More than an event, more than a fundraiser, the Scholastic Book Fair creates empowering moments of choice that turn kids into lifelong readers. The freedom to choose the books they want to read—instead of the books someone else thinks they should read—sparks children’s curiosity, independence, and confidence and creates memories to last a lifetime.
For the 2022-2023 school year, we were determined to amp up the unbridled excitement and hands-on thrill of the Scholastic Book Fair. The Fair would deliver more fun and more choices, empowering curious kids like never before. Our resulting campaign—Bolder, Prouder, Stronger Reader—is a rallying cry, conceived to inspire kids and the grown-ups who cheer them on.
To amplify that rallying cry, Scholastic Book Fairs set out to create our very own anthem video celebrating the power of kid choice and the book characters young readers know and love. Sharing the video with our sales team would boost their excitement for the new season. They, in turn, would pass it along to our customers, the individual schools’ Book Fair organizers (known as Book Fair Chairs), to remind them just how formative kid choice can be.
It takes more than your average hype video to capture the wonderful ruckus of the Scholastic Book Fair, and we were determined to evoke the full sensory experience of the event. Our anthem video would be all about promoting the emotional excitement of the Fair, that high-octane thrill kids feel when bouncing up and down in the hallway outside the Fair, breaking into a run when the library doors open, relishing the explosion of color and choices that greets them.
We contracted with mixed-media production studio Houses in Motion to pen a catchy, invigorating earworm, a high-energy pop melody with a young-adult voice. Designed to celebrate the joy of reading and the power of choice, the song needed to capture that singular Book Fair excitement, reveling in the kid empowerment on offer at every step of the Fair experience.
The initial version of the song was too young, not specific enough to the Book Fair, and it focused on individual books instead of an overall feeling. With input from the Scholastic Book Fairs Product team, we countered with a request for something edgy, strong, lively, and wild—a joyful shout! Though aimed at an adult audience, the anthem needed to embody the Book Fair from a kid’s point of view and represent their emotions and experiences…not an adults’ take. And our rallying cry, “Bolder, Prouder, Stronger Reader,” had to be front and center.
The resulting “Book Fair Kid Power Anthem” delivered, thanks to its megaphone energy, rousing clap-and-stomp rhythm, and unforgettable chorus. It guides listeners from the Fair’s arrival on our iconic delivery truck, through the sensory experience of the Fair to a kid’s pride of making their own purchase, and revels in the freedom of being a Bolder, Prouder, Stronger Reader.
Next, armed with photography and other creative assets from our Fall ’22 design guide—including images of such iconic book characters as Dog Man, Wimpy Kid, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Captain Underpants—the video team created a vibrant visual journey filled with quick cuts and unexpected transitions. The final product? An anthem video that deftly captures the thrill of an in-person Book Fair. Our staff loved the rush of feeling, energy, possibility that the video invoked…but would our customers?
542, 606 views. More than 4,300 hours’ playing time. Since it debuted on our website on August 9, 2023, the “Book Fair Kid Power Anthem” video has racked up more than 600k video impressions, and its engagement score of 77.9 shatters averages. The anthem video social posts reached more than 10K users, and the anthem audio is available and in use by Book Fairs fans on Instagram and TikTok.
Numbers only tell one part of the story. Customer reactions to the anthem video were overwhelmingly positive: “Super fun to dance to” and “The kids loved the new song!” The anthem also resonated with our Fair Consultants, whose enthusiasm for Book Fairs informs their day-to-day interactions with customers, directly fueling our success. Their comments included:
“I loved the anthem! I shared it with my customers, especially in fall. It really set the foundation for what the Fair would bring, and it was a great way to get the BFCs excited about the Book Fair and inspire their creativity!”
“My BFCs love the new Bolder, Prouder, Stronger Reader video! I have heard countless times that the students will continue to sing it even after the Book Fair has left.”
“I’ve talked about our anthem on all first-time Planning Calls of the year. It’s been an opportunity to impress upon our customers the mission of empowering students to choose their own books and help turn them into lifelong readers!”
