The Brief

The Japanese publishing industry was always worried. Bookstore was no longer a place where “people encountered books”. For most people, bookstores have become somewhere they purchase books they found online. It was important for us to create an innovative in-store presentation where people willingly picked up books they have never heard of.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We developed an in-store presentation system called “Social Bookmark”. Key items were “bookmarks” and bookmarked review by the readers submitted online. These reviews became “bookmarks” which one by one were placed in the in-store POP, becoming a part of a system created in sync with social media.

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

The impact of “Social Bookmark” led to an increase of 250% in numbers of people actually picking books up in bookstores. People were sifting through the pages, enjoying the bookmarked pages. This type of presentation was the first of its kind in the publishing industry, stirring up quite a buzz, bringing back the much awaited vigor in bookstores all over Japan.

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

Nowadays, people find books online, instead of in actual bookstores. Bookstores feel threatened and are filled with sense of crisis for their survival. By feeding back the numerous reviews left by readers online to bookstores via the Social Bookmark system, we were able to maximize the appeal of the actual bookstores.