Coles kicks off new collectables campaign featuring miniature books from Andy Griffiths
Coles has a new collectables campaign targeted at children, this time featuring miniature books inspired by Andy Griffiths’ and Terry Denton’s Treehouse book series.
Coles chief marketing officer, Lisa Ronson, said she hoped the excitement and frenzy around Coles’ Little Shop promotion could be extended to this iteration of the campaign.
Lisa Ronson (C) said the campaign will target children’s literacy
“We wanted to find an engaging and sustainable way to bring joy and hours of entertainment to Aussie households. Our research found that while 83% of Australian households frequently encourage children to read, only 22% frequently purchased books for kids to read. As a supermarket we know we can reach millions of our customers every week with these fantastic little books to read and enjoy with their kids,” Ronson said.
“We all remember the excitement that Little Shop created for customers of all ages and we really wanted to create that same level of excitement for reading – because we know that enjoying books on a regular basis leads to improved literacy skills, better educational outcomes and happier children.
“The original Treehouse book series means so much to Aussie kids that it was an easy choice when looking for stories that would capture the imagination.”
A Coles Little Treehouse book will be offered to customers for every $30 they spend in one transaction at Coles supermarkets, Coles Express and Coles Online. Collectors cases will be available for $5 and copies of the original Treehouse Series will be on sale from $4 to $8 each at all Coles supermarkets.
Andy Griffiths is the author of the Treehouse book series
Coles worked directly with author, Griffiths, and illustrator, Denton, to create the 24 Coles Little Treehouse books that are inspired by the characters of the original series.
Griffiths said the campaign will be a powerful introduction to the wonder of books.
“We are truly excited to be able to share the Coles Little Treehouse book series with the children of Australia. We have always been committed to creating books that capture the hearts, minds and funny bones of children in order to foster a life-long love of reading,” he said.
“This partnership with Coles means children across the country will be able to collect a miniature library of books aimed specifically at encouraging them to read. It’s an unprecedented literacy initiative and we’re delighted to be working with Coles to deliver such a significant and tangible benefit to the kids of Australia.
“Sharing books as a family is not only a profoundly pleasurable experience, it’s also a powerful introduction to the wonder of books. One of the features that we are most proud of with the Treehouse Series — apart from the fact that they appeal equally to both boys and girls — is that they are capable of being enjoyed by the whole family.”
The campaign will be supported by a partnership with News Corp Australia, which will offer bonus collectables during the eight-week campaign. Earlier this year, News Corp Australia also targeted children’s literacy in its 2020 Raise a Reader campaign, supporting Good Start Early Learning Centres and the Australian Library and Information Service.
The Coles campaign will also launch its first-ever picture storybook competition, to encourage Australian kids to develop their own fiction book. Every entry will equal one new book donated to a remote Indigenous community through Coles’ partnership with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
The paper and packaging used to produce the books are FSC responsibly sourced and can be recycled at home like any paper product. The Mini Shop collectables campaign created some backlash due to its reliance on plastic.
The campaign kicks off tomorrow.
The past few months have been very hard and dispiriting for many home-schooling parents around Australia, but I think by channelling young people into reading like this makes me smile and very hopeful, it’s also perfectly timed. Congratulations and thank you Coles, this can be the moment we offer real change to the lives of younger Australians.
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