To promote her new (and first) novel, Miranda July is having a book auction featuring items mentioned in The First Bad Man.
Given the book, as Fast Company's CoCreate describes, is about a "lonely romantic who believes she has been sleeping with a co-worker throughout numerous past lives" and not about, say, a rich spy with a passion for art collection, the book auction is more than a little unconventional. Featuring lots like an old envelope with a pear doodle (as discussed on page 5) and a one dollar bill accompanied by a single bobby pin (referenced on page 162), the artistic promotion is still raising funds ($41 and $103 respectively). Proceeds will go to The National Partnership for Women and Families.
The First Bad Man comes out on January 13.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Artistic Promotions
- Opportunity for businesses to use unconventional and artistic promotions to generate buzz and raise funds for a cause.
- Promotional Auctions
- The use of auctions as a promotional tool to engage audiences and create a unique experience around a product or concept.
- Novel-inspired Merchandise
- Growing trend of creating and selling merchandise inspired by specific novels to enhance the reading experience and bring the story to life.
Sectors Adopting This
- Publishing
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Publishers can collaborate with authors to develop unique promotional strategies that go beyond traditional book launches.
- Art and Collectibles
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: The art and collectibles industry can explore partnerships with authors to auction or sell items mentioned in books, creating a new category of collectible merchandise.
- Nonprofit and Fundraising
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Nonprofit organizations can adopt creative fundraising methods, such as book auctions, to engage donors and raise funds for their causes.
