The criticism directed at Adlibri's campaign, where all the books on the front page are Camilla Läckberg's latest novel, are partly about not being able to see any other books, but must actively know what you are looking for. It is also about the fact that both the Läckberg publishing house Forum and Adlibris are owned by the Bonnier Group.
- Exactly how the agreements look, we will not comment, but I do not think it will affect the credibility, I think people understand that it is a "take over" (campaign name, red note). This is the second time in 23 years we are doing this and when all physical launches are canceled, it is important to test yourself. Five years ago, it was Norstedt's Millennium we launched like this, says Elias Vieglins, PR manager at Adlibris.
"Deciding to sell only one book today"
Still, Pelle Andersson, publishing manager at Ordfront, feels that the initiative feels unpalatable.
- It was bad when Norstedts did it too, but then you felt more that it was the market. This time it feels like an internal affair, he says and continues:
- It's like a show of power: Bonnier's greatest author with one of the largest publishers with the biggest seller decides to sell only one book today.
"Does not affect other titles"Andersson thinks it is particularly upsetting that the campaign is launched when the entire book industry is going through a steel bath compounded by the corona pandemic.
However, Adlibris believes that sales from their site are significantly larger than at the same time last year - with and without Läckberg.
- Our conclusions for this initiative were that it will not affect the sale of other titles, which we can see after half a day that it has not done, says Elias Vieglins.