“The Remarkable … Revealed” hit shelves in August and, on the strength of a beefed-up publicity campaign, is seeing excellent early returns.

By Matt Steinmetz

The campaign will run through the holiday season, says O’Brien. “Christmas is definitely our target. I try to make it a point to discuss the gift angle during interviews. The price point is perfect for a Christmas gift, and the quirkiness makes it unique,” he says.

Joanne Moyle, of J.E. Moyle Consultants, who works with O’Brien on the book’s marketing and publicity, says, “The Remarkable … Revealed” is backed by a $600,000 marketing budget. “The lion’s share of that budget is set up for co-op advertising, in-store displays, front-of-store displays, etc. It also includes fees for marketing and publicity, and expenses such as travel and other expenses related to flying in BION performers for TV media opportunities during the promo campaign,” she says.

Ripley’s also promotes products like “The Remarkable … Revealed” with the help of its non-publishing businesses. “If the museum does a publicity event of its own, our book is always a part of that. And the books are, of course, sold at the museum,” Deska says.

All this publicity is paying off, according to Morty Mint, president of Mint Publishers Group, a sales and distribution company that is assisting Ripley’s with “The Remarkable … Revealed.” Sales of the English version of the first book in the “Believe It or Not!” series totaled 525,000; the second book’s sales jumped to 725,000; and book three’s sales increased to 750,000. In less than a month, sales of “The Remarkable … Revealed” were up 24 percent over first-month sales of the last edition, says Mint.

Coping With Copycat Companies
Ripley’s has successfully carved out its niche by what O’Brien calls being a “different company and proudly freaking out families for nearly 90 years.” But in that time a number of like-minded companies have sprung up looking to encroach upon this space.