At
first glance it reminds you of those quick food vans selling coffee and burgers,
but this one is stuffed with books not buns.
Penguin
have launched a mobile bookstore division aimed at connecting their authors
directly with their readers. The tour starts this week at Book Expo America in
New York before it moves onto the Mark Twain House in Hartford and Chicago at
the end of June for the American Library Association Conference. The tour will
take in Sallisaw, OK; Oklahoma City, OK; Canyon, TX; Albuquerque, NM;
Flagstaff, AZ; Bakersfield, CA.
It’s
kind of quirky and novel and certainly projects the brand. It’s a pity that the
white stripe is missing from the van and you could introduce branded deckchairs
for folk to sit on under the awnings. Does it play a tune as it approaches, like the ice cream vans
do in the UK to tell the children they are here?
It
begs the question whether it is the begging of Penguin Random House setting up
their own stores in the US, or just a PR and marketing promotion? Whatever it
certainly brings some fun and a smile back into bookselling.
Watch the video and more:Penguin Truck - Penguin Group (USA)
