Liberilibri was born in Macerata in 1986 and now occupies a prominent place in the Italian publishing context, thanks to a relevant catalogue in liberal and libertarian issues. Our work focuses on six series:
“Oche del Campidoglio” is a collection of essays from the classical liberalism to the contemporary libertarian thought.
“il Monitore costituzionale” collects the milestones of the modern constitutionalism, with the purpose to remind the origins of the individual freedoms and responsibilities. Each volume contains the original text (which replicates the official one) beside the Italian translation and an explanatory comment on the historical and political context where the document was born.
“Hic sunt leones” is a collection of the most "heretical" essays on liberal and libertarian issues, especially in the economic field.
“Narrativa” and “il Circo” collect dramas and fictions that share the exaltation of individual virtues and vices.
“Altrove” contains... everything else: any literary work that we did not want to include in the other series.
The series that more directly represent our fight to protect individual freedoms are the first three.
We work on the books as many publishers often do not do more. From the bibliographical research to the revision of the translation and the editing, the book is the product of a close collaboration between the translator and / or the author and the publisher.
We still believe in a concept of publishing as a cultural mission in which the publisher decides, selects and controls the work, not only from the point of view of its content, but also from the graphic point of view: we use a special care in choosing the paper, the binding is in Refe thread, and the printing is typographical and not digital.
WHAT IS IT ?
In this step you will find information about the Brand Builder, who is asking you to propose a Solution for the challenge. He introduces himself (as a Brand of course :) The more you understand about the Brand, the more chances you have to create what is wanted.
IMPORTANT: There is a possibility that the Brand Builder prefers not to disclose who he is, usually for confidentiality reasons. Such Briefs will be published in an anonymous way. In this case the Brand Builder will say as much as he feels comfortable saying.
Here are two EXAMPLES
In case there is no problem with disclosing the identity (VISIBLE):
“NMN -No More Nicotine- is a Brand that promises to counteract the damages to the skin that can be caused by smoking. NMN is distributed in pharmacies and drugstores and its price positioning is middle-high; it is mainly promoted through professional endorsement and is not massively advertised.”
In case the Brand doesn’t want to disclose his identity (ANONYMOUS):
“Brand counteracting the damages to skin caused by smoking. Its products are distributed in pharmacies and drugstores with a middle-high price positioning; they are mainly promoted through professional endorsement and are not massively advertised.”
In summary: Who is your client (in a visible or “anonymous” way :)
We want to increase sales through promotional activities, promoting our business with a limited budget initiatives that are consistent with a small company.
Still now, the only activities to promote a book, once published, are: presentations, fairs, meetings with people, including main representatives of the Italian culture, reviews and articles in the national press, and radio or tv interviews. The author is rarely available to participate to such an events (either because foreign or deceased).
The promotional activity is based on personal contacts, on the website (which records a few visits), and on meetings or presentations of the books.
The critical points of unsuccess of this strategy are the following ones:
- Promotional activities do not produce an increase of the sales, because they are occasions too selective for the large public.
- The people reached with these methods are more usual to take the book as free sample, than to buy it.
- The promotional opportunities are thought more for the content than for the way of communication. We are able to create for each book events that have a national echo, but that almost never cause an increase on the sales.
- The networking with people in Italy or abroad sharing our philosophy (foreign publishing houses, Italian or foreign think tanks, foundations, etc.), produces excellent cultural achievements, but not commercial.
!!!Update as of November 29, 2010!!!
We understand that finding an ideal Solution to increase the sales of a specialized publisher with modest financial resources is anything but an easy task, therefore we sincerely thank you all for your efforts in coming up with a great proposal.
Our objective was, precisely, to distinguish ourselves through being the entity that, primarily, gives voice to ideas little popular in Italy: the libertarian thinking (the radical non-violent liberalism called Libertarianism in America), therefore non-fiction literature. Dramas, better said fiction, are only the secondary line of business and they are still treating situations and circumstances related to the personal freedom topic. This is why we call ourselves “LiberiLibri”.
We strongly hope that this explains better who we are. We have realized that the reason why none of the Solutions were truly representing us was because we have failed in explaining properly who we truly are and why we are different.
Many of the proposals we received did not express really well our identity and moreover they would be more appropriate to a publisher specializing in fiction literature. We would really like to receive Solutions more coherent to our main publishing series, avoiding any general marketing strategy suitable to almost any other product, even if such strategies are currently in trend like green economy, branded accessories. They have very little in common to the topics and problematic treated in our publishing series.
The reasons why none of the Solutions have met our expectations are the following:
- The majority of co-marketing proposals are very difficult to be implemented as they imply approval, interest and availability by part of the other Brand involved. Most of the times they are difficult and expensive because the economical and organizational collaboration depends on them.
- Strategies like “flash mob” collective letters are inappropriate for the reasons explained above: we are not a fiction publisher, our books are binding, they do not work well with viral initiatives.
- Gadgets and accessories that under no circumstance related to our world nor our brand in particular.
- Many of you have recommended us to have a presence on Facebook and other social networks. Honestly speaking we do not find such initiatives close to our business.
What is it that we would really want instead?
- Gadgets and accessories able to speak out our nature: classical culture seen from a liberal point of view. This is how we would like to be perceived by the people receiving our gadgets, we don’t want them to take it and keep it without knowing how we are and what we do.
- Coupon ideas are welcome with the condition that they are not just a simple discount; coupons should have a real strategy behind, one that goes beyond promotional outcomes.
- Internet. We believe we have to be present online to interact with our target, however we did not identify yet a winning strategy, the right way to go, considering our brand and the very specific theme. We would really like to understand how we could enter into contact with our target online.
!!!The end of update!!!
WHAT IS IT ?
This is the task the Brand Builder asks you to accomplish. If you don’t understand it, you are completely out of luck !
EXAMPLE
“We ask the Creators to develop a print advertising campaign in order to increase Brand’s visibility. It will be used in national magazines this spring.”
In summary: It’s the objective of the client, therefore your objective too !
FINAL USERS:
- “Strong” reader: is the classic person that we call "donor". He is able to buy even a whole series because he shares our thoughts and opinions, or because he is used to read also difficult books.
- General audience: the occasional reader, not necessarily expert on or interested in political theory or the most common themes of our catalogue, but someone whom attention may be caught by few of our books.
BOOKSELLERS:
- The bookseller is not necessarily competent in the publishing industry. More simply, he is the seller of a commercial product.
WHAT IS IT?
People that the Brand Builder wants you to entertain and persuade to think, feel or do something using your creation. Usually you will read about their age, sex, social level and behaviors. You should always keep that information in mind while creating, as the target audience is the final recipient of what you create.
EXAMPLE
“Smoking girls and women who would like to quit smoking but can’t. Usually health-conscious adults who care about their looks. They feel guilty about smoking because they know it is harmful. They read books about it. This is a real problem for them: it’s like “My brain wants something, but my body acts of its own accord”. They don’t relate to my brand, they are just waiting for a trustworthy “helping hand”.
In summary: Get under their skin !
End Users:
- “Strong” reader: we want to expand this audience and maintain a close connection with whom already knows us.
- General audience: we want that they know that we exist!
Booksellers:
Many of them still do not know about our existence. Furthermore, they need to understand that our books are not just a cultural good, but also an economic good.
WHAT IS IT?
The thing that the Brand Builder wants to make the target audience think/feel/do because of your creation.
Here are some very concrete examples:
∞ Some things people can think/feel:
- There is a new Brand (or product or idea or...) out there
- This Brand is better than the alternatives or than it used to be
- This Brand is worth paying more for
∞ Some things people can do:
- Start buying the Brand’s products
- Buy the Brand more often
- Stock more products of the Brand in their outlets
The above written examples are very concrete whilst often the proposition of the Brief is emotional. That’s even better as it can be more inspiring!
EXAMPLE
“We’d like to encourage smokers to use NMN in order to minimize the damage to their health while they are keeping giving up smoking (especially if they’ve already tried and failed before).”
In summary: Get inside their brain !
We fill a gap in the book market.
There is no other solid publishing house that has as its mission the spreading of liberal and libertarian main works, from its historical origins to the contemporary evolutions. Moreover, the discovery or rediscovery of forgotten works make us attractive also in the narrative field.
WHAT IS IT?
This is the key to achieving the objective. It is what supports the proposition and makes it believable. Usually it is a rational statement.
EXAMPLE
“Every cigarette you smoke is causing damage to your appearance. A recent study took several pairs of identical twins where one twin was a lifelong smoker and the other had never smoked. The smokers’ skin was a quarter thinner than that of non-smokers, and in some cases there were differences of up to 40%. NMN contains thinning-blocking anti-oxidants which counteract the effect of nicotine on the skin.”
In summary: You are looking for arguments? You’ll find them here!
- Consistency
- Sharpness
- Craftsmanship
- Strong identity
WHAT IS IT?
It’s who the Brand is. Yes... who!
Treat the Brand as a human being, as it has its own personality. To know the personality of the “client” is fundamental in order to provide a tailor-made job. So, read carefully the listed adjectives...
EXAMPLE
“Scientific, trustworthy, result-oriented, ‘a party’ to achieve your goals.”
In summary: Imagine the live person !
For budgetary reasons, we are not interested in the traditional ways of marketing and advertising campaigns.
WHAT IS IT?
A list of places (or media, or things) where the target audience will see the outcome of your creation. In this step sometimes the Brand will also acknowledge you how much he plans to invest into production. This information will give you an insight whether to create a BIG project or make it small... :)
EXAMPLE
“This campaign is going to appear in lifestyle- and health-focused women magazines of New Zealand, during the spring of 2009. We plan to invest 500,000 USD, which means approximately buying 100 single pages.”
In summary: Consider the medium !
For a complete knowledge about our products, our communication activities, and supply channels (both online and offline) visit our webstite: www.liberilibri.it
If the Brand has preferences or technical requirements that your Solution has to match, you will find them here.
Here are some items that you may find in this section:
∞ Guidelines or mandatory inclusions (do’s and/or don’ts)
∞ Business objectives
∞ Market and competitors overview
∞ Good and bad samples
Depending on the Brief, you may also find some files attached with a logo, pictures of product(s), a template that you should use in order to submit your ideas, or any other file that the Brand wants to share with you. So, study the attachments before starting creating.
In summary: Anything else you need to know (not written in the 7 steps before) !
