UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS: A MARKETING CHALLENGE
United Nations publications represent more than 45000 essays, annual reports, bulletins and periodicals, as well as analyses and economic statistics. UN Publications generate a turnover of approximately $8.5 million a year, a third of which is dealt with by the Geneva office.
BY EMMANUELLE GANTET, UNOG-GENEVA
Since the previous article "Les livres font salon à Francfort" issued in November last year, Nicolas Bovay has taken up his new assignment as Chief of the United Nations Publications, Marketing and Sales Section, at Geneva. The London Book Fair, 16-18 April 2007, a major European event in Publishing, and the Geneva Book Fair, 1-6 May 2007, provided an opportunity to take stock of the present and future situation of United Nations Publications.
Interview with Nicolas Bovay, Chief of UN Publications, Marketing and Sales Section, at Geneva.
How do you perceive UN Publications in the publishing world?
United Nations publications are a unique and reliable information source. Since 1945, United Nations and specialized agencies, programmes and funds, such as UNESCO, FAO, WHO, ITU, UNHCR, OHCHR, WIPO, ILO, UNEP, to mention but a few, have published at a rhythm of around 700 books per year. The data produced is considered as a reference in diverse areas, such as human rights, sustainable development, HIV/AIDS, labor standards, intellectual property, political science, or social science and economics. I believe that United Nations publications have established markets.
Do you mean that the UN Publications have no competitors?
In our consumer society it is difficult to say there is no competition. I really think that the information published by the United Nations is unique because it is produced by experts who benefit from a privileged worldwide standpoint. However within the current huge offer of books and online data, the United Nations like any other company has to be competitive. I stress it has to enhance its visibility and maintain its position in publishing as the sole reference in some areas.
Who are your readers?
Our core markets are made up of students and academics, governmental institutions and diplomats, who need reliable data to feed in debates and policy making. However with the evolution of readers' expectations in the presentation of the data, new ways of publishing have progressively emerged. More appealing covers and colourful layouts are now moving our specialized markets to more general ones. And again, more books are emerging that popularize UN issues targeted to children and young readers. Anticipating trends is vital together with a pro-active approach to marketing.
May I say that if the United Nations is well-known, UN publications do not benefit from the same reputation...
Exactly... and that's why managing the Marketing and Sales Section of the United Nations Publications at Geneva is an exciting challenge. Enhancing the visibility of the United Nations as a publisher is vital to the sustainability of our operations. That's why marketing has been identified, jointly with our sister office in New York, as our number one priority.
What kind of marketing strategy do you intend to implement?
We have to work on a strong brand image. With the author departments, the real producers of the publications, those who add substance to our range. With the sales distributors, retailers and readers. The stronger the awareness of the UN as a publisher, the stronger our relations with author departments and sales distributors will become.
What do you mean by enlarging the range of publications with the author departments?
Every year many new publications are produced by the UN system. Unfortunately many are published without an ISBN and Sales Number, that can only be given by our Section. No ISBN and no sales number leads to no registration in the UN publications portfolio and no dissemination beyond very limited chapels and many lost outreach opportunities. That is why our Section must be associated in discussions at the very outset when new publication projects are being conceived or debated. The institutionalization of such consultations enables our Section to assist author departments in their plans, and allows us to map out relevant marketing campaigns and ascertain the commercial viability of publication projects.
How do you communicate with your distribution channels and readers?
Marketing materials are mostly developed by our sister office in New York and updated in Geneva for our markets. Communication campaigns on new releases exist in electronic and paper formats and cover topics such as drugs, human rights, women, children, etc... We meet our distributors at the London, Frankfurt, Cairo, Cape Town and Moscow international professional book fairs. The Section undertakes to organize and coordinate the UN stand for all UN bodies that wish to be represented - Frankfurt mobilized up to 20 Intergovernmental bodies last year! To enhance our visibility and coverage in Eastern Europe and Africa, we plan to be present at large international events, organized by professional associations, the Council for the Development of Social Science in Africa and the Council of Europe. Finally for end market users - readers - we are developing posters and bookmarks that will be broadly diffused via various distribution channels, retailers, sales points and public academic libraries.
Is the Bookshop at the Palais des Nations your principal showcase?
Indeed it is... In the seventies, when the bookshop at Door 40 was created, it was avant-garde. Today it is somewhat quaint and requires a major facelift. If you have the opportunity to visit the UN Bookshop at New York you will understand what I mean. In the meantime we will renovate the UN Postal Administration kiosk at Door 6, which has recently come under our responsibility.
In these digital times, what about your website?
The objective is to have a unified portal for "UN Publications", with two linked regional subsites for the New York and Geneva book-shops, sales administrations and warehousing facilities. For the time being only the New York website accepts credit cards while in Geneva, for various reasons, this is not yet possible. The situation will be solved in a few weeks though.
You are attacking every aspect of your market: Upstream with the author departments, downstream with actions for your distribution channels and readers, a unified website with New York, the implementation of online payments at Geneva, renovation of the bookshop. How will you manage to do everything?
I count on my team which fortunately is composed of dynamic people who are very reliable and have foresight and ideas. There are ten of us including Deputy-Chief, Catherine Vibert. The team is only half the size of New York's. Hence we have no choice than to draw on some of the technical resources and expertise at Headquarters. I also count on the support of services at UNOG and more precisely on the Publishing Unit for the creation and production of our communication tools, as well as on the Buildings and Engineering Section for the renovation of our sales points within the Palais.
What about your working relations with the New York office?
Christopher Woodthorpe is Chief of the Section across the pond at New York. We have a very close working relationship. In certain areas like those linked to the web and IT, we are equally close to his team and share as much as possible our resources in cataloguing and promotional tools to generate economies of scale. Each of our offices is responsible of its own geographical market and locally of its bookshop. So, you will find in Geneva as in New York a customer service, a sales service and a marketing department.
Do you have a background in Marketing and in Publishing?
I studied law in London and worked as journalist before becoming spokesperson in a major human rights organization. After more than 16 years in public relations and publishing in international NGOs and at the United Nations, I am not a newcomer to publications and marketing.
You are perfectly bilingual, aren't you, so where are you from?
Since an early age, scholastically and otherwise, I have been nurtured in both English and French settings and cultures. The family on my mother's side is from London and on my father's from the Geneva region. But so many other influences have piled upon that initial heritage. Because we constantly moved from one country - and likewise continent -to another, its really hard to give you a straightforward answer.
What are your hopes in the job?
Essentially to succeed with an excellent team within the framework of our outreach mandate. We want to stimulate the nascence of new readerships, maximise our potentialities and bring information to various audiences, ranging from seasoned experts to children and families, while generating revenue for the organization.
For further information, you can visit the United Nations Publications' website www.unog.ch/bookshop
