Cassies 2009 Cases. Brand/Case: Harlequin s Wish for the U.S. Market. Winner: Canadian Success Outside Canada Gold

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1 Cassies 2009 Cases Brand/Case: Harlequin s Wish for the U.S. Market Winner: Canadian Success Outside Canada Gold Client Credits: Harlequin Publishing Stacy Widdrington, Director Retail Marketing Single Titles Diane Mosher, Product Manager, HQN Books, Retail Marketing Ana Luxton, Product Manager, Single Titles Amy Jones, Product Manager, Mira Books Katherine Orr, Vice President, Public Relations Agency Credits: TAXI Canada Lance Martin, Executive Creative Director Ryan Wagman, Associate Creative Director Mike Blanch, Art Director Troy McGuinness, Art Director Alanna Nathanson, Writer Tasha Dean, Interactive Producer Bill Mascall, Print Producer Christina Hill, Managing Director Sabrina Nicosia, Account Manager Crossover Notes: All winning cases contain lessons that cross over from one case to another. David Rutherford has been identifying these as Crossover Notes since Cassies1997. The full set for Cassies 2009 can be downloaded from the Case Library section at Crossover Note 2. Crossover Note 18. Crossover Note 33. Brand Truths. Keeping it Simple. Changing the Target Audience. To see creative, go to the Case Library Index and click on the additional links beside the case.

2 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Business Results Period (Consecutive Months): April 2008 March 2009 Start of Advertising/Communication Effort: April 15, 2008 Base Period for Comparison: April 2007 March 2008 a) Synopsis of the Case Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the global leader in series romance novels and women s fiction. Harlequin has just celebrated its 60-year anniversary and has published over five billion books. They publish over 120 titles a month in 29 languages in 107 markets. This Toronto-based publishing company s largest single market is the United States. b) Summary of Business Results Harlequin had a specific and ambitious task: launch their latest hardcover, Debbie Macomber s Twenty Wishes, into the top five spot on The New York Times Best Seller list. Debbie Macomber is one of Harlequin s best-selling authors and had achieved the #7 ranking on The New York Times list for Back on Blossom Street. This had been Harlequin s highest ranking to date for a hardcover release. To make the top five would require two things within the first two weeks of release: incredible hype and incredible sales. Twenty Wishes debuted at #3. This was not only a thrilling success for the author, but also the highest ranking Harlequin had ever received for a hardcover in its 60-year history. The launch also exceeded annual sales projections, with a 37.5% increase over Debbie s previous year hardcover national book release in the United States.

3 3 SITUATION ANALYSIS a) Overall Assessment We were facing four challenges with the Twenty Wishes launch: 1. Time sensitivities 2. Competition 3. Cannibalization 4. Budget constraints 1. Time Sensitivities In publishing, hype and sales within the first two weeks of launch are critical. These are the two main factors taken into account by The New York Times when determining an author s rank on its Best Seller list. Twenty Wishes had to launch with as much fanfare as possible. 2. Competition One of our biggest hurdles was the competitive threat at the time of the launch. Harlequin was anticipating a couple of competing #1 best-selling authors like Nora Roberts and James Patterson, and Twenty Wishes also had to hold its own against an unexpected release from another #1 top-selling author, David Baldacci. 3. Cannibalization Although hardcover sales are a major contributor to a publisher s profitability, mass-market consumption is dominated by softcovers. They usually launch a year after the hardcover. Back on Blossom Street, Debbie Macomber s previous release, was re-launching in softcover four weeks prior to the Twenty Wishes debut. We potentially had to draw our target back to purchase another Debbie Macomber book. And since our target was price conscious, a hardcover at $24.95 (vs. $7.99 for the softcover) was a concern, as Debbie Macomber s readers might choose to wait for the lower-priced softcover to be released. 4. Budget constraints Twenty Wishes had a limited budget for a national U.S. launch. b) Resulting Business Objectives Achieve Harlequin s highest-ever ranking by placing Twenty Wishes in the top five of The New York Times Best Seller list. This meant selling over 37.5% more books than the author s previous book.

4 4 STRATEGY & INSIGHT a) Analysis and Insight We knew that Debbie had an existing reader base, but to achieve the increased sales projection, we would need to attract a substantial number of new readers. Crossover Note Target Profile The target audience was Debbie s existing fan base and new potential readers. This group was made up of women in middle America. Although her fans are between the ages of 19 and 80, the core falls between 45 and 55. Their views and opinions are shaped by the people close to them: their family and friends. Being a supportive and nurturing friend and mother is important to them, as well as being involved in their community. Their hobbies are sociable, based on sharing ideas or doing stuff for family and friends: knitting, scrapbooking, sharing favourite recipes, and so on. Although this group goes online frequently, they use the Internet in specific and limited ways: to keep in touch with the kids at college or to look things up on Google. They also use social media sites like Facebook and gather.com to participate in discussions about their commonalities: friendships, struggles, and ambitions. Target Insight: Our target loves to share with people they love. Crossover Note Communication Strategy Twenty Wishes is an inspiring story about four women whom the target consumer would love and identify with: in the real world, they d be their friends. The connection with these characters would make the novel even more engaging: it is a story of hope, renewal, and inspiration. It follows the fortunes of a group of women who are drawn together at a time of loss in their lives. As their friendship grows, they bond together with a simple but compelling notion: each of them should make a wish list of all the wonderful things they hope to experience in their lives. We wanted to invite women across the country to share their hopes and dreams, in a parallel real-life storyline. This would allow us to broaden our target audience by drawing members of Debbie s current fan base and their networks into the storyline. The proposition: Share in the story even before you read the story. Strategy summary: 1. Target: 45- to 55-year-old middle American women 2. Insight: They love to share with people they love 3. Proposition: Share in the story even before you read the story

5 5 CREATIVE AND MEDIA EXECUTION How do you get people to experience the feeling you get from reading a good book? Our idea was to extend the consumers circle of friends by sharing their hopes and dreams to inspire others. This would engage the consumers, draw them into our ads, and then we could deliver the message about getting more of this with Twenty Wishes. We also had to ensure the tone was true to Debbie s folksy, warm, approachable brand character. The campaign was rooted in the author s relationship with her readers and was combined with the storyline of the book. The campaign asked a simple question: If given the chance, what would you wish for? Crossover Note 18. Media launched a week before the book was released to seed demand, and it continued over the following three weeks. Placement had to be impactful and efficient. Even though we used the popular publishing channel of newspaper, we developed an ad that would garner maximum impact by extending beyond the traditional book trade banner and quarter-page format. We also crafted the messaging for Debbie Macomber s annual new release contest and her book tour, along with in-store displays at retail. RADIO Timing: April Markets: National, U.S. We launched with a 60-second radio spot which enticed people to find out what Twenty Wishes was all about. The tone was warm and welcoming, much like the author s tone, and the programming was a national syndicated call-in show, Delilah. This late-night show features renowned host Delilah Rene, who takes calls from her listeners and provides advice on their issues and situations, matching it with an accompanying song to fit the mood of her advice. PRINT People Magazine. Timing: April. Markets: National, U.S. New York Times and USA Today. Timing: April 20, 27. Markets: National, U.S. All You, Romantic Times, Today s Christian Woman. Timing: April. Markets: National, U.S. Regional Newspapers. Timing: April/May. One insertion per city during the week of the book-signing tour. Markets: Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, Kansas. We used an unusual print-ad pairing (full page with a small space supplemental ad) to break out of the traditional newspaper format and break through the clutter. The messaging invited people to think of their wishes and drove them to visit the microsite SetYourWishFree.com to release their wish into the universe. Regional newspaper ads also promoted Debbie s book-signing tour with the Twenty Wishes campaign creative. The book tour market list was consistent with Debbie Macomber s 2007 release.

6 6 Full Page Newspaper and Small Space ONLINE Banners: Advertising.com, Burst.com, Gather.com, BigFish.com, Book Reporter.com, NYT.com, ShelfAwareness.com, DailyKnitter.com. Timing: April 24 May 16. Markets: National Online Banner

7 7 E-blast: DebbieMacomber.com, MomSense Newsletter (April 1 only). Timing: April 15, April 26. Markets: National Debbie Macomber s Official Website E-blast Microsite. Timing: April 20. Markets: National Most unusual for the publishing category was a microsite we created called Set Your Wish Free. The print, Web banners, and e-blasts all drove people to the site where they had the chance to share a wish, blow on the dandelion, and set their wish free into the universe. They were then able to see other people s wishes floating around in the sky and invite their friends to share. During the first two weeks of launch, over 17,000 wishes were shared. An unanticipated benefit, because the site was not restricted by geographic borders, was that people from around the world were able to share their wishes. The site was not an overt ad for Twenty Wishes, but ultimately it led to a click-through to get more information on the book, purchase it, enter a contest to make their wish come true (for up to $10,000) by submitting a story about their wish, or go to Debbie Macomber s official website. The site was able to collect psychographic information, and over 3,000 people went on to not only visit Debbie Macomber s website but also to sign up for her mailing list, therefore, increasing a database list.

8 8 SetYourWishFree.com Microsite

9 9 BUSINESS RESULTS Twenty Wishes reached #3 on The New York Times Best Seller list, surpassing Harlequin s objective of #5. The aggressive sales target of the 37.5% increase over the year previous was achieved. In the first week alone, retailers increased their projected allocation. SetYourWishFree.com was a huge success for Twenty Wishes and was picked up for its launch in the United Kingdom by Harlequin s sister company, Mills & Boon. CAUSE & EFFECT BETWEEN ADVERTISING AND RESULTS The campaign around Twenty Wishes got the book talked about. According to Shelf Awareness, a publishing industry site, the Twenty Wishes banner campaign click-through rate was extraordinary. It was the #1 top banner campaign in total clicks for The Twenty Wishes microsite, SetYourWishFree.com, was incredibly popular, garnering more than 17,000 wishes in the first two weeks and has since grown to over 34,000 wish postings. And it continues to grow with no support campaign driving traffic to the site. Competitive activity in 2008 increased over the period from The book launched at full price and the book tour activity was consistent with the 2007 release of Back on Blossom Street. Harlequin s success with the launch of Twenty Wishes was incredible, and it was unusual for a Canadian player to dominate in the highly competitive U.S. publishing market.