Dial-A-Story
Penguin Books Australia
Issue 32 | September 2014
Agency
Sandpit
Creative Team
Creative Directors: Dan Koerner, Sam Haren Penguin Books Australia: Kylie Robertson
Production Team
Technologist: Pierre Proske Industrial Designer: Rowan Dinning Web Developments & Design: Penguin Books Australia
Date
June 2014
Background
Penguin Books Australia wanted to explore new ways it could connect with the public in a highly personal and intimate way, as part of its central passion for sharing stories. Penguin also wanted to find a way that it could surprise and delight audiences with a real world experience that could connect back to a digital space.
Idea
Sandpit collaborated with Penguin Books Australia to design specially crafted 'Dial-A-Story' phone booths located in book-lovers' haunts across Australia.
Participants could dial one of five authors – TV personality John Safran, celebrity gardener Jamie Durie, children's book author Graeme Base, celebrity chef Maggie Beer or radio personality Father Bob Maguire – and hear a never-before-heard personal story from the author's own life. The authors then invited participants to leave their own story. Once they had shared their story and hung up, the phone booth printed a unique ticket with an ID and URL.
When accessing the URL the participant could hear their story back, share it on social media, or contribute it to an archive of stories – where they could listen to other participant's stories.
Results
Installation was live at Library at the Dock – results unavailable.