CAN PUBLISHER BRANDS MATTER TO THE CONSUMER?
Publishers have served readers by acquiring and curating content, promoting authors to the public, and distributing product through established channels. The emergence of digital platforms and the proliferation of online content has created unique challenges for the publishing industry. Despite fulfilling the important role of gatekeeper, publishers remain largely unknown to consumers. The many forces behind the disruption in bookselling are requiring publishers to reach out directly to consumers. Can leveraging their corporate brand differentiate publishers in the minds of readers today?
Snapshot of the Industry
Technology has increased the amount of content available and the sources where
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352). Amazon has disrupted the retail bookstore market and become the dominant bookseller. As e-commerce becomes the norm in daily life, bookstores are unable to compete with the service and selection from Amazon and other online sellers. According to the Census Bureau, bookstore sales in 2017 were down thirty-nine percent from a decade ago (Streitfeld, D., 2017, para. 10). Chain bookstores such as Borders, Family Christian Stores, Hastings Entertainment, and Book World have all declared bankruptcy and closed operations (Streitfeld, D., 2017, para. 2, 4,). As a result of the bookstore closings, publishers now have fewer showrooms to display their products (Esposito, J., 2010, para. …show more content…
Advance royalty payments for successful authors are skyrocketing (Kalliarekos, K., et al., 2005, p. 20), and publishers are increasingly becoming dependent upon brand-name authors to provide sufficient revenue to their annual operations (Royle, J., et al., 1999, p. 9). Together, these two developments are contributing to unfavorable economics. Adding to these concerns is the fact that author loyalty to a publishing house may be a problem (Cox, E., 2010, para. 13). If a publisher invests in developing new authors who then become successful, it is possible that they may lose those authors to another publisher who can provide a larger advance. In that instance, an over-reliance on author-specific branding strategies can be a liability to publishers (Royle, J., et al., 1999, p. 11). Furthermore, authors can take years in between projects, and so a publisher must continue to acquire and release quality new products every season (Cox, E., 2010, para.
This source considers the issue of converting to digital books, specifically as it pertains to the effect that this change would have on the global environment. Although the research does recognize that there are disadvantages to not having a physical copy of a book and to abandoning certain platforms that do not transfer well to a digital form, overall, these researchers conclude that publishers should move towards digital products not only for the sake of cheaper long-run costs, but also for the good that going paperless can do for the environment. By displaying a series of graphs, as well as including multiple data sets, the text explains how e-books compare with printed texts; then, analysis of these facts is also included to show the reader the authors’ point.
In this analysis includes a summary of the characters and the issues they are dealing with, as well as concepts that are seen that we have discussed in class. Such as stereotyping and the lack of discrimination and prejudice, then finally I suggest a few actions that can be taken to help solve the issues at hand, allowing the involved parties to explain their positions and give them a few immersion opportunities to experience their individual cultures.
Starting out as solely an online bookstore, Amazon has become the largest online retailer in the world.
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.
Is Amazon a bubble waiting to burst? The following discussions in this research paper will explore several key issues from its birth to its debatable future. Amazon is not a stranger to arguments revolving around questions of its longevity and success. When the systemic bubble of 1999 arrived Amazon’s corporate goal was to get big, to do it fast, and to establish a hold of new markets before any other competitor. During this time frame Amazon began branching out and selling anything and everything. With the burst of the internet bubble in 2000 and 2001, Amazon changed its goal from growth to aggressively making profits in all areas of their business. In 2001, Amazon’s founder and CEO stated in a Wall Street Journal article “We’ll ferociously manage the products we carry so that we sell only products that are profitable. The thirty-pound box of nails isn’t long for our world” (Elmer-DeWitt, 2001).
In 2005 a new phenomenon was born. Stephenie Meyer’s The Twilight Saga has given the world something new to obsess about this decade. Critics have even called Meyer the new J.K. Rowling, the author of the renowned Harry Potter series. Fans all around the world are now screaming the names of Edward Cullen, Jacob Black and Isabella ‘Bella’ Swan. It’s the classic Romeo and Juliet tale of forbidden love except with a gothic twist. Told from the perspective of Bella Swan a 17 year-old who just moved to Forks, Washington, The Twilight Saga is about the romance between Bella and her vampire sweetheart, Edward Cullen that is continuously sabotaged by sadistic and revengeful vampires, an old supercilious vampire family and teenage werewolves with too much tribal pride. Now there’s nowhere one can go without observing something related to the books. Businesses have lined their shelves with Twilight merchandise galore. In Hot Topic, Burger King and Nordstrom, fans are overjoyed to see the stores too are involved in the excitement and are selling various items from the books to clothing and jewelry. Die-hard Twilight fans also known as ‘Twihards’ have immersed themselves into the business of selling Twilight merchandise as well. They have created their own online stores including Bella Twilight Shop and The Twilight Shop dedicated to selling hundreds of glorious Twilight related items. Twilight has even brought about a new fashion trend. Everything vampire is now in vogue. Vampire fashion has been seen on runways, in well-known stores and on the bodies of vampire fans all over the world. Through the propaganda of Twilight based merchandises, businesses such as Burger King, Nordstrom, Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic and clothing companies that sell ...
There are many things that B&N and its book publishers can do to stimulate more business. The best strategy in my opinion would be to make more deals with large companies like Apple and Samsung. These companies are at the height of every competitive market in electronics, from cell-phones to televisions, and hold some of the most loyal customers in the market (Surowiecki, 2013). If B&N wants the Nook to stay in the competition, they have to market their product to be appealing in today’s society. To do this they have to factor in competitive prices, capabilities, and other features that can compete with top sellers. Joining up with larger companies will not only increase exposure, but also put B&N and book publishers on the same platforms as their competitors.
Amazon is a large well-known business that I decided to write about because it’s a site where many people worldwide and students from Montclair State University (MSU) use to purchase many things such as books and other necessity for their classes. Amazon was the business that I picked rather then other institutions because I wanted to develop and research their company in depth to find out different techniques and discover what Amazon is all about. Especially since it’s a company that many of my friends and family members use every day. “Amazon.com is an American e-commerce company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, and launched in 1995, Amazon.com began as an online bookstore before diversifying its product lines.”
1. How was Lincoln able to grow and prosper for so long in such a difficult commodity industry that forced out other giants such as General Electric, Westinghouse and BOC? What is the source of Lincoln’s outstanding and enduring success?
According to Pearce and Robinson (2014), “An opportunity is a major favorable situation in a firm’s environment.” (p. 154) One major favorable factor affecting Amazon.com is their continual success year after year. Table 1 represents a look at Amazon.com’s balance sheet comparison for the last five years. (Bezos, 2015) Amazon.com has almost tripled their net sales in the last five years. This type of success is an incredible opportunity. It provides Amazon.com with the capital to continue to branch out into new areas. Acquisitions of companies such as Kiva Systems (discussed previously) and other on-line retail companies such as Zappos, Quidsi, Livingsocial, and Lovefilm have increased the overall capability of Amazon.com. These acquisitions create a whole new list of opportunities for the corporation, which in turn adds more capabilities to the Kindle Fire
As the general public becomes desensitized by mass celebrity endorsements, consumers self reflect on such methods of advertisements, whether they are ethically sound or merely exploiting the naivete of common buyers. Sue Jozui in her passage, concerning the issues of false advertising from companies argues that consumers should completely boycott this form of advertising while additionally legislate rules and guidelines for advertisers. The author supports her position by first giving examples of the types of celebrities that would endorse certain products that coincided in whatever the figure was doing, such as a certain athlete endorsing a protein bar. The authors purpose is to make the reader self reflect on whether they should
Amazon used this strategy since its start up in order to attract a huge mass. Promotional strategy involves an agreement between two or more firms together with a long-term relationship. These allies connect their users to Yahoo’s websites, which helps promote its product (Johnson, 2010). The alliance in most cases benefits the both companies and gives them a competitive advantage over the other firms in terms of cost. Such kind of strategy occurred between Yahoo and Amazon where Yahoo provides direct connections to Amazon’s book titles from any yahoo search result. Yahoo users were invited to view and purchase books related to what they were searching on the web. Diversification strategy- Diversification of its product from CD/DVD to book markets has enabled the company to serve many customers from different market segments thus the company continues to expand via new customer bases (Jones, 2012).
Externally, HK is facing several challenges. First, the stock holders¡¦ confidence is fading as the company¡¦s stock value went down 12% from 50% to 38% in less than a decade. Second, HK¡¦s old technique is being challenged as the traditional printing business is facing a higher operation cost compare to the e-publishing and forecast is not looking well to the stockholders. Third, the company is losing its market share to its competitors in both traditional publishing and e-book business. The independent booksellers as HK are being edged out by superstores as the superstores offer mega discounts and no-question-asked return policies to the customers, therefore HK are being forced to consolidate its distribution channels and cut down the profit to the bone.
Amazon also started to expand the categories of products they sold. Their initial business plan took into account that there would be no profit for five years, selling books at wholesale value from Ingram Content Group, known before as Ingram Book. After surviving the dot.com bubble burst, Amazon grew and turned a profit of five million dollars in 2001. Around this time there was a change in the strategy; Amazon began to spread across the world, building subsidiaries and formed various alliances with companies such as Toys R Us, Borders and Target. However, these alliances only lasted until 2006 for Toys R Us, 2008 for Borders, and 2011 for
With technology progressing from drones fulfilling shipments to electronic books becoming cheaper, major companies such as Apple and Amazon have had a big impact on not only the tech industry but the publishing industry as well. Companies are outputting resources like IBook’s and the Kindle bookstore to take full advantage of the transition to digital publishing. As a result of this we have greener, more budget friendly books, and outdated traditional copies of text. With the introduction to these resources it is making the lives of students and the mass market more convenient. Students are now able to purchase books on one device that won’t weigh their bags down on a daily basis. Companies have created bookstores that can be accessed from devices that we use every day, resulting in paperless copies of books that are substantially cheaper than the traditional hard copy. E-books are replacing physical books and textbooks rapidly, and as a result they are becoming more widely and readily available for students.