From Idea to Bookshelf
STEP 7: THE MARKETING MANAGER (Brittany Sankey)
Brief bio
My name is Brittany Sankey and I’m a Marketing Manager at Orion, and I am working on the marketing for The Clockwork Girl! I’ve been at Orion for almost 5 years, beginning as Marketing Assistant, and prior to this was interning at various publishers in different departments. I work across all imprints at Orion which gives me the wonderful job of being able to work across a mix of genres, and both fiction and non-fiction titles.
Tell us a bit about your job: what does being a marketing manager entail?
A marketing manager entails working on the marketing campaigns for different books. The activity will depend on many different factors, such as the book genre, who the audience is, who the key retailers are and the book format. I work particularly closely with my colleagues in Editorial, Publicity and Sales to make sure that campaigns are as effective as possible.
Can you tell us the difference between marketing and publicity?
The difference between the two roles can be confusing, particularly as there can occasionally be crossover in our roles as we work so closely together. A publicist’s job is to gain free coverage for a book, which can be through reviews, arranging events and outreaching to media (such as through print, TV, radio, podcasts or blogs). In marketing we look at ways to magnify the book’s presence and to direct consumers to the point of purchase, which could be through social media, digital advertising, print, email newsletters, partnerships, instore or digital promotion for bookshops and creating sell in material for sales. We have a core focus on designing the branding for a campaign as this will run through the entire campaign to create consumer recognition on a product.
Which other books have you worked on, and is there a campaign you’re particularly proud of?
I’ve had the joy to work on so many wonderful books. Over the last year my highlights were working on the paperback campaign of SMALL PLEASURES from Clare Chambers and getting orange trees into shops(!), Anne Marie’s first book YOU DESERVE BETTER and on Cathy Bramley’s two gorgeous and wonderfully uplifting novels MY KIND OF HAPPY and THE MERRY CHRISTMAS PROJECT. I’ve got lots of exciting campaigns for this year and am so thrilled to be working on THE CLOCKWORK GIRL and getting everyone talking about it!
Do you have any advice for someone wanting to work in book marketing?
My main advice would be to try to get work experience. Although experience in book marketing is great, you can get marketing experience in other industries too. Marketing skills are transferable across industries and so any experience you are able to get is beneficial.
It’s also useful to try to stay up to date with new trends appearing. One of the fun things about marketing is there will always be new avenues and platforms to explore. Being able to talk about the latest trends and share ideas on how this could be used for marketing a book always goes a long way.
Tell us something about The Clockwork Girl.
I loved working on the proofs for THE CLOCKWORK GIRL with the incredible designer Sally Felton. Proofs are always exciting as they are a big way to kick off a campaign and get the buzz building. Seeing these come to life and people sharing them across social has been lovely. I can’t wait to see the finished copies and the reactions to them online!
