When the category narrative is dictated by Amazon, how do you create a plot twist that delights true book lovers?
Brand Identity
Placing yourself as the leading character
To establish a successful online bookstore, you have to be prepared to take on the might of Amazon. The question The Book People had, was ‘How?’.
The Book People had been trying to play Amazon at its own game; competing on price, convenience and range of titles. But over time the brand had become too focused on deals and promotions, at the expense of building any emotional differentiation. And without a set of ownable assets, they were unable to distinguish themselves from other online retailers. They needed to go back to the beginning and embrace their mission, ‘To inspire a lifelong love of reading’.
Difference is a superpower
Creating an emotional connection with its products is the one thing that Amazon could never do. Whereas a love of books is the one thing that unites The Book People’s customers and colleagues.
The clear defendable territory for The Book People, and an effective, lasting representation of their mission, was to create a community of book lovers.
Characters keep us hooked
The brand brings this community to life in various different ways. A cast of book-loving characters revel in another world. The tone of voice celebrates their favourite reads with recommendations and quotes. And a joyful experience is created through a streamlined customer journey and intuitive navigation. A simple set of devices help The Book People to share expertise as simply and easily as book lovers would do in person.
Inspiring the love from a young age
Together, these assets create a meaningful experience for each customer, encouraging them to stay inspired and keep getting more joy from books.
We recently helped to launch The Big Book Boost; a national initiative to allow customers to give back to the schools in their community and help teachers and parents across the UK get children excited about reading from a young age.
Now, The Book People’s products and services are dedicated to building a lifelong love of reading, and their brand communicates it too. Amazon can’t compete with that.
This is the Book People’s plot twist.
It’s how they’re taking on Amazon.
And how they will keep delighting book lovers over and over again.
