IN-DEPTH STORIES

Broadcasting & Informing, Giving Voice to Authors & Ideas

We continue to increase our footprint in the global consumer marketplace in uniquely creative and entrepreneurial ways: In the UK, Penguin opened a pop-up shop designed to amplify women’s literary voices. In South Africa, we launched the first Struik Nature Eco Library populated with the entire Struik Nature catalogue. In China, brand and imprint “passports for readers” will be distributed to celebrate Penguin Random House’s 5th anniversary.

Broadcasting Women’s Literary Voices

This March, Penguin opened a pop-up shop to mark International Women’s Day. The East London-based store, stocked only with writing by women, played host to a series of events and workshops designed to amplify women’s voices. It was wonderful to see thousands of visitors come through the doors over the five days and walk away with incredible fiction, world-changing political writing, and inspiring children’s books. Visitors also wrote the names of the women they admire on the walls of the shop, which served as an interactive public art piece.
Zainab Juma, Creative Manager, Audiences and Audio, Penguin Random House UK

Issuing Penguin Random House Brand-and-Imprint Passports for Readers

Every year, the Shanghai Book Fair is the most significant marketing and sales event for us in China because it’s the largest retail book fair for selling, marketing and brand building. Preparing for it incorporates almost every department in the company both locally and globally. The Sales team will suggest the key titles from PRH U.S. and PRH UK, while the Marketing and Design department brainstorms lots of ideas. In 2015, we created an “on the road” suitcase filled with books, which was a hit at the book fair, and sold out in three days. In 2016, we did a Penguin Classics black backpack, which was also really successful. This year, to celebrate Penguin Random House’s five-year anniversary, we will produce Penguin Random House brand-and-imprints passports for readers to get to know our branding and imprints better!
Jenny Liu, Marketing Manager, Penguin Random House China

Launching the First Struik Nature Eco Library

It was wonderful to be involved in organising the launch of the first Struik Nature Eco Library on Earth Day at Jan Marais Nature reserve in Stellenbosch, South Africa. We populated the library with our entire catalogue of Struik Nature books and ran a competition with local University Honours Art students to have the outside walls of the Eco Centre building painted as ‘a canvas’ showcasing African wildlife and nature, reflecting the books Struik Nature publishes and the purpose and vision of the Eco centre.
Belinda van der Merwe, Nature and Travel Marketer, Marketing & Publicity Department, Penguin Random House South Africa

Introducing Chinese Readers to Penguin’s Little Black Classics

The merger of Penguin and Random House allowed for increased teamwork and encouraged sharing of best practices with the goal to reach a wider readership in China. Our most recent successful global collaboration with colleagues at Penguin in the UK, in particular the foreign rights and contracts department who were of great patience and assistance, helped us to produce Chinese editions of the Little Black Classics. China might be perceived by many colleagues as mysterious and unwelcoming, so finding a very direct and easy way to communicate and to get the necessary support from our colleagues made a huge difference and resulted in a culturally and commercially successful outcome.
Patrizia Van Daalen, Publishing Director, Adult Publishing, Penguin Random House China