The Bookseller reports on Penguin‘s marketing plans for Elizabeth Buchan‘s new novel THE SECOND WIFE, which includes marketing agency BzzAgent’s deployment of 1000 shills ordinary people to help buzz the book. The 1,000-strong group are encouraged to spread news about a title through book clubs, emails and online reviews, by carrying it around, discussing it at parties and blogging. They each receive a copy of the book and a “BzzGuide” that identifies key discussion points and potential readers. The campaign will run all summer, with feedback reported to Penguin in September.
Jane Rose, acting commercial marketing director at Penguin, said that buzz marketing was still a new concept in the UK. She added: “We are always looking for an alternative to [conventional] campaigns, and this is an extension of trying to get different communities interested in the book.”