Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear were voted the two best loved children's book characters in a Sainsbury's poll to mark World Book Day. We used the poll to get people talking about reading as an important part of child development, and to promote Sainsbury's Make Believe campaign, which invited children to dress up as characters from their favourite books in selected stores. A child psychologist went on air for radio interviews, alongside on-air competitions. The broadcast PR campaign secured 21 items of radio coverage, 13 interviews and 8 on-air competitions, reaching 3.5 million, including BBC Radio Devon, BBC Radio Norfolk and BBC Radio Cornwall.
21Items of coverage (13 interviews and 8 on-air competitions)
3.5 millionCombined reach
2h 06mTime on air
Coverage highlights
BBC Radio DevonBBC radio
BBC Radio NorfolkBBC radio
BBC Radio CornwallBBC radio
BBC Radio CumbriaBBC radio
The story
Sainsbury's, World Book Day
The aim
Sainsbury's wanted to raise awareness of Sainsbury's and its Make Believe campaign ahead of World Book Day.
The message
Reading is an important part of child development, and Sainsbury's Make Believe campaign invited children to dress up as characters from their favourite books in selected stores.
The angle
To mark World Book Day, Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear were voted the two best loved children's book characters in a Sainsbury's poll, and the 'Make Believe' campaign invited children to dress up as book characters in selected stores.
On air
A child psychologist
The result
21 items of coverage (13 interviews and 8 on-air competitions) reaching 3.5 million, including BBC Radio Devon, BBC Radio Norfolk and BBC Radio Cornwall.
More campaigns for Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's has come back to Relations Group for other broadcast PR campaigns:
World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is held on the first Thursday in March to encourage children to read. It is run by a registered charity, with National Book Tokens as the main sponsor, and children in full time education receive a book token. The UK event began in 1998. UNESCO's own World Book and Copyright Day is on 23 April. Stations plan their coverage of it in advance, which makes it a strong hook for a broadcast PR campaign.
Planning World Book Day for 2027?
World Book Day next falls on Thursday 4 March 2027. Talk to the team about a broadcast PR campaign that gets your spokesperson on radio and TV.
