As more sales move from print to digital, Simon & Schuster has unveiled a news sales and marketing operation that will increase marketing efforts for both print and digital titles, while moving more of its sales efforts from physical stores to digital. As part of the shift, S&S is combining its field and national sales groups as well as telemarketing efforts into a new Retail Sales unit with Paula Amendolara named senior director. The new Digital Sales unit will be headed by Colin Shields and his group will be responsible for digital sales for all adult and children’s imprints to all e-bookstore accounts. Amendolara and Shields will report to Michael Selleck, executive v-p for sales and marketing.
As a result of the change, Frank Fochetta, director of field sales, and Lauren Monaco, director of national accounts, are leaving the company along with what are believed to be about eight other sales employees. S&S, however, said it plans to hire about that same number to beef up its marketing programs and to fill selected spots in sales.
Marketing efforts will be increased at both an imprint and corporate level and in her memo to staff, CEO Carolyn Reidy said, “We will add new marketing staff to each of our publishing imprints to facilitate increased title-by-title marketing efforts through digital and traditional means.” To that end Liz Perl will remain head of the corporate marketing department and will report directly to Reidy. As part of the changes in marketing, the children’s marketing team will return to the children’s division, and report to children’s group head Jon Anderson.
In another change in marketing, the Digital group, headed by Ellie Hirschhorn, will work with S&S publishing teams to help with digital marketing campaigns for selected titles, while taking on responsibility for S&S’s corporate social media efforts.
S&S also made some modifications to its other sales operations. Specials Sales, which will soon get a new senior director, will now house S&S’s CBA commission-based sales team and will also be getting telesales support. In Children’s Sales, Brian Kelleher, director of field sales for children’s books, will now report to Mary Marotta, v-p, director of children’s sales, and will continue to manage educational wholesale accounts for both the children’s and adult imprints. Gary Urda remains v-p, director of sales for Distribution Sales, and Seth Russo continues to oversee the international sales team.
In summarizing the shifts in her memo, Reidy said: “These changes to our organization will strengthen our publishing efforts, from the creation of awareness for our titles through our many different marketing vehicles, to assuring that our books are merchandised properly to drive sell-through at all our accounts.”
