The Shiva Trilogy: 1.7 Million
Copies…Rs 40 Crores in earnings
The Shiva trilogy with its three books The Immortals of
Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and the latest being the Oath of the Vayuputras
is a revolution both in terms of literary magnificence and as a marketing
marvel. The series is quite simply about the life of the ruthless warrior,
passionate lover, majestic dancer, the pot smoking ‘cool God’, Lord Shiva. The
man behind all of this is its author, a genius marketer, Mr Amish Tripathi.
20 rejections before his first
but Rs 5 Crore much before his next
Amish’s work of the Immortals of Meluha was turned down by
around 20 publishers before Westland Ltd. agreed to publish it. Westland has
been laughing away to the bank and has also been generous enough by offering a
whooping Rs5 Crore to Amish for his ‘yet to be even thought of’ book.
The unique Positioning
The main reason his work was rejected by so many publishers
initially was because of the fact that they were all confused about its
positioning. Was it mythology, fiction, fantasy or philosophy? This book has
brought in a new positioning of Mythological Fiction which sure has been well
received and has several other authors cashing in with more releases in this
genre.
The Author and his little mystery
that sells
Following the likes of Chetan Bhagat and Karan Bajaj, the
IIT/IIM educated boring-banker-turned-cool-writer tag has had a positive impact
on building the brand value books. Amish Tripathi has a similar background but
what some research about the author reveals which is not mentioned in the book
is the fact that Amish was initially an atheist and the spirit of Lord Shiva
drew him to become his religious follower. This generates curiosity in the
minds of the reader and curiosity sells.
The marketing on the book cover –
5 second attraction
It’s normal for books
to have testimonials on its covers but here is what Amish did differently. He
believed that the story and the feel of the theme should be conveyed in 5
seconds as soon as someone gets hold of it. This is portrayed by the
spectacular artwork and a single line that conveys the story. The Immortals of
Meluha carried the line – ‘THE STORY OF A MAN, WHOM LEGEND TURNED INTO A GOD.’
Videos, Sounds
tracks & Social media – another list of firsts
Marketing of books were a concept still very nascent in
India. In my view the best marketing move made by Amish was the release of the
video that became a sensation on YouTube. The series of videos or trailers gave
the viewers a glimpse of the story and there were also separate videos about
prominent characters of the book. This method of advertising the characters
rather than the story or theme is a successful strategy used by Hollywood
greats like Quentin Tarantino and by some Indian movies like Shootout at
Lokhandwala.
Think WhyNot, the creative agency behind the great work with
the book’s promotions has also come out with a new music album, Vayuputras-
Sountrack of Shiva triology books with tracks sung by musical heavyweights such
as Sonu Nigam Taufiq Qureshi and others. Karan Johar has bagged the rights to
make a full length feature film on the book starring Hrithik Roshan and
Priyanka Chopra.
Their Facebook page also has a whole range
of offerings from allowing you to participate in polls, discussions, providing
information about Lord Shiva etc. The author is also quite active on twitter
too.
In the Stores… and out on the
streets
With fans lining up early in the morning waiting to get
their hands on the books, the store managers and other staff members og big
stores like Landmark , Crossword etc. have a challenging time the moment the
shutters are raised. Apart from the in-store promotions, the store ensures
dedicated staff and logistics at the time of release. They also focus on
bundling offers with all three books sold as packages with discounts. Even in
the streets the sellers of the counterfeit copies have to gear up for the
demand. Online shopping options provide big discounts and encourage
pre-ordering of the books.
The New age writer – a Marketer
in every writer
A Vikram Seth or Amitav Gosh would simply write their book
and let the publisher do all the marketing but the times are changing. Readers
want to be more connected with the author. Authors have to be active on
Twitter, be more open about their personal lives, be present during book
launches and ultimately be great marketers. Chetan Bhagat believed in pricing
his books less than Rs100, and is very active on social media; Ravi Subramanian
actively promotes his books in schools and colleges, likewise the roles of
authors today have become more dynamic.
What I like and recommend
The first aspect about the marketing of the book which I
loved is the fact that it stayed away from the ‘Hinduism’ tag. It is very easy
for a genre like this to be given that branding but the author stayed out of it
completely (thanks to the coolness element of the protagonist). I have grown up
listening to great stories of Lord Shiva so although these books are not in
line with what I know, the fact that it is as close to the ‘believed reality’ as
it can be is satisfying. In terms of the creative used, it is pleasing to see
the level of curiosity maintained by not revealing the face of the characters
and art work that seem like paintings and not cartoons or fantasy-like on the
book cover and in promotions.
What I recommend Mr Amish to do is to take this product and
make it an international sensation. He can start by making theatre plays of it
and staging it on Broadway shows abroad. But ultimately the fact that my 14yr
old cousin and 91yr old grandfather read it with the same enthusiasm makes it
an evergreen winner.
