Books Are My Bag

“Books Are My Bag”, an exciting English initiative which will be unveiled at the LBF this week celebrates bookshops. Set to launch in September, the trade-wide promotion is backed by both the Booksellers Association and the Publishers Association. The campaign has been created by strategy firm M & C Saatchi, with the slogan featuring on cloth bags which will be available in both chains and independent bookshops.

Celebrities will be pictured with the bag to “crystallise and strengthen the link between a passion for books and bookshops”. The campaign will be rolled out on Saturday 14th September, and has already won the backing of Waterstones, W H Smith, Eason and Foyles, as well as publishers including Hachette, Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Random House.

The campaign has been created by strategy firm M & C Saatchi, who aim to stamp out the “poor me” attitude that asks for some kind of charitable support for bookshops. Instead the promotion will focus on the competitive advantage bookshops have at their heart, with the “brand truth” that readers have a passion for books, and bookshops do more to let them enjoy that passion.

Celebrities will be used to drive publicity for the campaign, reports the Bookseller, with all authors attending LBF to be photographed with a bag. “The bag will create the buzz,” said Rebuck, with an element of “stylish rarity”. James Lowther, founding partner and creative head at M & C Saatchi, added that the bag would express the message: “I use bookshops because I value them. And I want it to stay that way.”

An initial run of bags will be provided to booksellers free of charge, funded by the trade, with new bags supplied at a cost. Bookshops can choose to have their own logo or name printed on them to localise the campaign.

Visit the website www.booksaremybag.com, the campaign will continue to run beyond Christmas if bookshops wish to carry on. Neale, Rebuck and Lord Saatchi will all give presentations at the trade launch at LBF on 16th April.