Marketing James Patterson Books

Executive Summary:

Over the last decade James Patterson has published an unprecedented number of best-selling books, cemented a powerful brand image amongst a loyal following, and redefined the process by which authors create content to meet reader demand. From November 2000 through June 2003, Patterson had cumulative sales of over six million dollars, trailing only John Grisham during that time frame. He has generated the majority of his sales through a loyal readership that consistently lines up to buy his next installment. Keenly aware of this dedicated following, Patterson successfully sought to augment the proliferation of his titles with co-authors familiar with his brand that could share the workload, creating a virtual assembly-line of best-sellers. Despite this enormous success, the Patterson brand still has a sizeable opportunity for growth. Patterson cites a need to broaden his, relative to other best-selling authors, narrow reader base to capture a greater percentage of the "omnivorous" readers, amongst whom his brand penetration was much lower.

There are two possibilities for Patterson to consider, both involving his relationship with book clubs. The book clubs provide an excellent source of individualized customer information, but have not themselves yielded an enormous amount of profitability for already-established authors such as Patterson. The first option would be to negotiate higher club royalties with the existing book club partnerships. Patterson himself has advocated this approach, citing that the clubs often erode profits from bookstore store sales, and the clubs need him more than he needs the clubs. The second possibility is for Patterson to embrace the book club marketing model, using the cl...

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• Relatively narrow range of readers: mainly "crime fiction addicts"

• Not as much status in reading a Patterson novel

• Relatively small international readership

Incentives:

• Book Clubs push authors with highest name recognition—Patterson books might not be promoted as heavily as books from "badge" authors

• Deals with clubs risk eroding bookstores' profits

• Club members often terminate contract after commitment is over

Coordination:

• Retail stores can only track purchase behavior through surveys

Recommendation:

• Pre-release next best-seller prospect with book club members

o Pre-release gives book, as well as club members, premium status

o Generates a "buzz" before retail release in domestic and international markets with Patterson loyalists and "omnivorous" best-seller readers

o Creates anticipation to drive demand for purchases at retail stores