Mobile libraries

Doing good while building its brand, Brazilian bus company Itapemirim has set up a library on wheels. Itapemirim, the major bus carrier in South America, covers more than 85% of Brazilian territory, and its buses travel more than 300 million kilometres per year. The company recently started supporting a project developed by well-known local cartoonist Mauricio de Souza: a library on wheels. The library buses will travel throughout the country to give low income kids the opportunity to improve their reading skills and be exposed to a variety of cultural experiences. Stocked with more than 1,000 books, the mobile library is decorated with Mauricio de Souza’s popular cartoon characters (Turma da Mônica), and is equipped with computers with internet access, aiming to help underprivileged children bridge the digital divide. The library bus also has audio and video installed to be able to show movies, another fairly rare experience for children in rural areas. The first ‘Biblioteca Móvel’ has started roaming the state of São Paulo, and the goal is to have 27 buses touring the country: one in each state. (To make this possible, Itapemirim will partner with different brands in different regions. For São Paulo, they’re working with Shell.) Supporting the moving library not only promotes Itapemirim’s image as being socially engaged, but also reinforces brand awareness among the company’s target audience. For other examples of companies investing in their future customer base, see trendwatching.com’s brand spaces & transformation and Springwise’s post about driver’s ed for customers.