Special Report: Identity Publishing

With technology rapidly bursting barriers to what was once the province of publishers alone, now, suggests Wind, would be a good time to pay attention to brand building.

"I think [branding] will allow a little more differentiation," says Wind, "especially as publishers are moving beyond just books to ebooks and multiple screens and more interactive offerings. It's a great opportunity for the more innovative publishers really to establish themselves."

Publishers can determine their focus and their brand message in terms of their areas of expertise, their mode of content delivery or other characteristics of the works they publish. All of which will lead to a more stable market position.

Wind offers a useful retail analogy: "Think about the stores that carry different brands within them, departments stores like Saks, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus. Each one of these stores has a unique identity that brings people to the store. Then within the store they can select the brands. What's missing to the publisher is this unique identity of the store. Are you more a Bergdorf Goodman or Macy's or Target? Who are you?" BB