Advertising to the everyday bookworm

On inviting a friend out for a night on the town, I was recently surprised when she declined. “No,” she said. “I plan to do something sophisticated.”

As it happens, her sophisticated plan was to continue reading the novel she’d started, and which had gripped her since she first read the blurb on the back. The love of a good book is something that grips many of us, and the inability to put one down demonstrates the prowess of the author to write a gripping and enjoyable yarn.

There are so many places you can read a book. Thinking back to my youth, as an avid reader I would carry a paperback novel everywhere I went, it would never left my site. I was reading on buses, trains and boats, on holidays in hotels, tents and caravans, in the common-room at school and, in more recent times, in the car during my lunch breaks. As a marketer, you all know the power of words. But have you ever thought about how a person’s reading habit could make a unique advertising opportunity?

Before you all sigh at the impossibility of what I’m suggesting, let me explain. I’m *not* talking about product placement, or advertising within books or on the back of a paperback novel. Instead I’m talking about that most essential of tools without which no reader will ever be, something a reader will carry with them wherever they go – I’m talking about bookmarks.

Bookmarks are essential. How else do you know how far through the book you managed to get and where to resume reading after taking a break? I’ve used many things as a bookmark including leaflets, tatty bits of cardboard torn from boxes, even (clean!) tissues. If someone were to give me a luxurious leather bookmark then I would be delighted; it’s something I would aim to keep with me all of the time, something that is useful and has a purpose. And this is where your opportunity presents itself.

Rather than distribute expensive novelty corporate promotional gifts, something like a bookmark has a practical purpose and is likely to be looked after. Even if the owner were to lose the bookmarks, an eye catching leather bookmarks with a beautiful silk tassel would catch the eye of passersby. If that leather bookmark had a company logo on it, that would be something I would read and remember. What better promotional item could there be? Remember that long list of places I’ve read books? Each bookmark you give away could appear in all of these! Those boats, those trains, all of those public places... That’s where your logo would appear, held by that most ordinary of persons; the book worm.

It’s well known that promotional items are an excellent way of increasing brand awareness. But rather than relying on tacky and gimmicky items that hold little or no relevance to your audience, something like a bookmark would have mass appeal, would be useful, and would something they would want to hold on to.

So what do you need to do? Think carefully about the design and make sure you plan for your logo to be of sufficient size to be read clearly and easily. Next, find a supplier that will be able to produce your bookmarks of sufficient quality. This has to look good – if it looks tacky or has poor printing and legibility then it may not help your campaign. Once you’ve had your bookmarks designed and printed, simply give them away as a gift to clients and potential clients! When they pick up their book to read, the first thing they will see will be the book; the second will be the bookmark, with your name on it. They may see this every single day for months, imprinting your brand on their consciousness and furthering your brand awareness.