Book Business Extra: Warner Books hired paid consultants and solicited Warner authors for ideas for a new company name. However, the name you came up with, Grand Central Publishing, was chosen in the end. What do you feel this new name represents in terms of brand image?
Raab: It’s true, we were presented with a lot of names before we hit on Grand Central Publishing. Obviously, the new location of our corporate headquarters at 46th and Park, near Grand Central Terminal, played a part in the choice, but the real reason was because I liked every word in the new name, and what it represented. When I deconstructed it, ‘Grand’ suggested all we strive to be as a publisher: big, impressive, even magnificent at times. ‘Central’ spoke to our mission to publish books that speak to the large and diverse readership between New York City and the West Coast. And, finally, it was important, given the rapid changes in the way content is becoming available, that we drop ‘Books’ in our name and embrace ‘Publishing’ in a fuller sense.
- Companies:
- Warner Books Group
- Places:
- New York City
- West Coast