Campaign Promotes Bible to MySpace Generation
by Lynn Garrett, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 5/2/2007
On May 14 B&H Publishing Group’s Holman Bibles division will launch HolmanTV.com, a video blog designed to expose high school and college students to the Holman Student Bible, which releases in July. A series of 3–5 minute weekly video episodes will be posted on MySpace, YouTube and FaceBook, leading viewers to HolmanTV.com to follow the lives of “Holman” and “Gigi,” 20-somethings who are cubicle-bound in Nashville but dreaming of making it big in the music business.
General trade houses already have been doing this, but B&H is believed to be the first evangelical Christian house to try the technique. The campaign is the brainchild of B&H’s director of e-business Steve NeSmith and marketing manager Tim Jordan, who told RBL, “When we thought about how to reach students, we asked ourselves, what are they doing? They’re online—that’s where they are living.” The first eight videos—produced by B&H and freelance videographer Eric Mullet—are currently being edited.
Jordan said each episode will have a 10-15 second introduction (“like a short TV show”) and will end with a 17-second commercial for the Holman Student Bible. But, Jordan said, “there will be no product shots, no one holding up a Bible. If we make it too heavily commercial they will smell that out and be turned off.” The site also will not provide any way to buy direct from B&H or any links to booksellers. “There will be no full-court press to sell,” said Jordan. “We just hope they will want to go to their local bookseller or online store if they decide to buy.”
The second prong of the marketing campaign will be more traditional: “When we have product in the warehouse we’ll be sending packages out to the gatekeepers—youth pastors, campus ministries, parachurch organizations,” Jordan said. He added the print materials will lead them to HolmanTV.com so they can use the videos as a tool in working with students.
