Morry Morgan from ClarkMorganCorporate Training and Spark China interviewed Tom Stader, Founder and Executive Director of The Library Project for iTV-Asia. Morry and everyone at ClarkMorgan have been a huge reason for our recent successes at TLP. They have conducted non-stop book collections throughout China that have helped support 16 rural elementary schools in less than 1.5 years. They also raise awareness with their current client base about TLP. We cannot thank them enough.

Take a look at the short interview below to learn more about The Library Project.

http://www.itv-asia.com/interview/tom-stader

http://www.grycksbopaper.com/

GRYCKSBO PAPER RECEIVES AN ‘OSCAR’

Grycksbo Paper has won the category ‘Promotional/Sales/Marketing Campaign of the Year’ for its ‘G Print is ON’ campaign at the PPI Awards 2009 gala in Munich. The main media channel for the award winning campaign is the internet and consists of humorous and surprising film sequences showing people struggling in a paperless world, as well as a campaign website with information and offers.

The PPI Awards are the paper industry’s equivalent to the film industry’s ‘Oscar’ awards. In the PPI Awards 2009, industry companies competed in ten different categories following earlier nominations. Grycksbo Paper was a nominated finalist in three of them: Promotional/Sales/Marketing Campaign of the Year, Business Strategy of the Year, and Environmental Strategy of the Year – Company.

Commenting on the ‘G Print is ON’ campaign’s success the judges said:  ‘This winning campaign has been described as outstanding and brilliant by the judges – an entry which shows an impressive marketing strategy, utilising digital media with confidence, while at the same time encouraging increased paper usage. It is a campaign with a clear target audience and specific messages which shows an outstanding breakaway approach.”

On receiving the award, Mikael Frölander, MD Grycksbo Paper, said, ‘It is absolutely fantastic that Grycksbo Paper was not only a finalist in three categories, but also that we won one of the most prestigious. It is important to get our message across about the advantages of paper and the printed word, for us, as well as for the whole paper industry.

‘Renewal is needed in the paper industry, so when the idea about a cheeky and humorous campaign using the internet came up, it was a logical step to take. We have got many positive reactions from our customers, as well as from the paper trade.’

Jaana Ahlroos, Sales and Marketing Manager at Grycksbo Paper said, ‘Winning the PPI Awards 2009 for the best Promotional/Sales/Marketing Campaign of the Year is a great honour for us. We are not the biggest paper company, but we were prepared to go outside the traditional box with this, the first digital media promotional campaign in the industry. The saying “Do not go where the path may lead; rather go instead where there is no path and lead a trail” fits us very well.’

The winning campaign’s film sequences showing situations where paper is the only thing that works can be found on the campaign site www.gprint.com/paperaid as well as on YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo.

An important part of the campaign is the support for “The Library Project,” which donates books and libraries to under-funded schools and orphanages in the developing world. On the site visitors can donate money as well as buy T-shirts, with profits going to “The Library Project.”

To date, Aston English has contributed to 67 elementary and orphanage library donations throughout China.  Aston has over 60 English language training schools located in 50 cities in China.  These language schools have conduced book collections for Chinese language children’s books over the past two years.  Aston and The Library Project then mobilize and empower their employees to locate rural elementary schools that need a library, get out into the local markets and purchase hi-quality furniture for the libraries, then distribute the books and furniture at the rural elementary schools.  Sounds crazy, but, Aston have completed 67 library donations in a little over two years.

The video below is probably the best representation of this process, and shows how Aston continues to make a huge difference in their local communities.  If you would like to learn more about this particular library donation, please check out John Mizell’s blog by clicking here. (John put together this amazing video.  Thank you!)