Our Failed Media Experiment

Axios employees instructed to use Axios funds to buy six copies each of Axios founders’ dumb book: https://t.co/jiKg6BxyuO

— Defector (@DefectorMedia) September 23, 2022

Win the morning!

… “Here’s how you can spread the word and help make this a huge success,” the memo read, before suggesting that employees post a photo of the book on social media with the hashtag #axiossmartbrevity, write (presumably positive) reviews of the book on Amazon and Goodreads, and buy six copies, each, of the book. The memo stressed that employees could expense the cost of those six copies to the company itself. With around 500 employees, and books at $24.30 a piece, this puts the company on the hook for about $72,500 if every employee decides to follow the memo’s instructions…

Sweaty attempts to juice book sales and get on bestseller lists are nothing new in publishing… Politics writers-cum-media barons attempting to astroturf support for their book by turning their own workers into an army of lightly coerced marketers, however, is a neat twist on the theme. Axios said in its post launching the book that all proceeds from sales will go to the Axios fellowship program. Of course, writing a bestseller doesn’t just mean making more money in sales; it also affords authors more opportunities, prestige, and influence. It’s clear that the better the Axios book sells, the better things are for the people who wrote it. Less clear is what exactly Axios employees have to gain from the book doing well.

In response to Defector’s questions about the employee-centered marketing push and the amount of money the company set aside to buy copies of books for itself, Axios spokesperson Yolanda Brignoni said the book was a “team effort” and emphasized the fellowship program for journalists from underrepresented groups. “We, of course, wanted the team to have books for themselves and family,” she added. Defector followed up to ask how the company decided on six (6) books per employee, and if the amount of money the company set aside to buy these books was greater than what it expected to earn from book sales (and then put towards the fellowship program). Brignoni said: “We are extremely invested in equipping this next generation of journalists with the skills and expertise to take their careers to the next level. So, we hope to sell a lot of books this week and moving forward.”…

Defector also excerpts some reviews of Smart Brevity, which are — like Defector — not kind!

Meanwhile: At a rally far, far (not far enough) away: Wrestlemania!

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