A Promotion from ID Branding
Powell's Books is a beloved institution in Portland, and possibly the largest bookstore in the world. During the summer months they receive 1.5 million visitors, many from out of state, and often from abroad.
Powell's asked us to help convert more of these visitors to customers of their online store. They wanted to create a deeper, lasting relationship with these people, one that people would take home with them. Something they would keep, and that would remind them to shop at Powells.com.
So we created a free photobooth -- minus the booth -- using a green-screen backdrop and a digital camera and wrote a Flash api that would sandwich the photo of the customers with a photo of the storefront. This api also allowed us to put the customer's name on the famous Powell's marquee, an honor usually reserved for authors.
The system would automatically send customer a link to their digital memento via email, and also send them a 20% discount if they signed up for the Powell's newsletter. In-store posters and floor graphics drove people to the photobooth, which usually had a line.
We also posted the photos on Face Book as well as inside the store.
The goal was two-fold: to get 10,000 newsletter subscribers and to sell a certain dollar amount of books online. We went over on the first and a tad under on the second. The campaign, which ended in September 2010, is still talked about by Powell's customers.
The goal was two-fold: to get 10,000 newsletter subscribers and to sell a certain dollar amount of books online. We went over on the first and a tad under on the second. The campaign, which ended in September 2010, is still talked about by Powell's customers.
My role: Creative Director, experience concepter, copywriter.
