• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, January 5, 2009

How do you pique the interest of potential book buyers about a newly published novel on curiosity? Make them curious.

"Nieuwsgierigheid," or "Curiosity," was published in Holland by Dr. Roland van der Vorst who describes the art of seduction: making people curious.

Examples of advertising, movies, politics and art are used to explain how a person's curiosity can be triggered.

So why not apply the same principles outlined in the book to an ad campaign promoting it?

The agency THEY generated curiosity in the form of a 650 foot-long bookmark made of pink fabric that stretched throughout Amsterdam's main shopping street and led to selexyz, a Holland-based bookstore chain. The ribbon stopped on the store's ground floor at a display for "Curiosity."

I asked the agency how the ribbon held up, wear-wise, and Dylan Berg at THEY shared an amusing tidbit. "One of the city cleaners got a little confused about what he should do with it. So he followed it to selexyz and asked the clerks what he should do. They told him he should just let it be."

The ribbon stunt took place the weekend the book launched and served as the major component of the book's campaign.

In addition to the ribbon, THEY created special stationery with the top right-hand corner folded. When curious recipients lifted the corner, copy underneath stated: "'Nieuwsgierigheid (Curiosity),' the new book from Roland van der Vorst."

To date, the book is in its fourth reprint, having sold 10,000 copies. That's 10,000 curious consumers.