This new book's release faced many challenges. Because the book is unauthorized, the tennis star would not participate in its publicity. The author, Switzerland-based tennis journalist Rene Stauffer, would not be traveling to the US for interviews. Plus, a late contract between publisher and author meant the usual three-month lead time to generate literary reviews was gone.
Strategy
New Chapter Press (NCP) would have to work with only Stauffer's knowledge of Roger Federer and the tennis-season schedule to generate publicity.
"Tennis is not the first sport [in the American] consciousness," says Randolph Walker, NCP managing partner and head of its in-house PR team, who cited traditional and new media means in overcoming the ocean's distance between Stauffer and the US.
Tactics
Stauffer traveled to the UK for Wimbledon (which Federer has won five times) and held interviews with outlets such as ESPNews and Radio Wimbledon.
An excerpt of the book also ran on ESPN.com.
As the focus turned to the US Open, NCP setup radio interviews and delivered the book to tennis writers at various outlets for review.
"Because I [have] covered the sport since the early '80s, I had enough background to talk about pro tennis and other great players in general," says Stauffer.
A MySpace page, www.rogerfedererbook.com, was also created with book excerpts and other posts.
Results
As of December, 10,000 copies were sold. Following the Wimbledon publicity, the book hit number one among tennis books on amazon.co.uk. The MySpace page has gotten 12,782 visits and 30,944 page views.
Future
Additional radio interviews and outreach are set up for Stauffer during a much-anticipated March match between Federer and fellow champion Pete Sampras.
PR Team: New Chapter Press (New York)
Campaign: Release of The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection
Duration: June-December 2007
Budget: $1,500
Strategy
New Chapter Press (NCP) would have to work with only Stauffer's knowledge of Roger Federer and the tennis-season schedule to generate publicity.
"Tennis is not the first sport [in the American] consciousness," says Randolph Walker, NCP managing partner and head of its in-house PR team, who cited traditional and new media means in overcoming the ocean's distance between Stauffer and the US.
Tactics
Stauffer traveled to the UK for Wimbledon (which Federer has won five times) and held interviews with outlets such as ESPNews and Radio Wimbledon.
An excerpt of the book also ran on ESPN.com.
As the focus turned to the US Open, NCP setup radio interviews and delivered the book to tennis writers at various outlets for review.
"Because I [have] covered the sport since the early '80s, I had enough background to talk about pro tennis and other great players in general," says Stauffer.
A MySpace page, www.rogerfedererbook.com, was also created with book excerpts and other posts.
Results
As of December, 10,000 copies were sold. Following the Wimbledon publicity, the book hit number one among tennis books on amazon.co.uk. The MySpace page has gotten 12,782 visits and 30,944 page views.
Future
Additional radio interviews and outreach are set up for Stauffer during a much-anticipated March match between Federer and fellow champion Pete Sampras.
PR Team: New Chapter Press (New York)
Campaign: Release of The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection
Duration: June-December 2007
Budget: $1,500
