When TurnHere launched the Bookvideos.tv website earlier this year, its short promotional films were produced exclusively for Simon & Schuster books. That’s changed now, as Bantam Dell, Chronicle, Disney/Hyperion, Doubleday Broadway, Hachette Book Group, Loyola Press, MacMillan, Thomas Nelson and WW Norton have all signed up to begin co-producing videos for the site. “Video has emerged as a powerful and cost-effective way of telling stories,” explains TurnHere CEO Bradley Inman in the press release, “and it’s a medium that is ideally suited for publishers to market their books, engage their readers and tap into additional sales markets.”
Or, as Hachette’s senior advertising VP, Martha Otis, told the same publicist, “This network broadens the entertainment experience for readers and also allows them to engage with one another in book discussions. It’s a tremendous vehicle for publishers to connect directly with their audience and increase awareness of authors and their books.” Not to mention that the Bookvideo productions tend to look a lot slicker than the homemade trailers that authors have been creating when their publisher’s marketing budgets didn’t include online video.