Doing
its part to promote an old-fashioned, relaxed summertime,
The New York Times launched its Great
Summer Read novel-serialization program in July. Part
public service, part self promotion, the program seems
to have succeeded on both fronts, as the eye-friendly
inserts have been popping up everywhere from Metro North
compartments to midtown Starbucks.
Though
it’s too early to say if the program is improving the
paper’s circulation figures, Alyse Myers, Times
VP of marketing services, did offer anecdotal evidence.
Many readers have admitted they are buying more than
one copy per household to accommodate commuting schedules,
vacationing teenagers, etc. And, she says, “I’m absolutely
positive we’re selling more books,” referring to the
coinciding reading events at Borders that have sparked
sales (James McBride drew 300 people to the Columbus
Circle store, which sold 100 copies of The Color
of Water). Daryl Mattson, area marketing
manager for Borders, said all its Manhattan stores
sold four times the amount of the selected titles during
the week they ran in The Times, compared to the previous
week. “It’s been fantastic — and nobody really knew
what was going to happen. It’s just such a smart and
clever idea. You know, New York struggled with that
one-city-one-book idea, because it’s so diverse — this
is a great alternative to that.” (The Great Summer Reads
selections so far have been, besides McBride’s, Fitzgerald’s
The Great Gatsby, Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquivel, and Truman Capote’s Breakfast
at Tiffany’s.)
Booksellers
aren’t the only ecstatic ones. Adam Rothberg,
VP, corporate communications for Simon & Schuster,
said, “While we certainly wouldn’t measure the success
of the NYT program strictly by immediate sales — there
are ancillary benefits like advertising for other Scribner
titles, as well as extended exposure of Gatsby
itself to a million-plus readers — “sales in July 2004
were more than 25% greater than July 2003. Bookscan
reported 4,400 copies of the trade paperback were sold
during the week that ended July 18 (the week it ran
in The Times), though some of these are due to the normal
influx of school orders this time of year. “I’ve heard
from several people that they read the excerpts and
were so delighted to retouch base with the book — and
have been inspired to buy another classic to read this
summer,” said Michael Selleck, S&S VP, executive
director, marketing. Myers said that some other publishers
have called to say they would like to participate in
future programs. This was to be expected: Even in the
program’s early stages, the rights process was “not
difficult” because the publishers and the paper “felt
like there was a benefit for both,” she says.
What’s
next? Myers anticipates an expanded program, which may
include a children’s book. The Times might reach
wider next time by including the national edition, and
it is considering other seasons when people might slow
down to take a novel with their morning paper.
