The Campaign

Kobo’s creative concept – “Bookstore Therapy” – is to provide a diagnosis for consumers’ various worries, and to offer cures with the help of e-books, encouraging them to give Kobo a try. It presented four problems that our target audience is facing: 1. Economic panic disorder – which Kobo can help alleviate, as e-books are cheaper than print books. 2. Claustrophobia – e-books clearly do not occupy a lot of space. 3. Knowledge anxiety – e-books fulfill any need for additional knowledge, as they can be read anytime anywhere. 4. Private information being leaked – e-books provide privacy and keep consumer secrets safe.

Execution

Kobo Bookstore Therapy opened in mid-December of 2017. To better elaborate the creative concept and make an impression, we launched a series of videos. And to thoroughly touch base with the target audience, we invited the most-followed influencers by our target audience in the online community, mostly YouTubers, to play the comedic role of doctors. These “Bookstore Therapy” themed videos were released on YouTubers’ owned media, one after the other since Dec 12, 2018 to the end of the year. The content seamlessly matched the 4 different YouTuber’s respective styles of videos, reducing consumers’ rejection of embedded advertisements. They were so entertaining and informative that they successfully triggered curiosity and tangibly delivered the e-book’s unique selling points. The clinical yet humorous style of presentation by the YouTubers inspired viewers to engage with the video, changed their perception of e-books as more fun, and encouraged these consumers to try Kobo e-books.

The videos have accumulated over 3 million views and 102,000 social media interactions, leading to a robust 20% organic search growth in January and continuing into Q2 2018. The campaign drew nearly 200,000 people to visit Kobo’s website, convincing 15,562 people to try Kobo for the first time – an additional 2% of total e-book users on top of the pre-existing 2%. It also achieved 160% year-over-year revenue growth. Moreover, benefiting from the YouTubers’ influence, their participation in press conferences resulted in 67 news reports, with a PR value of NT$21,900,000, successfully making the Kobo brand a hot topic.

The Situation

To thoroughly touch base with the target audience, we invited the most-followed influencers by our target audience in the online community, mostly YouTubers, to play an important role in the work. Benefiting from the YouTubers’ influence, their social impact and participation in the work press conferences resulted in 67 news reports, with a PR value of NT$21,900,000, successfully making the Kobo brand a hot topic.

The Strategy

In the age of the internet, everyone is experiencing rapid changes. Taiwanese people feel an additional sense of anxiety. This can be attributed to low wages, crowded spaces, the challenge of keeping up with trends, and data leakage. But even so, the internet is filled with abundant content. People constantly have their heads down staring at their phones. They are active on social media, and typically follow a number of opinion leaders to make sure they know important news first-hand, although this doesn’t help to reduce their anxiety. Taking note of consumers’ anxiety, and their habit of heading to the internet for answers, Kobo’s creative concept – “Bookstore Therapy” – was born. The concept is to provide a diagnosis for consumers’ various worries, and to offer cures with the help of e-books, encouraging them to give Kobo a try.