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Easing the blow of the UK ban on smoking in public spaces that came into effect on July 1st, TankBooks is selling books packaged like cigarettes—right down to the cellophane wrapping on the outside and silver foil on the inside. Despite their diminutive size, the first series of TankBooks aren’t the intellectual equivalent of Menthol Lights. Pitched as ‘tales to take your breath away’, the box-packed reads range from Kipling’s “The Man Who Would Be King” to Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”. While perhaps not tempting enough for every smoker to kick the habit and take up reading instead, it’s a start.
TankBooks are the brain child of Tank, a British think tank, creative agency and publishing unit. Clever way to profit from a current event (the smoking ban), using great design to repackage classic works that are in the public domain, freeing TankBooks from having to pay royalties. To take the concept to the hilt, TankBooks obviously need to be sold from cigarette vending machines. Which reminds us of a venture we covered back in 2003—Art-o-mats, the repurposed vintage vending machines selling small pieces of art. Adding pack-sized books to the mix should be a no-brainer for publishers and vending machine aficionados.
Read any good books lately? Goodreads provides an online platform for discussing just that. Booklovers can share recommendations for their favourite page-turners with friends, online acquaintances and other like-minded bibliophiles. Unlike the reviews found at sites like Amazon.com, Goodreads write-ups have a more personal touch since the site is built around a networking concept.
Users can sign up in just a few simple steps and immediately begin entering reviews. Books are rated on a five-star system, ranging from one star for “didn’t like it” to five for “it was amazing.” Members can discuss what they loved or didn’t love about books they’ve read, see right away what the consensus was among fellow reviewers and even comment on one another’s reviews. Moreover, they can catalogue their collections on virtual bookshelves that can be customized to reflect their own personalities. Default shelf names are “Read,” “To-Read” and “Currently-Reading,” but it only takes a moment to add new shelves, and users can have fun with their category designations.
Members are encouraged to invite their friends to join, but many may just as easily make friends on the site as they happen upon others who share similar tastes for murder mysteries, 19th century French literature, memoirs or whatever genres appeal to them. Like any well-rounded Web 2.0 venture, Goodreads also offers a widget that can be added to a member’s blog, MySpace page or website that keeps a running tally of what the person has been reading or reviewing lately.
The business model for Goodreads and its siblings is based on racking up referral fees from online book stores like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. As the websites grow, they’ll also become highly valuable tools for the publishing industry, which could lead to additional sources of revenue. Since reading books isn’t limited to English-speakers, this is definitely a concept to copy to other countries or languages that don’t yet have their own (popular) online social network for readers. For more inspiration, check out Shelfari, Bookjetty and BuchPfade, to name a few.
Around this time last year, we featured a new Australian magazine contained with the label of a bottle of mineral water. iLove claimed to be the world’s first magazine on a bottle, offering girls on the move something to read with their water to go. Now, Coca-Cola Belgium will be the first soft drink company to use the Magazine on a Bottle concept. On Product Publishing, which created the innovative labelling technology, worked closely with Coca-Cola Belgium to adapt the labels to Coke’s iconic curvy bottle.
The first bottles of Coca-Cola Light (chilled 500 ml PET) with GLAM*IT mini-mag attached will be on the shelves in April 2007. Published by Sanoma, GLAM*IT is a Belgian fashion and beauty magazine targeted to a young, female audience. Which makes for a good fit with Light/Diet Coke buyers. As stated by Mie Van der Auwera, editor of GLAM*IT: “Adapting editorial content for another brand is only credible if brand values mutually match. In the case of Coca-Cola Light and GLAM*IT that was no problem. That’s why it results in a powerful communication tool for both brands.” The removable 24-page magazine is a ‘light’ version of GLAM*IT, featuring typical content for the mag, but reduced to fit the bottle.
Joanna Wojtalik, OPP’s inventor, explains the concept’s goal: “On Product Publishing is all about broadening and targeting content delivery by using the mass market reach of an FMCG distribution network. The OPP label allows Coca-Cola to place more content directly on its product and thereby enhance the relationship its consumers have with the brand at the point of purchase”. More FMCG publishing to follow?
With Life Trackers, turning life experiences into a published book is as simple as sending an email. While self-publishing is nothing new, Life Trackers makes it easy to pull together travel journals, memory books and other keepsakes from just about anywhere a user has internet access. Best of all, there’s no cost to join, and customers can get a printable PDF of their book for free.
Here’s how it works: after a customer signs up, they’re given a personal Life Trackers email address. To add content to their book, they simply send an email to that address with the text in the body of the message. They can add the address to their email distribution lists for big announcements, such as an engagement or birth. Copy it in on personal correspondence about a trip or big event. Forward meaningful replies from friends and family – or better yet, share the email address with them to collaborate on a book. In addition to sending text, users can attach up to three pictures with each message.
Besides obvious applications like travel journals or memoirs, Life Trackers suggests using the service to keep track of love letters, messages from college, or emails about a new baby. “Each year, hundreds of thousands of people send dozens of emails about their child’s first year of life to friends, family, parents and grandparents, and they receive dozens of replies. Now, you can collect text and images from yourself, and from friends and family, about your baby’s birth, first month at home, first smile, first food and first step. Just send everything to your Life Trackers account.”
When they’re ready, users can view, edit and publish through the Life Trackers website. Publishing options include a printable PDF document, softcover book or professionally bound hardcover. Great example of a company cashing in on the life caching trend, simply by building on existing behaviour, letting consumers publish texts they already produce and receive on a daily basis, but might not have considered material for a book. Clever! For more on self-publishing, see our piece on Blurb, which makes it easy to turn blogs into books.
September 18, 2007 at 5:01 am
Light up a short story »
Easing the blow of the UK ban on smoking in public spaces that came into effect on July 1st, TankBooks is selling books packaged like cigarettes—right down to the cellophane wrapping on the outside and silver foil on the inside. Despite their diminutive size, the first series of TankBooks aren’t the intellectual equivalent of Menthol Lights. Pitched as ‘tales to take your breath away’, the box-packed reads range from Kipling’s “The Man Who Would Be King” to Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”. While perhaps not tempting enough for every smoker to kick the habit and take up reading instead, it’s a start.
TankBooks are the brain child of Tank, a British think tank, creative agency and publishing unit. Clever way to profit from a current event (the smoking ban), using great design to repackage classic works that are in the public domain, freeing TankBooks from having to pay royalties. To take the concept to the hilt, TankBooks obviously need to be sold from cigarette vending machines. Which reminds us of a venture we covered back in 2003—Art-o-mats, the repurposed vintage vending machines selling small pieces of art. Adding pack-sized books to the mix should be a no-brainer for publishers and vending machine aficionados.
Website: http://www.tankmagazine.com/tankbooks
Contact: emily@tankform.com
September 18, 2007 at 5:05 am
Connecting Readers Online
Read any good books lately? Goodreads provides an online platform for discussing just that. Booklovers can share recommendations for their favourite page-turners with friends, online acquaintances and other like-minded bibliophiles. Unlike the reviews found at sites like Amazon.com, Goodreads write-ups have a more personal touch since the site is built around a networking concept.
Users can sign up in just a few simple steps and immediately begin entering reviews. Books are rated on a five-star system, ranging from one star for “didn’t like it” to five for “it was amazing.” Members can discuss what they loved or didn’t love about books they’ve read, see right away what the consensus was among fellow reviewers and even comment on one another’s reviews. Moreover, they can catalogue their collections on virtual bookshelves that can be customized to reflect their own personalities. Default shelf names are “Read,” “To-Read” and “Currently-Reading,” but it only takes a moment to add new shelves, and users can have fun with their category designations.
Members are encouraged to invite their friends to join, but many may just as easily make friends on the site as they happen upon others who share similar tastes for murder mysteries, 19th century French literature, memoirs or whatever genres appeal to them. Like any well-rounded Web 2.0 venture, Goodreads also offers a widget that can be added to a member’s blog, MySpace page or website that keeps a running tally of what the person has been reading or reviewing lately.
The business model for Goodreads and its siblings is based on racking up referral fees from online book stores like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. As the websites grow, they’ll also become highly valuable tools for the publishing industry, which could lead to additional sources of revenue. Since reading books isn’t limited to English-speakers, this is definitely a concept to copy to other countries or languages that don’t yet have their own (popular) online social network for readers. For more inspiration, check out Shelfari, Bookjetty and BuchPfade, to name a few.
Website: http://www.goodreads.com
Contact: http://www.goodreads.com/about/contact_us
September 18, 2007 at 5:06 am
Magazine on a Bottle
Around this time last year, we featured a new Australian magazine contained with the label of a bottle of mineral water. iLove claimed to be the world’s first magazine on a bottle, offering girls on the move something to read with their water to go. Now, Coca-Cola Belgium will be the first soft drink company to use the Magazine on a Bottle concept. On Product Publishing, which created the innovative labelling technology, worked closely with Coca-Cola Belgium to adapt the labels to Coke’s iconic curvy bottle.
The first bottles of Coca-Cola Light (chilled 500 ml PET) with GLAM*IT mini-mag attached will be on the shelves in April 2007. Published by Sanoma, GLAM*IT is a Belgian fashion and beauty magazine targeted to a young, female audience. Which makes for a good fit with Light/Diet Coke buyers. As stated by Mie Van der Auwera, editor of GLAM*IT: “Adapting editorial content for another brand is only credible if brand values mutually match. In the case of Coca-Cola Light and GLAM*IT that was no problem. That’s why it results in a powerful communication tool for both brands.” The removable 24-page magazine is a ‘light’ version of GLAM*IT, featuring typical content for the mag, but reduced to fit the bottle.
Joanna Wojtalik, OPP’s inventor, explains the concept’s goal: “On Product Publishing is all about broadening and targeting content delivery by using the mass market reach of an FMCG distribution network. The OPP label allows Coca-Cola to place more content directly on its product and thereby enhance the relationship its consumers have with the brand at the point of purchase”. More FMCG publishing to follow?
Website: http://www.onproductpublishing.com.au
Contact: info@onproductpublishing.com
September 18, 2007 at 5:10 am
Self-publishing via email »
With Life Trackers, turning life experiences into a published book is as simple as sending an email. While self-publishing is nothing new, Life Trackers makes it easy to pull together travel journals, memory books and other keepsakes from just about anywhere a user has internet access. Best of all, there’s no cost to join, and customers can get a printable PDF of their book for free.
Here’s how it works: after a customer signs up, they’re given a personal Life Trackers email address. To add content to their book, they simply send an email to that address with the text in the body of the message. They can add the address to their email distribution lists for big announcements, such as an engagement or birth. Copy it in on personal correspondence about a trip or big event. Forward meaningful replies from friends and family – or better yet, share the email address with them to collaborate on a book. In addition to sending text, users can attach up to three pictures with each message.
Besides obvious applications like travel journals or memoirs, Life Trackers suggests using the service to keep track of love letters, messages from college, or emails about a new baby. “Each year, hundreds of thousands of people send dozens of emails about their child’s first year of life to friends, family, parents and grandparents, and they receive dozens of replies. Now, you can collect text and images from yourself, and from friends and family, about your baby’s birth, first month at home, first smile, first food and first step. Just send everything to your Life Trackers account.”
When they’re ready, users can view, edit and publish through the Life Trackers website. Publishing options include a printable PDF document, softcover book or professionally bound hardcover. Great example of a company cashing in on the life caching trend, simply by building on existing behaviour, letting consumers publish texts they already produce and receive on a daily basis, but might not have considered material for a book. Clever! For more on self-publishing, see our piece on Blurb, which makes it easy to turn blogs into books.
Website: http://www.lifetrackers.com
Contact: support@lifetrackers.com