yearbook commercial and post it on YouTube. Put the link
on your yearbook Facebook page.
– Ask each staff member to text 20 friends reminding them to buy a book.
– Use sidewalk chalk around the school to promote the sale.
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| National Yearbook Program of Excellence A BOOK in every Student’s hands
Display the promotional
materials included in
your Yearbook Kit.
Poster
Window clings
Banner
Yearbook sales
and promotion
Create buzz at home
❑ Send a message home to parents by mailing a postcard or adding a
letter or postcard to a parent mailing being sent from the school.
❑ Send parents an email reminder using one of the email templates
available on Yearbook Avenue. Go to the Digital Classroom/Sell It/
Yearbook to get started. It is quick and easy!
❑ Put a banner ad on the school website for parents to see. You’ll find
several banner designs and complete instructions on Yearbook Avenue
in the Sell It section of the Digital Classroom.
❑ Communicate the sale using the school’s phone messaging or
email system.
❑ Put a “Yearbooks on Sale” message on the school marquee.
❑ Distribute flyers to parents at school events (programs, sporting
events, parent meetings, etc.).
❑ Place yard signs on front of the school promoting the sale.
Wrap up
❑ Enter sales into Yearbook Avenue.
❑ Update Sales Goal poster.
❑ Celebrate your success!
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| National Yearbook Program of Excellence Effective Project Management
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When it comes to
tracking deadline
performance, book
sales or ad campaigns,
look no further than
your Yearbook Kit to
find posters that keep
your goals and progress
visible to the entire staff.
• Wall ladder
• Book Sales tracking poster
• Ad Sales tracking poster
Managing all of the details of a
large book was challenging, but the
2011-2012 Cabot High School staff
succeeded and was awarded with
the National Yearbook Program of
Excellence designation.
The keys to deadline
performance
Careful planning and organization
Nov. 26 was an important day for the Cabot High School yearbook staff.
That was when their first deadline of 80 pages was due at the plant. The
staff not only met their deadline more than a week early, but exceeded it by
submitting another 41 pages toward their second deadline. Adviser Michelle
Young said the key to her staff’s success is carefully planning the pages that
can be completed for each deadline.
Deadline planning is a best practice shared by many staffs. Portrait pages,
ad pages and pages featuring events that take place early in the school year
are often targeted for first and second deadlines.
“The first pages we submit are our Senior Spotlight pages. This year we
had a record number purchased for the yearbook, and we gave ourselves
and our customers an early September deadline which allowed us to get
the pages put together in plenty of time to reach our Jostens deadline,”
Young said. She credits her highly motivated staff and helpful Jostens
representative, Natasha Durham, with keeping the yearbook on track.
Cabot High School was a 2012 winner of the Jostens National Yearbook
Program of Excellence by meeting the criteria for coverage, sales and
deadline performance. They are working to claim the title for a second year
this spring.
Young said the school has a strong
yearbook tradition and her staff is
always looking for ways to make
the book even more meaningful
to students. Some of this year’s
goals include covering more events
and building awareness of ReplayIt
in order to get more student
involvement.
The Cabot staff is led by five student
editors who help Young keep the
entire staff organized while creating
their 424 page book. For this
hardworking staff, tracking page
progress, deadlines, book and ad
sales are all in a day’s work.
The 2012-2013 Cabot staff works
together to make sure their page
deadlines are met.

| National Yearbook Program of Excellence Criteria
The criteria for the National Yearbook Program of
Excellence are broken down into three categories.
We want to help you create an inclusive book, generate school community engagement and
manage your program. The National Yearbook Program of Excellence designation is an honor
that recognizes yearbook programs for achieving the criteria in each of the three categories.
A Meaningful Book for All Students
A book that is meaningful to all students is a book that features a vast majority of the students. The yearbook is
the story of the year and each student is part of that story. The more a student is included in the yearbook, the
more relevant and meaningful it is. The criteria for achieving this category are:
• At least 50 percent of your student body is pictured in your yearbook three times or more.
You can utilize our Coverage Reports in Yearbook Avenue to easily track how many times each student is
pictured in your yearbook.
• Set your Distribution Event date and location by Dec. 1.
Celebrate your hard work and great book with a distribution event! It gives the students a chance to share
stories and signatures that make the yearbook an even more meaningful keepsake. You don’t need to have all
the details planned out by Dec. 1—just the date and location. Then use the distribution tools in your Yearbook
Kit (and your Jostens representative) to help you plan the details before the event.
A Book in Every Student’s Hands
You put so much effort, time and care into your school’s yearbook. We want to help ensure that as many
students as possible get to enjoy the masterpiece you have created. The criteria for achieving this category are:
• 70 percent of your student body purchases a yearbook OR a 5 percent increase in the percentage of
students buying a book this year compared to last year.
The status reports on your Yearbook Avenue home page as well as reports found under the Sell menu will
help you keep track of your progress.
• Reach home to parents at least three times with ordering information (how, when, where and why to buy).
Use one of the Jostens selling programs (Jostens Direct Solutions or Yearbook Home Direct) to automatically
qualify. If you like to handle your own sales campaigns, we can help with the selling tools we’ve provided in
your Yearbook Kit and on Yearbook Avenue.
Effective Project Management
Meeting your yearbook deadlines is a very important part of the yearbook creation process and results in your
yearbooks delivering on time and exactly as you want them. The criteria for achieving this category are:
• Have your cover and endsheets submitted by Nov. 1 for spring-delivery schools
and Feb. 15 for fall-delivery schools.
Work with your Jostens representative and plant consultant to ensure you meet these deadlines and have
cover and endsheet designs you love!
• Meet all of your scheduled page deadlines.
Work with your Jostens representative and plant consultant to create a fabulous book and ensure you
submit your pages by your established deadlines.
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