Title	#UNLIBROEUNLIBRO
Brand	AIE - ASSOCIAZIONE ITALIANA EDITORI
Product/Service	TRADE ASSOCIATION FOR ITALIAN PUBLISHERS
Category	C02. Use of Social in a PR campaign
Entrant Company	DOING Rome, ITALY
Advertising Agency	DOING Rome, ITALY

Name	Company	Position
Domenico Manno	Doing	Executive Creative Director
Matteo Righi	Doing	Creative Director
Fabio Montalbetti	Doing	Copywriter
Marco Tironi	Doing	Art Director
Marco Saracino	Doing	Strategic Planner
Barbara Boasso	Doing	Senior Content/Community Manager Coordinator
Sabrina Chetta	Doing	Content/Community Manager
Claudia Consoli	Doing	Content/Community Manager
Manuela Esposito	Doing	Account Manager
Francesca Vigliani	Doing	Account Manager
Vanessa Carmicino	Doing	Digital Pr
Luca Di Marco	Doing	Digital Pr
Fabrizio Giovati	Doing	Production Manager
Valentino Tombesi	Doing	Front End Developer
Lorenzo Colarieti	Doing	Developer
Lucia Ceriani	Doing	Videomaker
Francesco Grandazzi	Doing	Graphic Designer

The Campaign

The AIE (Italian Publishers Association) wanted to highlight a difference in taxation for books published in digital form: a paper book is taxed at 4%, while an ebook at 22%. Through a PR campaign focused on social networks, we were able to increase awareness regarding the problem, but also to stimulate the participation of influencers and ultimately, across the nation. We started from insight: a book is a book, regardless of its form of publishing. That is why it is not right to pay more depending on the format. An insight so loud and clear that it became the campaign’s concept. We then asked people to take a stand, not just by liking a page, but showing their faces and their thumbs down (unlike) , because the 22% VAT on ebooks is something we just don’t like. Initially we involved Italian writers and used the client’s various social channels to get the message to all literature fans in Italy. We collected all contributions, famous or not, on a dedicated website. These contributions varied from personal contributions to retweets and reposts of those from celebrities. The campaign is a successful example for the PR category, because we have raised public awareness and engaged and pushed people to do something, and managed to get spontaneous visibility, not only on social networks, but also in print and TV. Finally, and most important of all, we were able to change the law.

The Brief

The goal was to direct public attention to the unequal tax treatment between paper book and a digital one. The search for bloggers and influencers was critical, in order to create a compact and immediate movement that could capture the media’s attention.

Execution

We started off by creating a base: a dedicated website, a Facebook page and a hashtag; where we published the editorial plan. Initially we involved Italian writers and used the customer’s various social channels, or the ones of main Italian publishers, to get the message to all the fans of literature. We then simultaneously contacted and sensitized our network of bloggers and influencers, asking for their help in pushing the operation. After the first day we had 8,200 conversations related to # unlibroéunlibro and it stayed as a “trending topic” for 3 hours. In the next day we activated a promoted post campaign on Facebook and twitter for maximum growth. This is when the media began to cover the news, first through social networks (Twitter), then through articles (Wired) and finally on TV (Che tempo che fa’).

Output/Awareness At the end of the communication campaign the government changed the law, equating the VAT of eBooks to that of paper books. Action/Business Impact On Twitter: 104,300,00 impressions, 31,900 Tweets, 10,600 users that used the hashtag On TV: 11 mentions during national news broadcasts, 1 interview to Dario Franceschini on “Che tempo che fa” (prime time Saturday TV show) On newspapers Over 100 mentions and dedicated articles

The Strategy

With the right cause and people with genuine passions behind it, these people can become your best medium. That is why we created a website and a viral mechanism, that based on Facebook and Twitter in getting the message across. The strategy was to give a voice to the people, utilizing the most important Italian influencers (writers, directors and actors) as an amplifier for the message, thus making the people the strategically most efficient medium to reach our goal. We staked everything on insights: A book is a book, regardless of its form of publishing, that is why it’s not fair to pay more for one or the other format. This insight was so strong and clear that it became the campaign’s concept.