When I was in Oxford last week, I found these postcards in the Waterstone's there. Part of their rebranding exercise (and missing apostrophe gripe taken for granted!), they have some impact. But do they work? There's a great blog post analysing them
here, and the author comes up with some great alternative straplines that suddenly make these feel not-so-good.
Yet, it made me wonder again at the short-sightedness of bookshops and publishers in terms of responding to what readers like, and the potential -- the huge potential -- for so much more book-related merchandise to be produced. I was drawn to these, by the till, instantly. Would have paid a pound or two for a set, if they hadn't (joy!) been free. With Christmas approaching, bibliotherapy gifts are still far too thin on the ground. Yes, I could visit
The Literary Gift Company (and have), several times. This has some interesting products, but some are, frankly, dull as dull. And there is so much that is creative and beautiful in publishing....
In this area, branding is a big help. Penguin and Faber already do a limited selection of branded gift goods, and who wouldn't love a
boxed set of postcards for Christmas, or some
playing cards? But -- come on, publishers, you can do so much more!
Maybe it's time to work up a proposal for some bibliotherapy treats.....
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