Have you seen them? They range from suspenseful to humorous. They intrigue and entertain. They’re anywhere from thirty-seconds to ten-minutes long. Author M.J. Rose has one. So do Heather Graham and Christine Feehan. Vicki Hinze invested in one to promote her upcoming Silhouette Bombshell release “Body Double”. They’re movie trailers for books and they’re hot!
I saw my first ‘book trailer’ in 2004 at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, a special preview of the teaser for Heather Graham’s “Dead On The Dance Floor”. Just like with a movie trailer, this short film clip teased viewers with dramatic aspects of the story, making you yearn for the whole enchilada. Actors and a talented production team brought Ms. Graham’s characters (and story) to life. Circle of Seven (COS) Productions, originators of the concept of Book Trailers, engineered this specific project and caught my avid interest. As an author, I’m always looking for new and unique ways to promote my books. Trailers are definitely unique.
COS Productions launched their innovative business in 2000, producing trailers, teasers and mini-teasers for authors such as Heather Graham, Christine Feehan, Douglas Clegg, Lisa Kleypas, and Winnie Griggs to name a few. Since then, other production companies have jumped on this keen marketing concept. M.J. Rose utilized VidLit to promote her latest release “The Halo Effect”. Vicki Hinze joined with Writers-In-Motion. As it happens, Sheila Clover, Executive Director of COS Productions, recently commented on my personal blog regarding a post about this new marketing craze. I immediately contacted her with a couple of burning questions. I mean they’re cool and everything, but are they effective? Sheila graciously supplied this information knowing I wanted to share it with all of you here at RTB.
BETH: Where do you (or your clients) presently ’show’ these trailers?
SHEILA: Trailers are shown on the COS site. They are also shown on the author’s site. They play on television and in movie theaters. They have played online for Waldenbooks and soon will play in-store at various locations. They are also available to be shown online for public libraries if the author wants that. Some authors will have CDRoms or DVDs made to send to their sales team at their publishing house. CD Roms are not expensive to make and they can be mailed easily. Sales teams, fan give-a-ways and gifts to bookstore owners are a great idea!
BETH: What plans do you have for the future…. or what do you think the future holds for unique promotions such as book trailers?
SHEILA: We’ve started seeing more interest from bookstores and hope to be playing in-store in major markets everywhere. Television continues to be a possibility as we make deals with stations for inexpensive airtime. We’ve got an agreement with a major movie theater chain and have started playing our videos in movie theaters. This is a place where people WANT to see these! In October we’ll play Douglas Clegg’s commercial in New York City 1680 times in October/November and it will cost less than $2000. Whether you have a budget of $500 or $5000 we have something for everyone.
Are you intrigued? I am. Not just with the book trailers themselves, but with the future possibilities. Hop on over to www.cosproductions.com and check out some of their projects. What do you think? If you walked into a bookstore and saw a book trailer playing on a flat screen in the romance section, would it inspire you to consider that novel? What about if you saw one in the movie theater? Would it make an impression? It’s certainly more entertaining than a print ad. By the way, in my google search, I came across trailers for genres other than romantic fiction. Graphic novels, hardcore suspense… Something tells me this isn’t a passing fad. Instead, I think this marketing venue (like music videos) will evolve and explode. What are your thoughts on book trailers?
I’ve watched a few of them. Christine Feehan has done several for her books. I watched the one Lisa Kleypas did recently.
I’m on the fence. Some of them are pretty good. And some…well, aren’t. One in particular was so cheesy, I was laughing the entire time
by Sharon Long September 1st, 2005 at 9:01 amI have yet to see one that makes me want to buy the book, but I suspect that’s because I’m a curmudgeon and I’m rattled by the mixed media of it. Or maybe because the one think I like best about books is I get to engage my own images? I don’t even like covers that show too much.
I have heard some kick-butt radio commercials for books. Maybe that mix is okay because books on tape have been around for a while?
by Kate September 1st, 2005 at 10:32 amI did one for my book, though it wasn’t done by the production company you mentioned. I didn’t even know other authors were doing them.
Though I’ve had lots of great feedback, there is no way to track whether or not it is selling books.
It was fun to do, though!
by Deeanne Gist September 1st, 2005 at 10:40 amSharon, I think with any product, there will be those that appeal to us and those that well, don’t. It’s the ones that DO appeal to me that have me considering the vast possibilities of book trailers as marketing devices. I’m totally intrigued.
Kate, I hear you! When I read, I like to engage my own images as well. That said, when I write or read, the story plays out in my head like a movie. Thus, for me, seeing the characters ‘on-screen’ is an extra kick. It’s just a teaser and doesn’t stop my own imagination from taking over once I dig in to the actual book.
by Beth Ciotta September 1st, 2005 at 10:57 amDeeanne, I just hopped over and viewed your book’s mini-film. What fun! It reminded me of a silent movie. Nice approach!
As for whether or not it stimulates sales… even if it doesn’t it surely stimulates interest. I also liked Shelia Clover’s comments about using these as give-a-aways to booksellers and readers as well as members of the sales team. Authors invest a lot of money in promotional products. This is another new and exciting option. Best of luck to you!
by Beth Ciotta September 1st, 2005 at 11:06 amAs a reader, I don’t think the “trailer” would inspire me to buy a book any more or less than any other promotion. If the story appeals to me and you find a way to tell me about it, I’ll buy it. If the story doesn’t appeal to me, no matter what you do, I won’t.
In general, though, I think it’s a great idea. We’re always competing with masses of information and marketing for the consumer’s attention, as well as every form of entertainment for the consumer’s dollar. Anything new and innovative can help, and I believe new technology to sell a traditional product can be a successful combination.
by Natalie Damschroder September 1st, 2005 at 11:32 amBeth, cute picture. I’ve enjoyed the trailers I’ve seen. So far they haven’t spurred me into buying the book because I’d pretty much decided to buy the book before I saw the trailer.
I like the concept. And I expect the quality to improve as more and more authors dabble in promoting their books through this means.
by ginawelborn September 1st, 2005 at 12:17 pmMight be a more effective publicity dollar for the publisher, rather than an author tour.
by Bernita September 1st, 2005 at 1:22 pmLike Sharon, I have my reservations about the production quality and content of some of the book trailers out there. It’s a little pricey for something that has no way to show how many sales it does or doesn’t generate. It’s also disposable marketing; to me a permanent website is a better investment.
Still, it’s an interesting approach to marketing, and for that reason it merits watching.
by PBW September 1st, 2005 at 3:38 pmI’ve wanted to do a trailer for the last year — I was just waiting for my covers. My book trailer is in development. It’s going to be short (less than a minute), but I like short.
by Allison Brennan September 1st, 2005 at 4:10 pmI’m with you, Allison. I think they need to be short (2 minutes and under). It’s amazing how much work one to two minutes can entail, eh?
Thanks, Beth. Glad you liked it.
by Deeanne Gist September 1st, 2005 at 5:48 pmSales can and are being tracked by some of the publishing houses we’ve done work for.
I think that watching them as a potential client or as a reader would be different than who the target audience is for these.
The number of readers are, statistically speaking, dwindling. Where are they going? How do we get them back.
People keep trying to win over the same readers instead of trying to do something to create new readers, thus adding to the overall numbers for all authors.
These videos are used and re-used in a number of ways. You get far more for your dollar than a print ad or bookmarks.
Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to know more about stats and utilization.
Sheila
by Sheila Clover September 2nd, 2005 at 12:32 amAs a side note of possible interest. The term “Book Trailer” is a US Registered Trademark to COS Productions. The term cannot be used without consent.
by Sheila Clover September 2nd, 2005 at 12:39 amWe’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars to promote our products. I’ve seen many companies use the term and it’s like stealing or plaigirism.
I sold my house to start my company so when I see other companies using the term “Book Trailer” without my permission I feel it is unfair.
We never go after authors, but we do go after companies that tell authors they can use that term. I’m always polite about it and hope that people understand.
So, if you’ve got a video please ensure you’re not calling it a Book Trailer unless it is a COS Productions product.
Thank you.
Sheila Clover
Hi Sheila! Thank you for chiming in with more information. I especially like where you pointed out that this is a new way of attracting NEW readers. Excellent point!
by Beth Ciotta September 2nd, 2005 at 7:53 am[...] Beth Ciota at Romancing the Blog discusses book trailers produced by COS Productions. I noticed that some authors such as Christina Feehan used them to promote their books, but this was the first time I saw the trailers online. I can’t say if I like them or not. I grew up watching the stunning GCI movies made by SquareSoft (the creators of the fabulous RPG series Final Fantasy) and other game makers and the visual feasts created by the Hollywood movie studios. I still remember the gorgeous GCI movie of Yuna’s dance for the dead from Final Fantasy X. So re: young people…these trailers may not do much to convince them to buy books. But maybe these trailers will work fabulously for others. Hard to say. [...]
by Angelle Trieste: Blog » September 2nd, 2005 at 8:46 amSheila, Would you be so kind as to share the serial number and international class(es) your trademark is registered under? I’d sure appreciate it.
by Deeanne Gist September 2nd, 2005 at 11:54 amI’m so glad Angelle mentioned the CGI of Final Fantasy, which I love as well. The people who watch that are part of our target audience!
We do beta testing to see what a variety of people think of the videos. That’s part of the reason you see such a difference between the first one we created and the ones we do now.
We use CGI and do a great deal of special effects. This year COS Productions won a first place Telly Award. A Telly is like an Academy Award for commercials. We went up against Time Warner, Disney Studios and SciFi Channel to name a few.
As we do more market testing and view the statistics we fine tune how the videos should appear.
Mrs. Feehan’s and Heather Graham’s videos caught the attention of PW and other magazines, which netted them free publicity and an invitation to be interviewed on television (3 million viewers), which they readily accepted.
Do the videos work? Yes they do. Waldenbooks online showed one of our videos for a week and it doubled their online foot traffic for that week and was the most hit item in their history. Mrs. Feehan’s statistics can speak for themselves.
One work of warning should you decide to try this. Ask the company making your item if they will be formatting it for the web. How will it be formatted? What else can be done with it? Where else do they show it? Don’t have someone just hand you a video and walk away. What will you do with it? You put it on your site and hope it gets people interested. That is NOT the only use for it. If you aren’t getting at least 3 million people to see that video you’ve gone to the wrong company. Don’t do these because they’re popular. Do them because they work for you.
Sheila
by Sheila Clover September 2nd, 2005 at 12:02 pmHello Deeanne,
If you’d like to have that information I’d be happy to supply it to you. Please email me at sclover@cosproductions.com. Our attorneys have that information and I’ll not be able to get it until Tuesday, but they just sent it to Time Warner, so I know they have it at their fingertips.
Thanks for asking.
Sheila
by Sheila Clover September 2nd, 2005 at 12:04 pmSheila, I’m surprised your lawyers and the companies you are persuing have not insisted you place the registered symbol (the R with a circle around it) beside any phrase you have a registered trademark for. That immediately lets people know you have a registered trademark and to display one without the proper certification is illegal. It might save you quite a bit of time,energy and money to do so.
I also find it surprising you persue the publishers instead of the authors. My publisher doesn’t give me “permission” one way or the other over any aspect of a website that I own and pay for myself. So, if you want to enforce that, you would have to go after the authors–the very market that butters your bread. Puts you at a bit of cross-purposes and I don’t envy you that task.
I, too, have a trademark for a line of parenting products I have. But even then, there are limitations. My phrase is “I Did It!” But the uses I own exclusively are very narrow. Depends upon the classes in which your mark has been approved for. (Kind of like Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets co-exist without any troubles.) I will indeed email you with a request for that information.
In any event, seems to me trademarking a phrase such as “book trailer” would be like trademarking the phrase “movie trailer” or “TV Commercial.” Must be very hard and extraordinarily expensive to police such a thing.
Talk with you soon.
by Deeanne Gist September 2nd, 2005 at 1:25 pmDeeanne,
You are 100% correct in that we have a limited use of the term. Using it to describe a book video is just about it. I have sent you information from your email. Thank you.
We do indeed use the trademark symbol and it says specifically on our site that it is a registered trademark. All of our material indicates that as well.
We politely inform end users, of any video product calling itself a book trailer, of our trademark issue. No one has ever challanged that, they just change the name to book video or something like that. Authors have always been very easy to work with.
Whether the term is something as common as “I did it!” or “Book Trailer” trademarks are often hard to police. Unless someone is blatantly ripping us off it isn’t cost effective to pursue it.
But, I’m sure anyone who has given all they have to follow their dream regardless of the odds against them would agree that seeing someone use their ideas, work, trademark, etc. freely after they’ve bled and lost sleep to create it would be upsetting to say the least.
Sheila
by Sheila Clover September 3rd, 2005 at 2:19 amSheila,
I’ve yet to seen the latest ones from your company. I only viewed the ones made last year and the year before.
I love FF series and Metal Gear Solid 2 graphics. I never watched the FF movie although I played FFVII - FFX. In addition to the CGI movies, I also enjoy watching anime because some of them have some amazing visual effects.
Personally, I wouldn’t produce the videos unless I knew I’d get a ton of traffic and support from the producer.
by Angelle Trieste September 3rd, 2005 at 2:33 amAngelle,
FF the movie was actually pretty good, I thought. The gaming industry has really outdone themselves with graphics over the last couple of years.
We have really beefed up our special effects department and have won awards for our CGI recently!! If you go to Chris Feehan’s site look at Mind Game’s trailer. That’s the one that’s won a lot of awards. Dark Secret did well, too!
Night Game is coming out and it is full of effects as is Douglas Clegg’s The Priest of Blood with has some dragon wings done in CGI. Let me know what you think if you get the chance to see them!
Sheila
by Sheila Clover September 6th, 2005 at 12:08 pm