Approximately 1 in 10 babies is born prematurely each year in the province of Quebec (Canada). Préma-Québec, the only organization in Quebec that provides financial and psychological support to the families of premature babies, isn’t well known. The increased awareness generated by the campaign was intended to help the non-profit raise funds to support its mission.

Holding a premature baby is life-changing. Their fragility is forever etched in your memory...but it’s something only the parents of these tiny infants experience. To raise awareness of prematurity, we decided to literally put the average weight of a premature baby in people’s hands with a book that educates, entertains and generates funds for the cause.

The book was promoted in Quebec through an integrated campaign and, like a premature baby, arrived a month earlier than expected: on November 17 – World Prematurity Day.

The book is sold in most bookstores across the province, with 100% of the profits going towards the cause.

Approximately 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely each year in the province of Quebec. Holding a premature baby is life-changing. Their fragility is forever etched in your memory...but it’s something that only the parents of these tiny infants experience. To raise awareness of prematurity among the Quebec population, we decided to literally put the average weight of a premature baby in people’s hands with a book that educates, entertains and generates funds for the cause.

So we asked people to gently get a hold of the book and buy it.

The book, sold in bookstores, puts the weight of a preemie directly in the hands of readers to shed light on their fragility. Buying it educates AND does good: all the profits go to the cause.

This tiny book is a powerful tool for raising awareness of prematurity. Its entertaining, educational content includes four original stories about prematurity, all written and illustrated by Quebec artists. As readers follow the stories, they can see the growth of a baby’s head during gestation delicately illustrated at the top of each page. And most importantly, The 1.8-Pound Book gently places the average weight of a premature baby directly in the hands of each reader to convey the fragility of preemies..

Every detail was taken into account to ensure the book’s weight was just right: the number of pages, paper type, size and even the ink coverage.

Additionally, the book’s dust jacket is styled as a blanket that swaddles the newborn on its cover.

In French, livre is the word for both “book” and “pound” (the unit of weight).

We took the product’s production process very seriously, consulting a publisher of children’s books on the ideal print run to reach our sales and donation objectives.

Based on their experience, market knowledge and bookseller demands, 7,000 copies were printed – the equivalent of a double bestseller in Quebec.

The story is happily unfolding: $121,875 will be donated to Préma-Québec, making this offensive the largest one-time contribution to the organization. And this unprecedented impact doesn’t even include the earned media the book has enjoyed: awareness generated by the ad campaign, appearances at book salons and on prime time TV shows and a social media shout-out from the Premier of Quebec.