An Evening into Shadow: Author John Mayer Sheds Light on Creating a Spectacular New York Book Event
Some writers use product placement to connect audiences with pop culture in order to bring a bit of reality to a fictional scenario. This type of marketing usually occurs in television and movies and is sometimes used in books. J E Mayer, author of thriller, Shadow Warrior was trying to engage his readers’ imaginations by incorporating familiar brands into his book: Grand Hyatt®, Ketel One® Vodka and Porta Bella Menswear, a men’s clothier with stores across metropolitan New York. In addition to creating vivid scenes for his readers, Mayer’s strategic product placement helped him land an extravagant promotion for his latest novel.
Shadow Warrior, Mayer’s eleventh book, is an action-packed thriller that places the reader in the intricate world of drug money laundering. It gives a unique view of the world taken from actual case files of federal law enforcement authorities. The book introduces a new use of the successful spy genre by moving the action in a high-tech environment with stylistic scenes and characters to engage the reader.
Mayer first approached one of the featured brands, the Hyatt hotel chain. He asked them to host a signing for his book in the hotel thinking that they would perhaps agree to embrace his suggestion. The Grand Hyatt New York’s public relations manager took Mayer’s simple idea and turned it into a charity cocktail party, held Sept. 28 for a wide cross-section of guests including international and New York celebrities and literary luminaries with proceeds benefiting the New York Special Olympics and the USA Triathlon Association.
With solid backing for this exciting event, Mayer sought out Ketel One Vodka to participate. They also agreed to support the gala by creating an elaborate ice sculpture martini bar with the book’s cover displayed in the ice. “It is incredible how enthusiastic our sponsors and charities have been,” said Mayer. Each of the 200 guests received a signed copy of the book compliments of AuthorHouse.
“This is a bit of a Cinderella story. I put all these goods and services into the story to create vivid images for the reader, little did I know I would be breaking new ground in promotion of the book,” added Mayer. “We are planning to host similar charity events in other locations mentioned in the book including Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and offer up participation to several other companies in the book such as Nike, Oakley, Jaguar, and Louis Vuitton.”
Mayer hopes other authors will think out of the box to get people’s attention. “Have courage. As writers, we tend to be solitary people. We show courage by putting our thoughts and ideas on paper and by publishing it for all to see. But, I believe there is another layer of courage. Writers need to broadcast their work and feel good about it so that others will pay attention. That isn’t always easy to do.” Mayer adds, “It is extremely gratifying when someone e-mails or comes up to me specifically to say they loved reading my book.”
