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Some of you may know
that a year ago I put Messenger Marketing slightly on hold and
decided to develop a product of my own – a book. It has been one
of the most rewarding experiences of my life and provided new
challenges and a whole new appreciation for the utilisation of
books as part of the marketing mix.
There are few
companies in Australia who are successfully producing corporate
books and for that reason, I feel there is a real opportunity
for the MICE industry to embrace this area as an extension of
your current offering to your clients, or, if you are a larger
organisation, possibly putting one together for yourself.
Putting together a corporate book for an anniversary, special
event, conference, or historical purpose can be extraordinarily
rewarding and could add a whole new dimension to the service you
offer your clients. It is however, a specialist task requiring a
number of disciplines. It is much more complicated than putting
together a corporate brochure or report.
Managing the
entire production is time consuming and requires management of
several financial and creative processes. Items to consider
include concept, writing of manuscript, sourcing of photographs
and material, design and layout concepts, printing and binding,
packaging and distribution, sales and marketing, cost, funding
and partners.
Before you embark
on your book, consider carefully your objectives and its
purpose. Are you developing it for internal consumption, an
upcoming conference, a delegate gift, or as an external
marketing tool. Think carefully also about the messages you want
to communicate.
Are you trying
to make a statement, retain or attract loyal customers, or
create a vision for the future.
When you begin on
the manuscript, planning is imperative. What do you want to say
and in which order do you want to say it. How will your messages
be delivered and what design will fit with, complement and
extend your current branding. Do you want to capture the past as
well as the future direction.
You’ll then need
to consider the size, shape, number of pages, if it is to be in
full colour or black and white and what sort of binding you
want. How do you want it configured? Do you want it to be
clutter free, pleasing and easy to read? Do you want photographs
and if so where do you source them and what quality do you need
for your publication?
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Do you want each copy
customised – either for every delegate or a quantity customised
for suppliers, sponsors, advertisers or stakeholders. If it is
for an international conference, perhaps you need to consider
printing it in several different languages. How do you want to
present the book – will it have insert pages with a message from
the CEO? Will it have a book mark as a way of showcasing a
financial partner or sponsor? Will it be presented in a box or
have foil stamping on the cover?
How will you
best leverage the opportunity and express your message and
achieve your objectives most effectively?
Next you’ll need to
think about your marketing and distribution. Of course, there
are traditional channels such as bookshops. However, in my
experience, this is a good PR exercise but not the best channel.
Book distributors take around 65 per cent of the retail price.
While they act on your behalf getting them into all the major
chains nationally, it is difficult to achieve cut through due to
the thousands of other titles available. Once it hits bookshops,
you have little control. Most are on a sale or return basis so
be aware of these pitfalls.
However, there are
many other channels available. Decide which is the most
effective mechanism for hitting your target market. Other
channels include employees (incentives, rewards, retention),
suppliers, clients (loyalty, retention, acquisition, awareness),
delegates (value add, awareness, celebration), direct mail piggy
back (inexpensive and effective way of reaching target
audience), exhibitions and via various websites.
As part of the
sales process, you will need to consider the recommended retail
price if it in fact needs one. You will also need to consider
bar codes and ISBN’s. Think about if you will be selling the
book or if it will be for free – again this will reflect your
objectives. What is your time frame, delivery dates and how does
this impact on the printing deadlines (off shore can take up to
eight weeks but is about a third of the price).
Producing a book in
the MICE industry, I believe, would provide a really refreshing
way to leverage some of the existing partnerships with sponsors
and stakeholders and provide a tangible product giving them real
value and longevity of the relationship.
For more
information about Messenger Marketing visit
www.messengermarketing.com.au |
