Best known for their Ignition service that markets, manages and distributes backlist ebooks for other publishers, Open Road is launching Activation, a service available to all publishers to help market frontlist titles. The initiative formalizes and expands upon campaigns and promotions Open Road has offered recently through their content vertical websites and newsletters, which they say reach audiences of over 3 million readers. Open Road chief marketing officer Mary McAveney says in the announcement, “Publishers everywhere are seeing their Facebook ad costs rise dramatically and their campaigns less effective because of recent privacy changes. While protecting consumer privacy, Open Road […]
Marketing
Bogaards Public Relations Launches
Paul Bogaards, Knopf’s longtime evp, publicity & marketing, and deputy publisher, who left the publisher at the end of 2021, has launched Bogaards Public Relations. He is joined as a partner in the firm by Stephanie Kloss, who previously ran the advertising and marketing department at Knopf for 17 years. Bogaards writes in the announcement, “Our business model at BPR is a little different – we’re a long runway business, not a quick fix shop. If you are looking for someone to book a tour – that’s not us. Think of us as project managers – with you, your work, or […]
Penguin Random House Starts Frequent Reader Rewards Program
Penguin Random House has launched a Reader Rewards Loyalty Program, a free promotional initiative that lets readers earn one free book for every 12 PRH titles they purchase. EVP, director, marketing strategy & consumer engagement Sanyu Dillon says in the announcement that their research “shows that today’s consumer expects to be rewarded by the brands they purchase from frequently, and this program delivers an initial step toward building deeper, more meaningful relationships with readers.” Readers register for an account through the PRH website, where FAQs on the new program are posted, and submit evidence of purchases — in any format, […]
Briefs: Bookselling and More
Bookselling A couple of weeks ago Book Expo announced a preliminary count of 7,425 attendees at the mots recent, saying the group was “comprised primarily of booksellers, librarians, retailers and media.” But a new infographic from the show provides a more precise count of 1,289 booksellers & retailers, and 1,597 librarians in attendance. We asked about the composition of the remaining 4,414 attendees tabulated, which included 860 press registrants, and who came from “various categories including Distributors, Educators, Film & TV Professionals, Licensing Professionals, Literary Agents and Wholesalers among others.” The show spokesperson says they will provide further details once the […]
New Amazon Charts Show What People Are Reading
Amazon has launched a “reimagined weekly bestseller list” that combines data from across all of their formats — print, ebook, and digital audio. A new Top 20 Most Read list aims to show “what customers are really reading and listening to by looking at the average number of daily Kindle readers and Audible listeners” (of course they have no data on print readers). A companion Top 20 Most Sold list does include print sales data as well (and they still count pre-orders and sales together). On the downside, the “sold” list still has Amazon’s own thumb on the scale, counting digital products […]
New York City Launches Voting for One City One Book Selection
In advance of the scheduled launch event on Wednesday — which we noted in brief on Tuesday — details have been released on New York City’s One Book, One New York program. After a couple of aborted efforts in the past, this one is officially on, under the auspices of the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment (which recently added the book publishing business to its umbrella), run by commissioner Julie Menin. She notes in the press release, “The publishing industry is a vital element of the city’s creative economy. We’re thrilled to celebrate our enduring literary capital with the […]