Saatchi & Saatchi to rebrand Moscow libraries for free

Leading advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi has won a competition to rebrand around 100 of Moscow’s libraries in the hope that local residents will use these public spaces more regularly. The project was initiated by Sergei Kapkov, Moscow City Government’s culture minister, who wants to “increase awareness of library design among our citizens”.

According to Kapkov, Saatchi & Saatchi will provide “the ‘intellectual work’ free of charge in line with the conditions of the competition,” accepting only one million roubles ($29,170) for the cost of the materials used. Work on the new project will commence in September.

Only the libraries which have struggled to attract the public will undergo a makeover, with the first three pilot projects to include Moscow’s central Dobrolyubov library, the Gorky children’s library and the Dostoevsky library. Boris Kupriyanov, the vice-president of the Moscow City Library Centre, said that in addition to rebranding, the project would also develop reading rooms.

He added: “Nobody will turn the library into a club or gathering place. Reading in libraries will be improved with people realising that libraries are more than just places that issue books. They are free cultural institutions for local residents paid for by taxes, not an institute belonging to some official.”