General characteristics of branding in publishing

Abstract

The article discusses general characteristics of the development of branding in book publishing. The author solves the following tasks: characterizes the available literature on various aspects of branding in publishing; describes the types of brands in publishing; names the main branding tools; gives an overall assessment of the book publishing branding in Belarus. The object of the research was information on brands and branding, directly or indirectly presented on the official websites of publishing houses, in interviews, reports and other printed materials of publishing specialists. The author points out that adopting the technology of branding by book business in the countries of the former Soviet Union goes actively in the past decade, which allows to reduce risks associated with economic crises and to increase sales. However, the theory of branding in publishing is almost undeveloped. The author briefly describes types of brands which can be created in the sphere of book publishing: author brand, publishing house brand, series brand, thematic books brand, character brand. In the post-Soviet countries, considerable experience has been accumulated in creating high-quality book series; therefore, it is advisable to develop branding in this direction first of all. In the past decade, a number of publishing houses have been working on creating their own brand - the brand of a publishing house. The author cites statistical data obtained by the employees of the magazine Knizhnaya Indusriya [Book Industry] as a result of their study in 2012. In the article, distinctive signs of a brand in publishing are designated. The most important and economically effective mechanisms of brand-building, i.e. instruments of branding, are characterized: editorial policy, corporate style, naming, and product promotion. Of the four branding tools mentioned above, many Belarusian publishing houses, according to the author, pay least attention to product promotion (for financial reasons, and often due to some inertia inherited from the Soviet era). Publishing sites do not provide information about promotional events, do not imply the possibility of feedback from readers. The author notes that the majority of Belarusian publishing houses do not set the task to develop branding. At the same time, many publishing organizations develop certain instruments of branding: carry out accurate editorial policy, offer products with an interesting corporate style and an original title that draws attention. It is noted that each country develops its own practice in the sphere of book branding due to the social and economic development of the state.