Stationery Icons, a 304-page illustrated hardback by Christopher Leonard-Morgan, is launching its first Christmas campaign. The book profiles 100 stationery brands and is being positioned as a distinctive gift for stationery enthusiasts, collectors and design lovers. The title is also described as a premium illustrated volume celebrating the people and stories behind the brands.
The campaign will run through Christmas and combines advertising on StationeryNews.net and PGBuzz.net with promotional activity on Instagram and LinkedIn. It is intended to celebrate the brands, personalities and stories that make stationery an enduring interest.
According to publisher Narrative Media, the campaign follows encouraging sales at two London events. The book was presented at Open House at Stationers’ Hall on 20 September and at the London Pen Show in Hammersmith on 10–11 October. Both events highlighted its appeal as a present, with customers buying copies for friends, family and fellow stationery enthusiasts.
Leonard-Morgan said the most encouraging response had been the number of people choosing the book for someone else. He noted that many people know someone who has a favourite fountain pen, treasures a particular notebook or cannot resist a stationery shop. The book, he said, brings together the stories behind the brands those readers love in a volume they can enjoy and return to over the years.
The Christmas campaign invites the 100 featured brands to celebrate their inclusion through their own social media channels and customer communications. Narrative Media said this is intended to extend awareness of the book among stationery enthusiasts around the world.
Richard Webb, Publisher at Narrative Media, said stationery inspires a remarkable degree of affection and loyalty. He added that the book’s breadth is what makes it special, spanning six centuries of ingenuity, entrepreneurship and design. He also said the publisher was pleased to give featured brands an opportunity to share their own stories with customers and followers, building on the wider interest generated by the campaign.
The campaign is aimed at readers who already follow particular pen, paper and notebook brands as well as collectors and design-minded gift buyers. Its timing links the book to the Christmas gifting season, while the involvement of featured brands gives the promotion a network of specialist audiences beyond the campaign’s own channels.
The first edition has an initial print run of 1,000 copies and is priced at £80. It is available to order directly from the book’s website.