As described in the NYTime’s article by Brian Montopoli on June 27th, Doubleday Borrows a Page From Hollywood, DoubleDay have undertaken a multi-channel, indeed multi-arts-type campaign to market the book. In the theatrical/RL corner they have women dressed as the protagonist in the novel, Maya, attending BookExpo America. This aspect is interesting because the marketing is targeting the marketers, not the readership. I hadn’t included such behind-the-door campaigns in my cross-media model so far. (Although I’ve considered test-screenings and pre-production publication.) They are targeting the booksellers again with a “DVD featuring Mr. Twelve Hawks [the author], his voice filtered through a machine that transforms it into a computerized baritone, reading excerpts of the book over minimalist animation”.
What is also interesting is the author is ‘in-character’ as well: claiming he lives “off-the-grid” just like his characters in his novel.
To top it off, the book is available in a spectrum of multi-channel forms:
an abridged audio cassette, unabridged audio cassette, abridged audio CD, unabridged audio CD, an abridged downloadable audiobook, an unabridged downloadable audiobook, eBook and in large print
You can read some reviews of the book and an excerpt at ReviewsofBooks.com.
I’m pleased to see such efforts being put into books. But I’m keen to also see multi-channel works that run concurrently with the reading of the book.
Thanks Jeremy, for the article link.
Michael Allen, a Grumpy Old Bookman, gives a review of the book. Just as I thought (from the jacket description) it is not a good read! 🙁