THE BRIEF
As part of its annual retainer work, Midas was appointed by Bookshop.org to run a wide-reaching PR campaign for the launch of Bookloop, a brand new book recycling scheme allowing customers to swap pre-loved books for credit to use on the website. The aim was to provide an effective consumer PR campaign, to launch the new service with a bang, and ultimately drive new users to Bookloop.
THE WORK
Midas ran a PR campaign for Bookloop, introducing the scheme to trade, national, and consumer audiences. After months of consultation with its new partner Zeercle, Bookshop.org was ready to launch Bookloop on 28th August 2024.
As part of Bookshop.org’s win-win ethos, not only could readers now swap old books for fresh credit to spend on new ones (to be bought on Bookshop.org, where the majority of profit goes to indie bookshops), but authors would also benefit, by earning a percentage of second hand book sales through an arrangement with the Society of Authors and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
Firstly, the Midas team familiarised itself with the concept of the new service, gaining all the details from Bookshop.org and working on a detailed press release to present the new service to media, as well as lines against enquiry to use in case of any journalist questions. We also prepared a press release template for individual bookshops, who could use it to generate their own coverage in their local media.
For the launch of Bookloop, we devised a comprehensive media strategy, comprising a number of different media strands: book trade, national newspapers, arts & culture broadcast (radio and TV), business and retail media, consumer lifestyle (women’s, current affairs, sustainability, tech), and beyond.
We exploited a wide range of angles in our pitches, positioning Bookloop as the ‘Depop for books’, a new resource to de-clutter your home in exchange for book credit, and a new way for independent bookshops to step into the online circular economy. Capitalising on the royalties to be earned by authors, we pitched to writing media including podcasts, as well as presenting Bookloop as the latest, innovative initiative by tech start-up and B Corp Bookshop.org.
We pitched the news under embargo in good time, to ensure the news was on the media’s radar prior to launch, and we facilitated interviews with spokespeople Nicole Vanderbilt (MD of Bookshop.org), Mark Thornton (Senior Partnership Manager) and Fleur Sinclair (BA President and Bookshop.org Board Member). Across all opportunities, we were especially careful in the messaging we shared with journalists, and remained on hand to answer a number of clarificatory questions about the nature of the scheme.
THE RESULTS
Our campaign for Bookloop generated a total of 41 pieces of coverage, with highlights including The Guardian, The Independent, Yahoo! News, MSN, BBC Radio 4 Open Book, Monocle Radio and The Vaizey View.In terms of consumer lifestyle, Bookloop was covered by Stylist, Harper’s Bazaar, Country and Town House, Pick Me Up!, with pieces both online and in print.
We had strong coverage in the book trade, with articles and mentions in The Bookseller, BookBrunch, Book Riot, Publishers’ Lunch, Publishers Weekly, Shelf Awareness, Book Browse, Poets & Writers, Society of Authors, Giornale della Libreria, ALLi Blog, Shots Magazine and more.
Positive News, The Ecologist, The Earthbound Report, Green Retail World, Retail Innovation Hub, Market Research Telecast, The Good Web Guide, The Know Media also covered the initiative with news articles, both online and in print.
This campaign was led by Anna Zanetti and Emily Laidlaw