RECEIPT STORIES

TitleRECEIPT STORIES
BrandBOOKXCESS
Product / ServiceBOOKS & PUBLICATIONS
CategoryA02. Best Use of Merchandising/In-store Marketing
EntrantMcCANN ERICKSON Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Entrant Company:McCANN ERICKSON Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Sales Promotion/Advertising Agency:McCANN ERICKSON Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Ean-Hwa Huang McCann Erickson (M) Sdn Bhd Deputy Chairman/ECD
Szu-Hung Lee McCann Erickson (M) Sdn Bhd Deputy Chairman/ECD
Douglas Goh McCann Erickson (M) Sdn Bhd Art Director
Bee-Nee Ng McCann Erickson (M) Sdn Bhd Copywriter
Szu-Hung Lee McCann Erickson (M) Sdn Bhd Copywriter

The Brief

Fact: The cost of English books in Malaysia has risen by more than 30% in the past 10 years. Fact: The average Malaysian reads only two books a year. The client: Independent bookstore BookXcess’s mission is to encourage reading amongst Malaysians by making books more affordable. They do this by selling “remainder books” or excess print books at an average of more than 40% off recommended retail pricing. The campaign objective: Being an independent bookstore without the big budgets of larger bookstore chains, BookXcess needed a cost-effective way to communicate their mission beyond just the store’s space.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We decided to turn the store’s receipts into literary media spaces – by publishing one hundred-word short stories written by the public, giving anyone a chance to be a published author. Being a low budget campaign, Receipt Stories didn’t have very much to spend on media. So beyond in-store materials (including store receipts), and a print ad in a local magazine, a majority of communications were done effectively via word-of-mouth and online social media networking. We let the idea do the talking, and encouraged our fans to spread word of the campaign through their personal social media networks.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Story contributions poured in. Fans spread word of Receipt Stories through facebook, twitter and blogsites. - 500 registered users in the first month, 100 new users per week - 100 new stories submitted per week - > 1,000 Receipt Stories collected as of May 2011 - > 300,000 Receipt Stories printed as of June 2011 Receipt stories and BookXcess, received national media coverage. Subsequently, store sales increased month-on-month by: - 30% increase in October 2010 - 3% increase in November 2010 - 60% increase in December 2010 2011 sales indicate an increase of >20% when compared to 2010.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

To encourage reading and writing amongst all Malaysians, BookXcess needed to find a channel to make reading relevant to both people within its store space, and to those who were not. By creating literary media spaces on receipts, store customers would get a free story with every purchase. Through a dedicated receiptstories.my website, anyone with internet access would be able to submit stories and read free stories. Publishing these stories on receipts would transform the digital word into print, creating a self-generating virtuous cycle of reading by writing.