A book signing session always has something magical, as one stroke of the pen makes your copy a unique one. But what if the author of your favorite work has already passed away? To honor the legendary Belgian writer Paul van Ostaijen and celebrate the 100th birthday and re-issue of his masterpiece Music-Hall, bol.com created The Impossible Signing Sessions. With the help of technology, van Ostaijen was brought back to life for one last book signing session. We reproduced van Ostaijen’s handwriting and a robotic arm was adjusted and programmed until it could perfectly duplicate his handwriting and signature. 

We carefully analyzed Paul’s manuscripts, transforming his handwriting into a font. The only robot arm which could imitate those delicate writing movements was a device normally used for medical purposes. That arm was then tuned for three months until it mastered four different aspects of writing: pen choice, writing angle, writing speed and pressure. The software also allowed for people to write their own messages in the author’s handwriting, which gave the visitors an emotional souvenir and made every copy a one-of-a-kind bol.com souvenir. With the action, bol.com showed they know the passions of book fans.

The quality of the imitations was praised by experts and journalists and made the Impossible Signing Sessions spread like wildfire with 24,7 million media impressions. The robot arm signed non-stop for twelve days during the Antwerp Book Fair, resulting in 4119 autographs and 15791 words. As the star of the event, Paul Van Ostaijen even became the most signing author of the entire festival with 1076 autographs.

But most importantly: bol.com achieved 5% more brand awareness, and their turnover in book sales increased with 40%.