To give consumers the opportunity to read books that are banned in various locations, Open Road Integrated Media has launched a new marketing service: the Free Voices Geo-Targeting initiative.

According to CEO David Steinberger, the program will focus on 10 states where books are most commonly banned and send materials about specific books to readers on Open Road’s lists in those states. Publishers whose books have been banned in Texas, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Utah, Iowa, Idaho and Nebraska can participate in the program, although Steinberger said all publishers can still participate in the Free Voices initiative that Open Road launched in 2023, which has seen open rates as high as 75% on many segmented emails.

The new initiative is set to go live on September 1, ahead of Banned Books Week, September 22-28. “With Free Voices geo-targeting, we place a special emphasis on reaching places where readers may not have access to books,” Steinberger said in a statement.

“Geo-targeting is the new frontier in the fight for free speech,” added Peter McCarthy, marketing director at Open Road. “Our message to publishers is that if there’s a reader anywhere in the country that’s stopping them from getting your book, Free Voices geo-targeting can help.”