China Business Daily (Reporter Tu Hanwen Text/Photo) "I only watched the ball game two days ago, but I didn't expect to be able to come here to visit the book market" "It's so cool to set up a stall in the football field"...... Shortly after the Beijing Book Fair ended, another book market with "more than 90% book content" "catched" the enthusiasm of book lovers and set off a wave of check-ins on social platforms. Under the double squeeze of the boom of the digital reading market and the "price war" of e-commerce platforms, how can the book market break through against the trend?
Embrace everything that has to do with books
In the early summer, in the greenery, the figures of readers appeared in the stands of the Beijing Workers' Stadium - people sat quietly, holding a book in their hands, immersed in the world of reading, which became a unique landscape of the new workers' stadium. From May 15th to 19th, the "2024 Book Market" turned this football stadium into a sea of books, where people from Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Henan, Guangxi, Sichuan and other places gathered to spend a good time with books and friends.
The "2024 Book Market" was held at the Beijing Workers' Stadium.
"I rushed over for the first time, and I walked around for more than 3 hours on the preview day, and I felt that there were many exhibitions and booths in this market that were worth stopping and chatting about." Ms. Liu, a professional reader, told a reporter from China Business Daily that the diversification of the market's content has opened her eyes, from the proofing of the trial book and blue paper, the manuscript waiting for the editor's favor, the collage art of the book waist cover, the handmade pop-up book, to the process of making a book by herself, the book market has changed from simply selling books in the past to a new experience field, "like a kaleidoscope containing everything related to books." ”
According to the person in charge of the market, the "Book Market" is a book fair held by Book Maker with the main purpose of editing and reading exchanges, and in 2023, the spring and autumn markets will be held in Beijing Renewal Field and Hangzhou Big Roof, respectively, which is known for its superior reader experience. The market that appeared again in May this year featured more than 150 publishing institutions, physical bookstores, art studios, cultural and creative brands from all over the country, as well as more than 20 international publishing brands represented by China Image Digital Technology, and half of the exhibitors were "new faces" on the "Book Market". While the venue has been expanded, the number, area and quality of the market exhibitions have also exceeded those of previous editions, including nearly 40 themed curatorial and exhibitor curatorial projects, and the special planning of "Make a Book" and a large number of interactive games have been added.
Consumers stop in front of the interactive check-in wall at the exhibition.
"The Most Traditional Chinese Culture" "The Most Beautiful Books in Germany 2023" "Her Words, Her Story: The Legend of Nüshu" "Click here to link to childhood" "Harry Potter: Embark on a magical journey" "If it's a comic, how do we talk about walking?" "Walking into the market, the themes of the exhibition are diverse, and the books, cultural creations and various installations are dizzying. Some consumers said that they were pleasantly surprised to encounter fresh content in the market where "big data won't push it to me, and I didn't know that I was interested in it".
The "two-way rush" between bookmakers and book lovers
"If a book is an exhibition, the editor is the curator. Although it is called a 'book market', we never want to be a book hypermarket, but a party where editors can be comfortable and free to be creative, and we hope that editors can 'have fun' with us." The relevant person in charge said that for the majority of book lovers, the "high editorial concentration" of the book market is also a very attractive highlight.
From the mini-exhibitions next to the booths, to the new ways of playing, such as "literary signing", book blind boxes, capsule toy machines, collage co-creation, listening to songs and ordering songs, and exchanging books for wine, in order to attract the attention of passing readers, the editors who set up stalls in the market have done the ultimate in "fancy book selling".
Consumers are shopping for books of interest.
"I didn't expect this to be even a 'cat and dog' book market," Mr. Zhao, a consumer, told reporters, adding that he loves to visit book markets and exhibitions, mainly because he enjoys chatting with the author, translator or editor of a book. In addition, the creativity of the marketing editor is also often eye-catching, and in the past two years, he has been refreshed by the "flower work" of the young team more than once. For example, the editors of the successive publications wore the overalls of "working and raising cats" and brought the "working cat editors" to the book market. Coincidentally, the editorial department of "October" also hung up a billboard with the words "Buy a magazine and pet a dog", attracting many readers to interact with the "hairy child" in addition to choosing books.
The editorial department of October brought puppies to interact with readers.
"High-quality chat" is also the highlight of the market. When it comes to their own published books, almost every editor has endless words to say, and is full of enthusiasm, eager to share the highlights of the book, the ingenuity of the binding design, and the story behind the publication of the book to the readers in front of them. "It may be that the exhibition is set up in a hurry, and some books are not ready for trial books, but as soon as you show that you are interested in which book, the stall owner immediately says that you can open it and read it, and it doesn't matter if you don't buy it. Walking around here, you can feel the sincerity of everyone. Mr. Zhao said.
Connect with the Book Marketplace
Today, when paper books are under the impact of digital reading and physical bookstores are trapped in the "price war" of e-commerce platforms, why is the intensive book market booming? What can going to various places to participate in book markets bring to publishers and bookstores?
According to Xing Lu, head of Wanchuan China Workers' Publishing House, "more than just selling books" can answer these two questions. Whether it is for readers or exhibitors, face-to-face communication is the most important thing. "Even a market with a lot of foot traffic is actually very limited compared to the overall sales of the publishing house. But we really want to meet with readers, and by chatting with you in the book market, we can better understand what kind of content people are interested in, their views on Wanchuan's selection of topics, and their requirements for the quality of the books, etc., and readers also like this offline communication method. Xing Lu said.
Consumers communicate with the editors of China Workers Publishing House.
Fangsuo, which will enter Beijing for the first time in January 2024, also sees the book market as a window for display and communication. According to the person in charge, "editor's re-editing" has always been the core of Fang's display and selection, so the market also placed books carefully selected by each colleague of the bookstore and wrote a message.
In addition, in order to convey the concept of "culture is always like daily life", Fang also brought posters of all cultural activities such as salons and book signings held since the opening of the Beijing store, and also moved the theme book fair in the May theme project to the site, so that readers can get to know the bookstore up close.
"The theme of our exhibition area is called 'Reading Without Realizing the Beginning of Summer', and we hope to take the opportunity of this market to have a warm offline trip with readers in the east of Beijing in the summer, so that more readers can know and understand Fangsuo Beijing store. There was some communication with readers here, and everyone was quite happy, and we also received a lot of feedback from 'I like Fangsuo'. The person in charge said.
Consumers are immersed in the joy of reading.
"Unlike traditional book markets, which focus on low-cost book shopping, popular book markets have become a 'cultural flash mob' in recent years. Selling books is no longer the primary purpose, and many participants pay more attention to the communication effect than sales, so the content presented in the market is getting richer and richer, but the discount promotion is diluted. From the price point of view, the books on the market are obviously more expensive than the e-commerce platform, most of them are only 6 to 8% off, and some are even sold at the original price. Industry insiders said that the book market caters to the diversified cultural consumption needs and establishes a warm connection between consumers and publishing brands, bookstores and creators. In the future, compared with the price of "volume" with online channels, further amplifying the experience and communication function is the way to break through the book market.