Book Marketing Case: Analysis of Korean Writer Choi In-ho’s Cultural Journey to China
From September 18th to 24th, Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House invited the well-known Korean author Mr. Choi In-ho to conduct a six-year tour in Beijing China-Korea cultural exchange activities on the same day, and cooperated with the promotion of the book "Firebird" published by the agency in early September. During this period, it received attention from nearly a hundred different media outlets, and sales of the book skyrocketed. Recently, news from the Beijing Open Book Research Institute shows that "Firebird" has been officially on sale for less than a month and has already occupied the seventh place in the comprehensive ranking of new books in September (see this monthly market report) .
Invite foreign authors to China for book promotion. Many domestic publishers have ideas and practices. However, there are more difficulties in organizing such activities than inviting domestic authors: First, there is financial pressure, and the cost of tens of thousands of yuan is prohibitive for ordinary people; second, it is difficult to invite, internationally renowned authors have busy work and tight schedules, and organizers have to choose More work needs to be done to issue invitations at marketing opportunities suitable for China; third, it is necessary to overcome language communication and cultural barriers and organize multiple cross-cultural marketing activities at all levels in a short period of time, which is also a major challenge for book marketers challenge. Talking about the Korean writer Choi In-ho’s cultural trip to China, Luo Xin, who is responsible for planning the event from Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, said: “This event draws on the marketing concepts of the commercial and industrial industries and positions the event as a cultural journey. Through relatively careful planning, satisfactory results were achieved. ”
Positioning: Cultural Journey
Luo Xin said that the idea of ??inviting the author to China for a marketing event came early. When Yangtze Literature and Art Publishing House was negotiating to introduce copyright, it had already taken shape. The marketing and marketing strategy for "Firebird" was initially completed shortly after the contract was signed, with the feature being positioned as a "cultural journey".
Choi In-ho is currently one of the most popular writers in Asia. His books "The Way of Business" and "The Way of Kings" are best-selling in Korea and other parts of Asia, with millions of copies sold. As soon as his works entered China in 2003, they quickly climbed onto the bestseller list. Choi In-ho released a revised book "Firebird" earlier this year, causing a sensation in South Korea. This novel, which the author calls a "self-portrait", is the author's most famous work in his early years. It has been adapted into movies and TV series four times, including the TV series "Hong Kong Express" filmed in Hong Kong. Therefore, the copyright of the book attracted the attention of many domestic publishing houses.
Luo Xin, who was in charge of copyright trade as a publishing house at the time, also gained a better understanding of the author Cui Renhao and his works during the copyright negotiation process: The author has been exposed to Chinese history and culture since he was a child. Interest, "Business Dao" shows the author's deep understanding of Chinese history. Cui Renhao has also traveled to almost every city in China, especially Xi'an and Luoyang, which are very famous ancient capitals in history. In addition to traveling to various places in China to collect customs, Cui Renhao also has a certain understanding of contemporary Chinese culture. For example, he particularly admires films such as "Red Sorghum" directed by Zhang Yimou.
“Because Mr. Choi In-ho has unique personal charm and public popularity, he has the function of brand influence and advertising media carrier. Therefore, our company holds this event without sticking to the old signature sales. Instead of writing a book, we make full use of the author's cultural background and the characteristics of Korean humanities such as simplicity, frankness, unique personality, and publicity, and take advantage of society's attention to the 'Korean Wave' to turn the event into an interactive experiential marketing with in-depth cultural connotation. activities, thereby creating wider public attention," Luo Xin said when talking about the planning ideas of this event.
Implementation: Careful Plan
After the two books "The Way of Business" and "The Way of Kings" were published in China, their sales have been good. It is said that the publishers of these two books also intended to invite Cui Inhao to come. China does book promotion, but due to the busy schedule of the author, it is difficult to have time to participate in activities, so the trip has never been possible. And this time, he agreed to come to China for his first cooperation with Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House. What was the reason? On the fourth day of the event, when our reporter mentioned this issue to Cui Inhao in an interview, the 61-year-old author said: "Those who are confidant will die."
"Our society has never done this before. We have done such an activity and have very little experience in this area. However, our company leaders fully supported this matter, and we also made careful plans in advance. We once produced a 15-day event plan with more than ten pages, and The communication in South Korea was also very good. This impressed Mr. Cui. "According to reports, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a major festival in South Korea, with a seven-day break, so Mr. Cui specially used the break to come to China to participate in the event. For this event, his daily workload will double after returning, which is very hard. And this, unintentionally, also created a topic for the media: the Mid-Autumn Festival comes to China.
In order to make full use of the precious six days, the planners of the agency made an itinerary two weeks in advance. The "cultural trip" included lectures and book launches at Beijing Foreign Studies University, Sina celebrities Interviews, CCTV international interviews, exclusive interviews with multiple media in Beijing, reader interaction during the prime time period of the Central People's Broadcasting Station for a week, book signings, full tracking and experience of Chinese culture by Tianjin media, and phone interviews with multiple media in South Korea.
This itinerary takes into account the interspersed conduct of several major marketing activities and reasonably arranges the author's physical strength.
Among them, other universities were considered for keynote speech activities in universities, but Beijing Foreign Studies University was chosen because there are many foreign exchange activities here and there are many students and teachers who are familiar with Korean language and culture. Sure enough, the atmosphere was very lively, the audience kept asking questions, and Mr. Cui's answers were also very humorous, which was welcomed by the audience.
This event was also relatively successful in mobilizing the media. "When inviting foreign authors to come to China for marketing, the most important thing is how well readers and media understand the author! Authors like to communicate with media and readers who understand them well." After the event date was determined, the media began to be notified in early September, mainly in the form of Email and phone calls. In the materials provided to the media, Changjiang Literature and Art Society introduced in detail the author's resume, main works, writing style, features of the new work and comments from all walks of life, and attached a schedule of the event. The media can contact the organizer for interviews according to their needs. Approximately hundreds of media outlets across the country have been notified.
Changjiang Literature and Art Society*** sent two people to complete the reception work in Beijing. Luo Xin and his colleague Yang Qiankuang mobilized some friendly relations and cooperation for this event, such as the full support of Beijing Foreign Studies University leaders and the school, the support of friends of Tsinghua University Press, the support of well-known planners in the industrial and commercial circles, and the support of Beijing Foreign Language School leaders. Several cultural companies provide transportation and more. The cost is mainly borne by the publishing house, which is about 60,000 yuan.
Effect: Directly promote sales
As Korean writer Choi In-ho’s cultural tour to China progressed, the “News Center” on the homepage of Sina.com saved news headline links in eye-catching colors for 3 days. "Beijing Evening News" introduced Mr. Cui and "Firebird" in a color version. Participants will receive a copy of "Firebird" signed by Mr. Cui if they win a prize in a marketing campaign launched by China National Broadcasting Station during the prime time of the week. Local media such as Shenyang Evening News, Chongqing Commercial Daily and Chengdu Evening News have serialized the book. At present, there are still many media requests for interviews.
Media publicity boosted the popularity of "Firebird". Cui Renhao signed and sold 140 books at the Zhongguancun Book Building. Even the author said he "didn't expect" such a number. Luo Xin and the others did not expect that once in front of the History Museum, a Korean traveling nun even asked to take a photo with Mr. Cui. Some media in South Korea are also paying attention to this trip to China. They once interviewed by phone, "As far away as South Korea, I also felt the enthusiasm of Mr. Cui's activities in China through the Korean media."
This activity enhanced the author’s friendly relationship with Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House, Luo Xin and others. Knowing that the author intended to write a work involving China, Luo Xin specially arranged to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with Mr. Cui and his wife in a high-rise apartment in Beijing. In a modern room decorated with beautiful Chinese lanterns, Mr. Choi also showed off his rich baritone.
However, Luo Xin also believes that lack of time has also prevented some of his activity ideas from being fully developed, such as communicating with other Chinese writers and going to other cities.