WIREDSET AND WILLIAM MORROW LAUNCH ONLINE VIDEO WIDGET FOR NEAL STEPHENSON’S ANATHEM

Wiredset, the digital marketing agency and technology incubator today announced the launch of a newly created video widget for Neal Stephenson’s newest bestselling novel, Anathem. The compact custom widget, which contains six exclusive videos of Stephenson discussing the origins and insights from his latest novel, is an extension of a larger online engagement campaign that kicked off prior to the book release September 9^th. It also marks a departure from traditional online book promotions. The use of the mini-player was created as an extension of the futuristic “Anathem world” created by Stephenson and puts the power of promotion directly into the hands of his fans.  

"We know Neal's fans are online, tech savvy and eagerly consume all of his literary works. Working with Wiredset, we were able to harness that energy and enthusiasm to extend the intrigue surrounding Anathem and deliver a richer, more complimentary experience to the novel,” said Lynn Grady, VP, Associate Publisher, William Morrow.

“As media consumption patterns change, many industries face a growing challenge in reaching potential buyers and are increasingly forced to find innovative means to get their message in the right hands” said Grant Johmann, VP Digital Marketing at Wiredset. “By taking the time to develop and deliver these tools effectively, we are not just marketing to the fans, we are marketing with them”.

Through targeting communities and individuals that fit the Anathem demographic, and with the ripple effect of mainstream media coverage, the novel has picked up substantial viral buzz. This targeted approach focusing on a real value exchange between product and consumer marks a departure from traditional, online ad buys consisting of banners and key word purchases. The growth in buzz for the book can be seen over time by utilizing Wiredset’s proprietary social media tracking tool, Trendrr.

Get Anathem Video Widget here  

About Wiredset

Wiredset is a full-scale digital agency that  provides online and mobile marketing services, strategic business consulting, market intelligence, and cutting-edge web production, all enabled by proprietary technologies and services. Founded in 2004 by 16 year Sony veteran, Mark Ghuneim, and lead by venerable entertainment and tech industry veterans, Wiredset incubates ideas, creates technology products and executes innovative digital marketing campaigns for leading television, music, and entertainment properties as well as established brands. Their roster of current and former clients include  Microsoft, Apple, Puma, VH1, ESPN, MTV, Comedy Central, HBO, Capitol Records, Sony Music, Coachella, and many more. In 2006, Wiredset created a proprietary web tracking service that measures and illustrates engagement and consumption for leading online properties. The service was launched publicly in 2008 as Trendrr, a consumer and business to business solution that provides real time market intelligence from a variety of online sources.  

About Anathem

Anathem, the latest invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle, is a magnificent creation: a work of great scope, intelligence, and imagination that ushers readers into a recognizable—yet strangely inverted—world. Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside “saecular” world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent’s walls. Three times during history’s darkest epochs violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community. Yet the avout have always managed to adapt in the wake of catastrophe, becoming out of necessity even more austere and less dependent on technology and material things. And Erasmas has no fear of the outside—the Extramuros—for the last of the terrible times was long, long ago. Now, in celebration of the week-long, once-in-a-decade rite of Apert, the fraas and suurs prepare to venture beyond the concent’s gates—at the same time opening them wide to welcome the curious “extras” in. During his first Apert as a fraa, Erasmas eagerly anticipates reconnecting with the landmarks and family he hasn’t seen since he was “collected.” But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the brink of cataclysmic change. Powerful unforeseen forces jeopardize the peaceful stability of mathic life and the established ennui of the Extramuros—a threat that only an unsteady alliance of saecular and avout can oppose—as, one by one, Erasmas and his colleagues, teachers, and friends are summoned forth from the safety of the concent in hopes of warding off global disaster. Suddenly burdened with a staggering responsibility, Erasmas finds himself a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world—as he sets out on an extraordinary odyssey that will carry him to the most dangerous, inhospitable corners of the planet . . . and beyond.  

About HarperCollins Publishers
HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation(NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children’s Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children's books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history HarperCollins has published some of the world’s foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers on the Internet at http://www.harpercollins.com.

Contact: Jason Damata 917-279-8706 jason(at)FabricMedia.net