Behind the Bestsellers: Top Book Marketing Campaigns of 2023

Posted on October 16, 2023 in Oxford

The UK publishing industry had a “record-breaking year” in 2022, with a total income of £6.9bn and 669m physical books sold in the UK, according to new figures from the Publishers Association. In an ever-competitive literary landscape, where countless books are published every day, strong marketing is crucial to make a book stand out. Let’s take a look at three of the most effective book marketing campaigns in 2023, and how they managed to capture the hearts and minds of readers. See how many titles you recognise!

Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow

Tomorrowx3, written by bestselling author Gabrielle Zevin, follows two friends on their thrilling journey from childhood gamers to video game creators. The marketing campaign was led by Katrina Northern at Vintage books, who strived to bring the themes of the book to life. The protagonists, Sam and Sadie, meet in 1987 and the book is packed with pop culture references from the period. This gave Katrina Northern the opportunity to foster nostalgia with some retro-style marketing materials. A great example is the first limited-edition proof copies that were distributed to booksellers, book bloggers, and influencers, with a slipcase that imitated a PC-DVD game. 

The first limited-edition proof copies

Public promotions also included creative video game references. Waterstones’ flagship branch in Piccadilly was host to a real-life replica of the game “Emily Blaster”, which is one of the earliest games Sadie invents in the book. The installation ran during the week of publication, and allowed readers to transport themselves back in time to video games of the 1980s.

Online promotions included a book trailer featuring the main characters as avatars in a video game alongside important lines from the book. The marketing team also launched an online tool where readers can create their own video game avatar, and were encouraged to share it with the #Tomorrowx3 tag on social media. Gabrielle Zevin even created and shared her own avatar on her Instagram account. 

A Tomorrowx3 avatar

The marketing campaign included many gaming references, but the team were cautious not to put off non-gamers from picking up the book. In an article penned by Karina Northern, she said her goal was to “create a campaign that was inclusive of gamers and non-gamers alike (I think we’re all gamers!), an invitation to ‘play’ and immerse themselves in the creativity that the novel embodies.”

Tomorrowx3 is now a Sunday Times bestseller and winner of the Goodreads Choice Award, so it is safe to say that this marketing campaign was a smashing success. The creativity and attention to detail shown with every retro reference took audience immersion to the next level.

Yellowface

The award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author R. F. Kuang’s latest novel Yellowface was one of 2023’s most-anticipated releases. The novel follows struggling author June Hayward. When her ‘friend’ Athena Liu, a literary star, dies in a freak accident, June is left with Athena’s newly finished manuscript. June steals the manuscript and passes it off as her own and the book becomes a fascinating examination of cultural appropriation and representation.

You have likely seen the eye-catching yellow cover as the promotion of Yellowface has been widespread, from displays at London Book Fair and in Waterstones branches nationwide, to extensive social media promotion. Special editions with sprayed edges have also been an effective way to grab people’s attention and bookshops have created incredible window displays to go along with their special hardcovers. Some especially innovative table displays feature working typewriters, including this example from a Waterstones in Leeds.

Waterstones Leeds

R.F Kuang is known for her witty and intelligent stage presence, and the HarperCollins marketing team gave her the opportunity to shine in front of as many crowds as possible on a TransAtlantic book tour, followed by a tour in the UK. She began her North America tour at the PEN World Voices Literary Festival, which is known for hosting debates on current issues and for celebrating important literature from diverse international voices. This made it the ideal event to launch Yellowface, as the book sets out to tackle questions of diversity and cultural appropriation in the publishing industry.

The iconic yellow cover with the suspicious eyes has been a constent presence across social media in the months leading up to publication. In one of her promotional posts, Kuang gave more insights into the cover, saying the yellow signifies “racial identity as a fixed, essentialised quality blanketing every other feature… There’s no nuance, no individuality, no subjectivity on this page.” Kuang expressed her love for the cover and the marketing team clearly understood how well the cover represented the book, as they used the same single image across promotional materials, proof copies, merchandise and social media. Yellowface became instantly recognisable. The cover’s widespread visibility and R.F Kuang’s public appearances, caused an incredible buzz around this sinister and satirical thriller.

Lessons in Chemistry

In addition to its witty prose and rave reviews, Lessons in Chemistry’s marketing campaign was the catalyst that launched this book to the top of the 2023 sales chart. Since publication, this title has sold more than 2.5 million copies in the US and over 1.25 million in Britain. These figures would be impressive for a well established author with a committed core audience, but it’s even more remarkable considering this is Bonnie Garmus’s debut novel.

The book follows Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant scientist who has the misfortune of being a woman in 1950s America. After a failed academic career, Zott finds unlikely success as the host of a television cooking show. Doubleday UK, an imprint of Penguin Random House, clearly saw something special in Elizabeth’s story, as the novel received a much larger campaign than would be expected for a debut.

The striking jacket cover, which alludes to the themes of science and media in the book, set the tone for the visual aesthetics throughout the campaign. A collection of colourful marketing materials were created, which heavily incorporated the chemistry theme. Doubleday UK also worked with Waterstones to create a special edition to be featured in their bookstores. The Waterstones edition covers the end papers in a design of the periodic table and sprays the edges with a similar image.

The marketing team at Doubleday UK also created a strong visual campaign both on social media. Videos posted to Instagram counted down to publication day like an old-fashioned film lead. At the same time colourful graphics highlight quotes from the book on the author’s feed and bookstagrammers and bookshops share the unboxing of their books along with complimentary merchandise that all fit into the science aesthetic. Once again, leaning on the strong visuals, Waterstones’ shop windows around the UK have been adorned with promotional boards and display tables have been constructed with themed props to draw the eye.

Waterstones Liverpool

Because of these promotional efforts, the book has been extensively featured in popular literary media, including Steve Wright’s BBC Radio 2 Book Club, and Sara Cox’s Between The Covers. Plus, in America, the book was selected for the Good Morning America Book Club. 

The success of this campaign was deservedly recognised. In the 2023 British book awards Bonnie Garmus won author of the year, and members of the Doubleday UK  team won best Marketing Strategy of the Year and Publicity Campaign of the Year.

To summarise there is no ‘right way’ to run a book campaign, as it all depends on the book’s themes, target demographic, and the author’s profile. But what ties successful campaigns together is creativity, visibility, and making sure talented authors are given the stage to speak.