— ABOUT THE CLIENT
Tamyras is an independent publishing house based out of Beirut and Paris. Over the course of 15 years, Tamyras has published over forty books, many of them shortlisted and winning awards like the “5 Continent de la Francophonie” Award and the “France-Liban” Award. Their catalogue includes the work of notable authors like Etel Adnan, Journalist Warren Singh-Bartlett, illustrator Mazen Kerbaj  and screenwriter Meedo Taha.

— CHALLENGE
As more and more people fluctuate online, the publishing house needed to find more digital and creative ways to promote its catalog and new releases.

— CONTENT SOLUTION
By working closely with the Tamyras team, I devised an immersive video strategy aimed at attracting new avid readers. I planned on doing so by giving them a taste of the latest releases through two different video formats: The first was cinematic book trailers as they gave me the ability to bring any narrative to life while the second was humorous author interviews, which work on getting the audience acquainted with the talent behind the book.

I equip every new book release campaign with these two segments. The book trailer acts as a visual hook here to generate buzz. Viewers can dip their toes into the pond of each publication before deciding if they want to dive in.  As you will see below, a trailer's visual queue can easily be adapted depending on the book's genre. On the other side, the author interviews have a slower build up and go live following the first marketing push. They serve as a tool to warm up any potential readers that were initially on the fence. By inviting viewers to get to know the riveting authors, we maximize our chances of recruiting new Tamyras fans. Finally, these interviews end with a fast pitch segment where the writers only have 15 seconds to pitch their books making for a conclusive marketing effort. 

Selection of Book Trailers:

— PALACE CAFÉ
This novel tells the story of a man named Antoine who returns to his home country of Lebanon after a 15-year absence. Upon his arrival, readers discover that he has one mission in mind: to uncover the truth behind the murder of his brother which took place during the events of the Lebanese civil war. What sets this book apart from every other murder mystery is the meticulous way writer Defraiteur Nicoleau weaves Beirut into her story through drugging descriptions. The city mutates into a living protagonist in the process. The novel's trailer depicts our hero as he makes his way home after he just landed in Beirut. As you will see, the city is ready to jump off the screen and invite you over for coffee. These visuals coupled with an eerie soundtrack and voice-over made translating Palace Café onto the screen a breeze.

— PETITES MORTS À BEYROUTH
Petites Morts à Beyrouth is a speculative fiction novel that is straight out of the Black Mirror universe. The year is 2058 and people can now use a tool called Retrovision to watch the Past as they would view a series on Netflix. No details are off limits as you can jump back to any year or any moment of your liking with a click of a button. A Canadian resident who goes under the name of Christian decides to take advantage of this opportunity to have a quick look at his neglected Lebanese origins. As you might have figured out, the unsuspecting man ends up biting more than he could chew as the fabric of his reality crumbles right in front of his eyes.  Just like the pledge of Retrovision, I wanted this book's trailer to have an unorthodox approach. So I worked on a full-blown retrofuturistic advert for this time-bending product to catch the eye of sci-fi fans.

— DÉVIATIONS ET AUTRES DÉTOURS
 Déviations et Autres Détours is a collection of short stories that are all centered around the concept of "loss and endurance in the city of Beirut." Author Valérie Cachard uses these seven narratives as a tool to shed light on the different divergences taking place in modern Lebanon. Throughout the book, she tackles critical notions like modern-day misogyny, the traumas of the civil war, and freedom through self-emancipation. The book's cover art mirrors this idea of intertwined survivals in a beautiful and literal manner. Producing a trailer around a collection of short stories can get quite messy if not done right. This is why for this teaser I drew my inspiration from the cover art's visual style by taking fragments from the various short stories and piecing them together in a coherent way to form a single uniting capsule.

— GETTING LOST IN LEBANON
How do you prove that a collection of Instagram posts is the ultimate Lebanon travel guide? You fulfill your road trip fantasy and put it to the test. This is precisely what I did with Warren Singh Bartley's handbook: Getting Lost in Lebanon. With the help of the author, I planned a day based on the "magical hidden corners" he cites in this collection. We start our journey at 7 am in the city center and make our way up to one of the highest mountain peaks of Lebanon. On our way there we stop by some of these undiscovered cultural spots that vary from wineries to abandoned hotels and even Roman temples. The result is A Day in Lebanon, an action-packed trailer which serves as quintessential proof that Singh Bartley is deserving of his title as the "ultimate Lebanon travel guide."
 

— A ROAD TO DAMASCUS
A bus leaves Beirut towards Damascus with seven people aboard, one of whom is a prominent Lebanese politician. Just before they can make it across the border, the unsuspecting passengers are all gunned down by a ruthless killer in cold blood. A couple of meters away, a botanist studying a rare occurrence of acacias witnesses this assassination. A Road to Damascus follows this biologist as he uses his keen knowledge of plants to uncover the truth behind this shooting while the country around him plunges into conspiracy theories and chaos. The trailer for this thriller is as ominous as the book it's selling. It gives readers a taste of the events that took place on that unholy bus from the point of view of the main protagonist. Flora, blood, and mystery are all on the menu.
 

Minute Interview Episodes:

The second component of this strategy consists of author interviews with a twist. An entry point to a book can either be the content or the person who penned it. This series allows me to put a face on the Tamyras brand by introducing viewers to the talents behind the publishing house's books. Other than the format itself, the main selling point is these authors' personalities. As their name indicates, the Minute Interview are short and snappy segments during which the writers have to answer a series of dual-choice questions. The alternatives that they have to choose between are punny and sometimes seemingly unrelated. These pairings inject an added layer of comedy as we jump from Greek mythology to Indian dishes at full throttle. At the end of the video, the authors have 15 seconds to speed-pitch their book enabling us to focus the viewers' attention back on the goal at hand.