Siltala

Siltala – Finland’s First “Pirkka” Book

Last autumn, Kari Hotakainen’s novel Helmi became the talk of the literary world in Finland, published exclusively under the Pirkka brand in Kesko’s stores. The bold collaboration between Siltala Publishing and Kesko sparked a national conversation about the role of physical books and the position of authors and bookstores in Finland.

During the launch week, the media produced 123 stories about Helmi, and the book became the third best-selling fiction title of the year in Finland.

Reading in Finland is declining, literacy is weakening, and print book sales are in a sharp downward trend. The bookstore network has thinned dramatically: from 410 stores in 1980 to only 130 last year.

Audiobooks, however, are increasingly popular. While they’re a great way to consume literature, they don’t improve reading skills. Almost all new books in Finland are released simultaneously as print and audio editions, with large publishers often owning audiobook platforms. For smaller publishers, this standard approach can mean lower revenue for both publisher and author.

Siltala realized a new approach was possible: while there are few bookstores, there are thousands of grocery stores, which everyone visits. What if a widely recognized author’s book could be placed next to everyday items, like a coffee package, and sold exclusively in grocery stores without an audiobook edition?

Kesko and Kari Hotakainen embraced the idea. The final question was: how do we tell people about this so effectively that they encounter the book unexpectedly and pick it up?

Objectives

Siltala set ambitious goals:

- challenge conventional book publishing in Finland
- disrupt the traditional book distribution chain
- launch the most talked-about fiction of the year
- place the book among the most-read domestic novels

For Kesko, publishing Helmi was a statement in favor of reading. The initial print run was unusually large at 35,000 copies. Our role was to craft a communication strategy that would drive sales and achieve both Siltala’s and Kesko’s objectives.

Creative Idea

The key decision in our communications strategy was to break from the usual book launch protocol and focus on news media rather than a niche cultural outlet. The goal was to turn the book into a topic everyone would talk about over coffee and a dallaspulla.

The working title of the plan was “The Big Bang”, aiming to make the book a major, attention-grabbing news story all at once: “Now on shelves – available immediately.” To achieve this, the project had to remain a secret until publication.

Once Siltala had conceived the idea for the book and Kesko gave the green light, we stepped in to advise on how to meet the objectives set for the book. When we started, the author had not yet written a single word.

From the beginning, we emphasized that the impact would be greatest if Kari Hotakainen’s Helmi were released as the first private-label book in Finland and reportedly in all of Europe. We justified and persuaded the stakeholders, and ultimately it happened: Helmi was published as a Pirkka book. Without Pirkka, the book would have been available exclusively in Kesko stores, and the news impact would not have been as big.

Kesko’s shop owners are entrepreneurs, and they ultimately decide what goes on their shelves. This meant we also had to convince them that the book would generate exceptional publicity and sell well. This required extensive internal and stakeholder communications, engaging the author in the process, and producing various materials.

We planned the entire launch communications, including the scheduling of Kesko’s internal communications and marketing. Compared to a typical book launch, everything was done differently. Because we wanted the surprise to be as big as possible and concentrate attention at the moment the book hit the shelves, the core of the communications strategy was keeping the secret until the very end. To ensure the media would take the book seriously, the challenge was to build a communications and marketing arc that made the book appear as a normal literary work, which it was, rather than a Kesko advertisement.

For the launch itself, our toolkit was simple. We selectively pitched to media in advance, organized a press event on the release day both physically and via livestream, and distributed a press release widely. We prepared for media inquiries not only with a Q&A but also by coaching the author, publisher, and Kesko representatives.

Results

Launch Week Visibility:

123 media hits in one week, including radio and TV coverage, such as Yle News, MTV Huomenta Suomi, and MTV Kymmenen uutiset.

19.3 million potential reach.

Advertising value of media coverage: 741,000 €.

During 2024, the Helmi book sold 27,800 copies and was the third best-selling Finnish fiction book of the year.

While Finnish fiction books typically receive only a few reviews and a handful of author interviews, Helmi generated 123 articles during its launch week alone, on top of radio and TV coverage.

The exceptionally large first print run of 35,000 copies also started moving off the shelves. Within four months, the book sold 27,800 copies.

The Pirkka book sparked a broad discussion about the significance of physical books and the role of authors and bookstores in Finland. Literary journalist Antti Majander summed it up best: "The Pirkka book is a brilliant move – without new thinking, a book is like a vinyl record."