THE IMPOSSIBLE SIGNING SESSIONS
Title | THE IMPOSSIBLE SIGNING SESSIONS |
Brand | BOL.COM |
Product/Service | ONLINE BOOKSTORE |
Category |
B08. Use of Events |
Entrant
|
DDB BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
|
Idea Creation
|
DDB BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
|
Media Placement
|
MEC BELGIUM Brussels, BELGIUM
|
PR
|
LEWIS Antwerp, BELGIUM
|
Production
|
DDB BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
|
Production 2
|
BEYOND.IO Antwerp, BELGIUM
|
Credits
Tom Meijer |
DDB Brussels |
Art Director |
Silke Beurms |
DDB Brussels |
Copywriter |
Peter Ampe |
DDB Brussels |
Creative Director |
Odin Saille |
DDB Brussels |
Creative Director |
Romy Vierhouten |
DDB Brussels |
Account Executive |
Francis Lippens |
DDB Brussels |
Business Director |
Jorian Vanvossel |
DDB Brussels |
Strategic Planner |
Sven Verfaille |
DDB Brussels |
Designer |
Wietse De Ridder |
DDB Brussels |
Designer |
Danny Vissers |
DDB Brussels |
Concept provider |
Benjamin Hiffe |
DDB |
DTP |
Anner Tiete |
Beyond.io |
Developer |
Kevin Verelst |
Beyond.io |
Developer |
Elke Eriksson |
LEWIS |
Account Manager |
Frederic Van de Meulebroucke |
LEWIS |
Account Executive |
Morgane Lannoy |
Mec Global |
Communication Adviser |
The Campaign
A book signing session always has something magical, as one stroke of the pen makes your copy a unique one. But what if the author of your favorite work has already passed away? With the importance of book signings in mind, we decided to link the innovative character of the bol.com to a tribute for Paul van Ostaijen - one of Belgium’s most influential but long gone authors, and celebrate the 100th birthday and re-issue of his masterpiece Music-Hall. With the help of technology, van Ostaijen was brought back to life for one last book signing session. We reproduced van Ostaijen’s handwriting and a robotic arm was adjusted and programmed until it could perfectly duplicate his handwriting and signature. And Van Ostaijen was not alone, as seven other world-renowned authors agreed to let their handwriting and autograph be digitalized.
Creative Execution
We carefully analyzed Paul’s manuscripts, transforming his handwriting into a font. The only robot arm which could imitate those delicate writing movements was a device normally used for medical purposes. That arm was then tuned for three months until it mastered four different aspects of writing: pen choice, writing angle, writing speed and pressure.
The software also allowed for people to write their own messages in the author’s handwriting, which gave the visitors an emotional souvenir and made every copy a one-of-a-kind bol.com souvenir. As such, the campaign became the medium.
Seven living authors - inlcuding Nicci French, Paula Hawkins and Andy Griffiths - were put forward in a support campaign on audiovisual media to increase traffic to the bol.com stand and website.
The quality of the imitations was praised by experts and journalists and made the Impossible Signing Sessions spread like wildfire with 24,7 million media impressions.
The robot arm signed non-stop for twelve days during the Antwerp Book Fair, resulting in 4119 autographs and 15791 words. As the star of the event, Paul Van Ostaijen even became the most signing author of the entire festival with 1076 autographs.
Bol.com showed they know the passions of book fans. But most importantly: bol.com achieved 5% more brand awareness, and their turnover in book sales increased with 40%.
Bol.com created the Impossible Signing Sessions at Belgium's largest literary event. A clever media mix supported this campaign and enabled the digital book store to generate digital leads on a physical event: robot-imitated authors who were put forward in a support campaign to increase traffic to the bol.com stand and website. As a nice extra for a digital bookstore, every physical book that was signed by the robot became part of the media campaign - spreading the message amongst book lovers.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea
The Antwerp Book Fair is one of the most popular and talked about events in Belgium. For many of the visitors, the literary event has gradually become a race to score signatures from authors who are present for book signings at the fair. Being the most popular online bookshop of Belgium, the main objective for Bol.com was to create buzz around their presence at an event that is dedicated to and aimed at traditional book retailers & publishers.
'The Impossible Signing Sessions' made bol.com extremely relevant in a rather unusual setting for an e-commerce giant. The main idea of the signing sessions was then supported by a campaign on multiple mass-media platforms (radio, outdoor, print and digital) to trigger more people to go visit the bol.com website and the stand at the Antwerp book fair.