I live for the creative challenge of telling each book's story, and my mission is to bring readers into conversation with authors whose books bring our lives new meaning.
PROJECT
I applied the principles of transmedia storytelling and book marketing best practices to create this comprehensive plan for a branded community service event and coordinated social media scavenger hunt aimed at building engagement with A Series of Small Maneuvers, Ooligan Press' new young adult outdoor adventure novel. The transmedia marketing campaign I designed includes a proposal for corporate sponsorship in partnership with area high schools and local nonprofits. Based on my audit of REI's existing social media presence, I drafted a corporate sponsorship pitch letter to REI and used my research to create a best practices guide to soliciting event sponsors that Ooligan's Marketing Department has since adopted as a training resource. Together with my analysis of the transmedia theory that informed my campaign strategy, this portfolio of step-by-step plans for executing a scalable small press transmedia marketing campaign inspired Professor Kathi Inman Berens to comment, "I'm not wearing socks anymore because you’ve knocked them off!"
TASK
Transmedia marketing leverages strategic brand storytelling across traditional media, new media, and social media to invite consumer participation in immersive, multi-platform brand engagement. According to Spreadable Media, "the engagement model suggests that having something to do also gives fans something to talk about and encourages them to spread the word to other potential audience members," and my task was to create a campaign that would build brand engagement around the launch of A Series of Small Manueuvers and the 25th anniversary of Ooligan's first bestselling outdoor-themed young adult novel, Ricochet River.
I designed my #BooksInTheWild transmedia campaign to engage followers with an interactive scavenger hunt planned in collaboration with Kellie Doherty as well as a live service event to extend our book's themes and the Ooligan Press brand. As part of my strategy to bring liveness to Ooligan's book marketing efforts, my campaign creates value by giving Ooligan's fan following and adjacent audiences a participatory, special-edition opportunity to engage with our book and our brand.
CLIENT
Professor Kathi Inman Berens, WR510 Transmedia Marketing for Publishing, and Eliot Treichel, Marketing Department, Ooligan Press.
SKILLS
Market research, transmedia campaign strategy, writing marketing copy, digital marketing, and social media asset creation.
PROJECT
I designed this comprehensive marketing campaign for Ta-Nehisi Coates’ nonfiction bestseller as my WR563 Book Marketing capstone project, planning a traditional print and web campaign as if I were launching Coates’ book as the spring season’s lead title with the budget and resources of a large-to-midsize press. My campaign includes a tipsheet outlining the book’s positioning and key sales points as well as detailed plans for consumer promotions, a website, direct-to-consumer emails, social media outreach, sales materials, and advertising media buys. I wrote original advertising and catalogue copy as well as a press release and pitch letter for journalists and reviewers identified in my media pitch list, and I planned a multi-city author tour and a major book launch event aimed at leveraging my budget to make Coates’ book the bestseller it has become.
TASK
Demonstrate my mastery of market research techniques and ability to produce marketing plans, write press releases, write advertising copy, and develop related marketing materials.
CLIENT
Professor Kathryn Juergens, WR563 Book Marketing.
SKILLS
Market research, traditional print and web campaign strategy, writing marketing copy.
PROJECT
I had the privilege of working on Eliot Treichel’s young adult novel A Series of Small Maneuvers from acquisition all the way through to its release. I enjoyed the challenge of pitching a story that not only lacked teenage romance, but also grappled with intense grief. The Small Maneuvers marketing plan demonstrates my ability to contribute to the collaborative work of publishing, but please see my proposed Small Maneuvers #BooksInTheWild transmedia campaign and and the marketing materials I prepared for Between the World and Me as examples of my individual marketing expertise.
TASK
I collaborated closely with my project team to develop this marketing campaign for our second-time author’s young adult novel. Our marketing plan includes a tipsheet informed by our market research on the book's target audience, its main and crossover markets, comp titles, and key selling points; a list of media outlets, partner organizations, and bookstores to pitch; proposed promotional materials and sales kit collateral; and potential book tour events and partnership opportunities to promote the book up to and after launch.
CLIENT
Eliot Treichel, Marketing Department, Ooligan Press.
SKILLS
Market research, campaign strategy.
PROJECT
I collaborated closely with my project team to develop this marketing campaign for our debut author’s short fiction collection. Our plan includes a tipsheet informed by our market research identifying main and crossover target markets, comp titles, and key selling points; an audit of the author’s social media platform and potential marketing resources; a list of media outlets, academic programs, and book stores to pitch; a cross-platform social media strategy; links to our sales kit, marketing copy, and collateral; and proposed book tour events and partnership opportunities to pursue to promote the book up to and after launch.
TASK
Create campaign strategy and step-by-step plan to launch, market, and sell-through a short story collection with the resources of an independent press.
CLIENT
Kait Heacock, Marketing Department, Ooligan Press.
SKILLS
Market research, marketing campaign strategy.
PROJECT
Based on the best practices I developed for pitching a corporate sponsor in the course of my "Books in the Wild Transmedia Marketing Campaign” research, which Ooligan’s Marketing Department has since adopted as a training resource for future students at our nonprofit teaching press, I drafted this letter to Stumptown Coffee pitching a potential mutually beneficial partnership aimed at promoting Ooligan's Siblings and Other Disappointments to our shared target audience of Pacific Northwest coffee addicts.
TASK
Conduct industry research to create a convincing pitch to attract corporate sponsorship and propose a marketing partnership aligned with our planned campaign strategy.
CLIENT
Kait Heacock, Marketing Department, Ooligan Press.
SKILLS
Market research, writing marketing copy
PROJECT
Plan, publicize, and execute a full schedule of book tour and author events promoting the launch of Forgive Me If I've Told You This Before, Ooligan Press' new LGBTQ young adult novel.
TASK
Create publicity materials to promote planned book launch events.
CLIENT
Karelia Stetz-Waters, Marketing Department, Ooligan Press.
SKILLS
Marketing and publicity asset creation, book launch and author tour event planning.
PROJECT
Forgive Me If I've Told You This Before Facebook banner promoting the #PrideOnThePage campaign our team planned for Ooligan Press' backlist sales initiative.
TASK
Create social media assets to schedule for publication in coordination with our calendar of Pride events via Hootsuite in support of the #PrideOnThePage campaign my project team planned to market backlist LGBTQ titles.
CLIENT
Karelia Stetz-Waters, Social Media Department and Marketing Department, Ooligan Press.
SKILLS
Digital marketing, social media asset creation.
