Book Launch Case Study Building Industry Leaders

Horn Group has more than a decade of experience in launching books for up-and-coming authors as well as accomplished bestsellers. The top books and authors we have represented include Geoffrey Moore, Patricia Seybold (Customers.com and The Customer Revolution), Katherine Catlin/Jana Matthews (Building the Awesome Organization), Rob Rose (Smooth Sailing in Fast Waters), Sheila Mello (Customer-Centric Product Definitions) and John Hagel (Out of the Box).

Horn Group is involved in all phases of the book launch process, which gives us a deep understanding of the overall sales and promotion cycle. We make author introductions to literary agents, publishers and other authors and define strategies that support both author and publisher priorities. While publishers often focus exclusively on book reviews editors, our unique approach involves evaluating all target audiences to create compelling PR strategies and messages for each audience that widen a book's appeal. Through our network of media relationships, we help authors maximize coverage through long-leads for monthly coverage; short leads and broadcast segments to coincide with the launch; serial rights placements; and book reviews and endorsements. We also balance reviews with features to elevate the author's expertise on specific trends and develop vertical strategies to broaden a book's reach into new markets.

Horn Group was instrumental in launching each one of Geoffrey Moore's books on the dynamics of high-tech markets, including Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado, The Gorilla Game, and Living on the Fault Line. More than a million copies of Geoffrey Moore's books have sold worldwide since the original publication of Crossing the Chasm, and are required reading at Harvard, Stanford and other leading business schools. Our role was to architect and drive a comprehensive PR strategy that would enable the author to position each book as a "must-read" for his target audiences, including high-tech management and marketing teams, financial professionals, individual investors and the MBA community. Hand-in-hand with this strategy was the goal to establish key book themes in the minds of executives, such as "crossing the chasm," "tornado markets" or "gorilla investing." Specific book launch activities included galley mailings to book reviews editors; the execution of bi-coastal press tours with top-tier business press, analysts and business school professors; the development of supporting book launch press materials; the coordination of online best-seller lists; and the planning and execution of speaking opportunities and book-signing events.

The results of our efforts included more than 100 pieces of coverage per launch, including features in the business, technology, and vertical press; national and local book reviews; book listings and top-tier broadcast segments. The Chasm Group terms and core concepts have become standard business lexicon and continue to make their way into business and marketing dialogues around the world. We have also helped maintain the visibility for Moore and his books over time through proactive trend and commentary pitching to the media, helping to secure his placement as "one of the top business gurus of all time" by Business 2.0 as well as Upside magazine's "100 most important leaders of the digital revolution."