We in the publishing world have come a long way in recent weeks in putting real clout and actual staff behind our opinion that the importance of digital media in marketing a book is growing fast and, in fact, has probably hit what Malcolm Gladwell so elegantly dubbed “the tipping point.” If digital media isn’t the most important driver of getting public attention for a book, it is running a close second as information is now instant, paperless, visual and ever-present.
Two public relations firms, including this one, and a major publisher have recently announced plans to assign staff to newly created positions that specifically address the opportunities of Web 2.0, the blogging world and all things related to the Internet. While proud of us all, it’s not hard for me to conjure an image of the geniuses at the Apple store, the Generation Y staffers at Google headquarters and probably most of our children saying, “What took you so long?”
Sara Schneider in our New York office has moved up to Associate Director and we officially redefined her duties to include creating a web-based strategy for every book the agency represents. We don’t consider this a value-add for our clients, but rather a must-have for every project hoping to get widespread public attention.
In fact, we’d already dipped a toe in the digital water by starting this blog in the fall. Its purpose, in part, was to give all of us a chance to experience first-hand how to write, position and create traffic for a blog. I’m certain our first readers were only those whose paycheck I signed. But then marketing guru John Moore mentioned our blog in his blog, Brand Autopsy, and traffic jumped. We attended an event hosted by 800 CEO Read in December and a dozen bloggers there gave us shout outs, and we were on our way. The rules are being written and we, like our colleagues, want to be on the front line in learning them all and embracing the opportunities they create.
This week Simon & Schuster appointed Elinor Hirschorn to the newly created role of Chief Digital Officer, in a move it said “reflected the growing importance of digital publishing to traditional publishers.” And in January David Hahn at Planned Television Arts was promoted to Managing Director will as part of his new duties will head a digital division, PTAInteractive.
Just as academics learned to “publish or perish” to ensure their success, we in the publishing world must now embrace digital or risk losing our relevance not only to new readers, but those among us determined to ride the wave of the information age.