Reading to escape, reading to better understand something, or reading as a form of self care are key motivations for readers to turn to books. We spend a lot of time understanding the audience we’re trying to reach, what their motivations are, and how we can use creative to invite people into the experience we’re creating.īooks provide a lot of different experiences for people. How have you navigated that transition along with your colleagues?ĭillon: I recently heard a term called “infobesity'' and I cannot strike it from my mind. Now we develop relationships directly with consumers as well. Marketing used to be focused on B2B (business to business) with book sellers, as they were the ones to bring the consumers into the store. In our industry, marketing is so much bigger than it was when we first started. We launched a reading nook with them a few years back. We also rely on brand partners, like Lululemon. That’s why a key strategy for us has been to build relationships with influencers. It’s not about favoring one method of discovery over another. Those methods are still essential, but now there’s things like BookTok. The primary way to discover new books used to be when someone walked into a book shop, saw a book on a table or got a recommendation from a store clerk. What has been the most surprising thing about that evolution?ĭillon: Despite all the new tech we’ve seen, word of mouth is still the best tool for book discovery.

Shoenthal: Like many industries, publishing has seen a significant shift over the past two decades.

That’s why the activation is called, ‘Slow down, read a book.’ It is a social first campaign that will prompt readers to unhand their devices, shut down social media and read an actual book.

But we know it can be very hard to put our phone down. People often cite that their New Year’s resolutions are to spend less time on their phones and to read more books. One of the initiatives we’re launching this year is to keep people in the habit of reading by encouraging them to put down their phones and pick up a book. Things like getting a new job, a new commute, getting married or having kids will determine the amount of time someone can devote to reading. When I first started, I was marketing individual titles to readers, and now I’m expanding the market for books and marketing the act of reading to consumers.

Penguin publisher