Stationery Icons, a 304-page illustrated hardback by Christopher Leonard-Morgan, has begun its first Christmas campaign, with the publisher positioning the book as a gift for stationery enthusiasts, collectors and design lovers.
The promotion runs until Christmas and combines advertising on StationeryNews.net and PGBuzz.net with activity on Instagram and LinkedIn. The book profiles 100 stationery brands, and the campaign invites those featured companies to mark their inclusion through their own social media channels and customer communications.
The push follows sales at two London events: Open House at Stationers' Hall on 20 September and the London Pen Show in Hammersmith on 10 and 11 October. According to the announcement, buyers at both events often purchased copies for friends, family and fellow stationery enthusiasts rather than for themselves.
Leonard-Morgan said the encouraging part of the response was how many customers saw the book as a present for someone else. He noted that most people know someone who keeps a favourite fountain pen or treasures a particular notebook, and said the book gathers the stories behind the brands those readers already enjoy.
Richard Webb, publisher at Narrative Media, said stationery inspires an unusual degree of affection and loyalty, and described the book's range of stories as spanning six centuries of ingenuity, entrepreneurship and design. He added that the campaign gives featured brands a way to share their own stories with customers and followers.
The first edition has an initial print run of 1,000 copies and is priced at £80. Copies can be ordered directly from the book's own website.