Publishing brand concept evolution and theory are introduced

1. BRAND CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES IN PUBLISHING
Dr Irini Pitsaki,
NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY, UK

2. • The evolution of the brand concept
• The brand today
• Brand & marketing strategies
• Brand development
• Branding tools (brand – product matrix, brand hierarchy)
Presentation Overview

3. The evolution of the brand concept
Brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a
combination of them, intended to identify goods and services of
one seller or group of sellers and differentiate them from those
of competition”
(American Marketing Association)

4. From the supply perspective, marketing focuses on the product;
from the demand approach, it focuses on the person
Supply: the brand is a “means of communication or expression of
origin” (L.M. Zapico & A.I. Jimenez)
Demand: brand is a source of meaning satisfaction and symbolism,
communicates company’s values
'A tempting change'
boasted one of Virago's
first posters. Now, Virago
can look back with pride
on over thirty years of
success – in both
tempting and changing
the world – and, with
confidence look forward
to a new era of publishing
books that speak
volumes about the lives
of girls and women.

7. The brand today
The acceptance of brand as much more that an identifying. The brand becomes an
intermediary between the company and the person, and also a channel of exchange:
The company can present its products, and the consumer sees
his values expressed and his desires fulfilled through the brand

8. The brand today
“Ultimately a brand is something that resides in the minds of
consumers. A brand is a perceptual entity that is rooted in reality, but
it is also more than that, reflecting the perceptions and perhaps even
the idiosyncrasies of consumers” (K.L. Keller)
Inspiring People to Care About the Planet
Travel the Earth, sharing its amazing stories with
each new generation, support critical expeditions
and scientific fieldwork, encourage geography
education, promote natural and cultural
conservation, inspire audiences

9. Publishing Brands
A brand may be seen as a product with dimensions that help it
stand out, differentiate itself, and ultimately acquire more appeal
and appreciation than all products in the same category
A publishing brand is a product that:
• has a special meaning for the readers
• has a symbolic dimension (that allows individuals to identify with what it
represents)
• allows the transference of value to works and authors, and vice versa
• constitutes the basis on which specialization strategies can be
established, allowing for market and company positioning

10. The brand today
A brand may be associated with a company, a product or a product line
To brand a product it is necessary to teach audiences “who” the product is... as
well as “what” the product does and “why” they should care. In other words, to
brand a product or service it is necessary to give people a label for the product
and to provide meaning for the brand to them”
(K.L. Keller, 2003: 13)

11. Marketing & Brand
Some emphasize associations with what they represent:
brands are symbols that generate emotions and determine
lifestyles

12. Market segmentation / Genre Strategies

13. Personalization Strategies

14. Brand Development
“Brands may take all shapes and sizes; their power does not
derive from what they are but rather from what they represent”
Wally Olins (2003: 19)
Generally, there are brands that compete by a direct
association with the product and its pure nature

15. Brand Development
Others emphasize associations with names or origin

16. Brand Development

17. K.L. Keller´s strategic brand management model
In the aforementioned definition of brand proposed by the
American Marketing Association, it seems that brand creation
should begin with choosing a name, logotype, design and
other elements known as brand elements (K. L. Keller, 2003: 50).
These may be as numerous and diverse as the products and
companies they pertain to. Their character, approach, and
shapes will vary, enabling an infinite number of combinations

18. K.L. Keller´s strategic brand management model

19. Branding Tools / Defining the Brand Strategy
To establish a brand strategy, an interrelation between
brand and products must be chosen. K.L. Keller speaks
of two useful tools for the brand strategy determination:
the brand-product matrix and the brand hierarchy

21. Random Fiction

22. BRANDS PRODUCTS
Random
Arrow The
Associate /
Grisham
/Paperbac
k
Century The The
Associate / Associate /
Grisham / Grisham
Trade /Hardback
Paperbac
k
AudioBooks The CD
Associate /
Grisham

23. Branding Tools / Defining the Brand Strategy
It is important to establish a hierarchy system that reveals the explicit
order of the brand. The hierarchy displays the number and nature of
the common or distinguishing characteristics of all the company’s
products. To do so, it is fundamental to know the potential relation
between brand and products. The brand hierarchy is based on the
idea that products can be managed in diverse ways, according to
the brand elements used and the combination chosen for each
product

24. Branding Tools / Defining the Brand Strategy
In the hierarchies there are different ways of brand elements
definition. The simplest is moving from the corporation to brand
family, then the individual brand and then a product or modifier
(a model or specific product)

25. Brand Hierarchy - corporation

26. Brand Hierarchy - brand family

27. Brand Hierarchy - individual brand

28. Brand Hierarchy - modifier

29. Branding Tools / Defining the Brand Strategy
The brand hierarchy is an ideal tool for determining strategies in
the publishing sector.
This study is also about the analysis of different brand types,
starting with the corporation, then moving onto the product
(book or book series), the author and lastly, the content.
These four perspectives help to understand what a publishing
brand can be in relation to very common publishing categories

30. Corporate brands: the publishing house
Corporate brands strategies are based on everything that
defines the company and makes it different or better than
the others. These differentiating fundamentals must become
the protagonists of the company’s actions, be treated as
attributes of the commercialized products and, mainly, to
seen as ways of developing strong bonds with readers

32. Illustrated Classics, 1938
Art director: Robert Gibbings

33. Classics restyled1947
Jan Tschichold’s redesigns
Key elements by John Overton

34. Penguin Classics, 2003

35. Modern Classics, 2000

36. The person as brand: the author
The star system” consists of associating authors (creators)
“stars” with paramount texts (works). “This involves
considerable marketing efforts, in order to break a writer or
performer as a new star, or to ensure the continuation of a
star’s aura”.
(D. Hesmondhalgh, 2002: 21)

39. The work as brand: the content
“Genre terms operate as labels, not unlike brand names, witch
suggest to audiences the kind of pleasure witch can be attained
through experiencing the product. The terms might not be universally
understood, and might not even be explicitly used: the important thing
is that a type of cultural product is suggested, associated with
particular uses and pleasures. Many cultural products promoted
and publicized primarily via genre also carry author names, but until
the author become a star, genre is paramount”
(D. Hesmondhalgh, 2002: 21)

41. The work as brand: the content
Another way of constructing a brand from the work and the
content of the book consists of basing it on the plot or the
characters

43. Branding Tools / Defining the Brand Strategy
In order to determine and successfully apply brand strategies and
finally create the potential “conceptual entity” that is the brand, it is
fundamental to:
- be aware that products can be managed in diverse ways, according
to the brand elements used and the combination chosen for each
product
- know the potential relation between brand and products

44. Thank you! Irini.pitsaki@northumbria.ac.uk