Random House ‘re-gifts the gift of reading’ for Australian charity The Footpath Library via BMF

Random House Australia via creative agency BMF, has created an innovation in book publishing, which encourages donations of books to The Footpath Library – a charity which provides books for homeless and disadvantaged Australians.

The innovation called ‘Mailbooks For Good‘ takes the form of specially designed dust jackets. Once readers have finished the books, they are instructed to turn them inside out and the books become pre-paid pre-addressed parcels. When posted they are sent directly to the charity for distribution to those in need.

VIEW THE AD

The first series of five adults and children’s titles was released on 14 March at Sydney’s Gleebooks Bookstores through Random House Vintage. Authors include Peter Fitzsimons, and the award winning Nick Earls and Stephen Dando-Collins.

The dust jacket design is pending patent globally and an international roll-out is planned for the near future.

Says Sarah Garnett, founder of The Footpath Library: “It’s important for our readers to receive books before they are old or broken. When you don’t have very much, the gift of a beautiful book reminds you that you are connected to the world and that the world cares.”

Says Meredith Curnow, publisher at Random House Australia: “We’re very excited about this idea. As a book publisher we often get overlooked nowadays, but something like this really taps into readers desire to share the joy of reading. This idea has huge potential for our industry.”

Says Carlos Alija and Laura Sampedro, BMF ECDs: “As a creative agency, it’s wonderful to be able to come up with something that will live on longer than the campaigns we usually do. Putting a product into market is never easy, but it’s a challenge we are enjoying.”

Creative Agency: BMF

Production Director: Alex MacArthur