With frontlist sales for many publishers stalled, Open Road Integrated Media is adapting its Ignition program—designed to give backlist e-books a boost—to help promote new releases.
According to Open Road CEO David Steinberger, Open Road Activation has been launched in direct response to requests from publishers. “Publishing leaders keep asking me whether they can directly reach our audience of readers to create awareness and demand for their lead frontlist titles,” said Steinberger in a statement. “This new service makes that possible.”
Publishers using the frontlist service will have access to the same Ignition digital newsletters and other promotional vehicles that reach more than 3 million consumers. Publishers such as Doubleday, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Knopf, Sourcebooks, and Norton are already using the new service, Open Road said.
Mary McAveney, Open Road’s chief marketing officer, said that, as Facebook ad costs rise and privacy changes make online promotions less effective, the Activation program gives marketing teams a new way to launch frontlist titles and reach readers in such genres as history, literary fiction, science fiction, and true crime.
“We’ve been enthusiastic participants in Open Road’s Ignition service for backlist titles,” said Michael Jacobs, president and CEO of Abrams in a statement. “We’re looking forward to this expansion of services to support the launch of frontlist titles as well.”
