Simon & Schuster Unveils New Marketing Plan for Indies

On Tuesday morning, May 28, Simon & Schuster announced that, in recognition of the important role played by independent booksellers in helping consumers find books and discover new authors, the publishing house is launching the Premier Marketing Plan (PMP) to simplify booksellers’ access to promotional funds.

Under the plan, eligible accounts can receive promotional funds based on their previous year’s total direct and indirect net physical purchases that will be paid directly to the account via quarterly credits. The plan also provides exempt funds for publisher-approved author appearances. For participating accounts, PMP will replace both the traditional co-op pool and newsletter co-op, as well as eliminate existing co-op approval procedures.

“Our Premier Marketing Plan has been developed thanks to a fruitful dialogue and much helpful feedback from our bookselling partners in the independent channel,” said Michael Selleck, executive vice president, sales and marketing, for Simon & Schuster. “At the top of their wish list was faster and easier access to promotional funds, and we are pleased to offer this improvement, which will enable all of us to place yet more focus on marketing and selling books. We look forward to continued partnership with our independent accounts in bringing books by our authors, at all different stages of their careers, to the attention of readers everywhere.”

“We congratulate Simon & Schuster on the launch of their Premier Marketing Plan,” said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. “Making it easier for independent booksellers to access promotional funds will enable them to spend more time doing what they do best — operate profitable stores that foster the discovery of new titles and connect readers with great books and authors.”

To qualify for the Premier Marketing Plan, accounts must be independently owned and operated, full-line, retail brick-and-mortar bookstores with a maximum of 15 shipping destinations. Participating accounts must work to market S&S’s titles in-store and coordinate a marketing plan with their S&S sales reps.

The Premier Marketing Plan is applicable only for wholly owned Simon & Schuster adult, children’s, and audio titles, and has an effective date of January 1, 2013.

On Tuesday, Simon & Schuster also announced a June 10 launch date for a new Customer Portal that will consolidate all critical resources — including marketing/coop information, order tracking, invoices, and digital catalogs — in one, easy-to-use destination.

Other recent initiatives from S&S in support of the independent channel include 60-day dating (from end-of-month) and a new lower 30-unit minimum for orders.