James Patterson- Marque

James Patterson

Collect data on James Patterson and try to explain what can count as brands in his network (person, company, character, etc.)

James Patterson is a famous American writer born in the United States in 1947. Being first a publicist, he quits his job in order to live his passion: writing. He earns The New York Time Best Seller Prize in 1993 and his books are selling extremely well. He enters the Guinness World Record and becomes the best paid author in the world. His character is often represented in famous films and series.

It therefore seems interesting to address his way to success and how he managed to publish books that meet very different genres (from thriller, to science fiction, to romance) and still make a best seller out of each one of them. Indeed, most authors create their “brand” around one single genre. For example, if  we say Stephen King your mind would instantly go to thrillers or if you think J.K Rowling you will be thinking Harry Potter.

First of all, it is crucial to take into account that Patterson was an ad-man before he was a writer, so he has knowledge on markets, consumer’s intelligence and how to properly sell a product. The first branding characteristic that meets the eye when you analyse his profile is simply the quantity of books he produced, most of them co-authored.  He is responsible for the vision and plotline, but the drafting of the chapters will be done by somebody else. Patterson will then oversee the work, correct it until he is satisfied and deems it to be best seller material. This strategy reminds us of what a marketer would do when creating and preparing the launch of a new product: give the outline, oversee the strategy and course correct when needed. As seen before in class, a brand only really matters once it’s well known, and one of the best ways to get to that point is to saturate the market with your brand. If Patterson sells more, if his brand sticks, it’s in part due to the fact that he simply produces more than the average author.

However, quantity isn’t everything, and if there is no substance to a book it won’t sell. This is where Patterson’s ad-man past comes in handy. In the book industry, most writers aren’t really writing to please people in the first place, and tend to think that the right advertising will do the work and amount into creating a brand.  James Patterson approaches his brand in a very different way and focuses mainly on the product. If the product isn’t good, if it doesn’t meet its audience, it will rarely succeed.

Furthermore, Patterson created recurring characters that became famous such as Alex Cross or even Lidnsay Boxer in Women’s Murder Club. His characters became icons and everyone wanted to follow their adventures. His characters are part of the empire he created and his  branding project.

Apart from his books, Patterson created a website (readkiddoread.com), films ( Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, Kiss The Girls,), he appeared in series playing his own role and also appeared in the Simpson having his own character. These all contributed to created a brand around his name.

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