But on Thursday, the perfectly planned PR strategy for the launch of Prince Harry’s tell-all autobiography threatened to crumble in the face of a newspaper leak and the unexpected sale of the Harry’s book by certain Spanish shops.
Plans for a meticulously coordinated publicity drive, which would have taken months to develop and included a series of television interviews with the prince, appeared to be in ruins.
However, even though the publishers of Spare went to considerable measures to conceal the book to maximize its impact upon publication, it is unlikely that this unexpected attention will harm sales.
The leaks are “70% positive” for the Harry’s book and its publisher, Penguin Random House, according to Philip Jones, editor of the trade publication The Bookseller.
“I think they’ll be a little irritated that it came out before the book, but I’m sure they’ll be pleased that it’s dominating headlines around the world at a time when they want to increase demand before the book’s Tuesday release,” he says.
Despite the publisher’s efforts to keep the book secure, a large number of journalists were able to obtain it on Thursday, when word spread that the Spanish edition had been made available in select bookstores early.
This followed a leak in the Guardian that revealed Harry’s claim in the book that he had a physical dispute with his brother, Prince William.
As news sources dissected and disseminated the 416-page book’s allegations, Spare was covered nonstop for the following 36 hours.
Most industry professionals doubt that the leaks will damage sales.
Edward Coram James, CEO of the digital marketing consultancy Go Up and a specialist in reputation management, predicts that this will likely have little impact on the number of books sold. If anything, they may sell more now that they have an extra week of coverage.
He then adds: “You wouldn’t have wanted a leak of this nature too far in advance since you want the book’s release to coincide with its peak of popularity. If this leak had occurred three weeks earlier. The news cycle would have moved on and this story would be somewhat stale.
“Since the event occurred so close to the scheduled launch, I believe the hype will continue right up to the launch, so it won’t lose steam.”
Penguin meticulously coordinated its public relations effort. The plan was for Harry to conduct a series of broadcast interviews. (At least four, as far as we are aware) that would air in the 48 hours preceding the book’s release.
The publisher kept everything else under wraps. They avoided entering into a serialization agreement with a newspaper. And many bookshop deliveries were scheduled to arrive at the last minute.
The number of people involved in the international production. And distribution of the Harry’s book made it difficult to prevent a leak. On Thursday, the book was obtained in Spanish by The Guardian. The Sun, The Telegraph, the BBC, and Sky News, among other sites.
According to Neill Denny, co-editor of the book trade news website BookBrunch. “The net result has been that someone translates another chapter every two or three hours. Followed by another news dump of some new line.” “Typically, no publicity campaign can accomplish this. It has almost performed as well as a serialization.”
Leaks for Prince Harry’s book
However, a spokesman for the Spanish publisher Plaza y Janes Editores (which is owned by Penguin Random House) told Reuters. “A crystal-clear launch protocol was established and communicated to all customers to prevent the book from being marketed before the designated date.
Everything indicates that some consumers violated their agreement with the publisher by putting the book on sale before the agreed-upon date.
Mr. Denny rejects the notion that the leak was coordinated for publicity purposes. “This is embarrassing for the publisher. As it demonstrates that they cannot handle a huge global release without it leaking,” he argues.
While the early revelations may not have been included in the original rollout plan. Mr. Coram James explains: “With PR strategy for such large-scale events, it is common to anticipate that something will go wrong. Consequently, they will have prepared for this circumstance, although not having anticipated it.”
He adds that, as a result of the leak, stations who had pre-recorded interviews with Harry have rushed to release more teaser snippets, in part to protect their exclusive.
Publisher’s efforts to keep the book secure
Mr. Coram James adds, “I believe this will have been coordinated with Penguin. And the Sussexes following the leak and will be an attempt by all three parties to regain some control.”
ITV, CBS, Good Morning America, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will all interview Harry in the coming days. The footage published thus far shows that some of the interviewers will give Harry a difficult time.
Under the original PR strategy, this would have given the impression that Harry was being held accountable for the substance of the book. Thereby preventing any potential criticism.
However, according to Mr. Coram James, the leak has resulted in an unforeseen period of exposure for the Sussexes. Which has been filled by detractors who have appeared in the media to criticize portions of the book’s content.
“When issuing a release of this nature, it is important to establish the terms,” he says. “When the book gets leaked, the story suddenly escapes you.”
Spare may have Harry’s name on the cover, but it was co-written by JR Moehringer. A prolific ghostwriter of celebrity memoirs who established his reputation in 2009 with Andre Agassi’s explosive autobiography.
Mr. Denning asserts that the American publishers were quite astute to place him in the same room as Harry. “If Harry had written the book himself, I believe it would have been less engaging. However, I believe this individual has worked on these ideas and made the book significantly more engaging.”
Demand before the book’s Tuesday release
Harry’s release of Spare is the culmination of a long-running attempt to get his own story into the public realm. This began in 2021 when he and Meghan went down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview.
The pair reportedly negotiated a $100 million (£83 million) contract with Netflix for a series of programming. Including their latest six-part docuseries, and a $25 million (£21 million) deal with Spotify for a podcast presented by Meghan. Penguin reportedly paid Harry an additional $25 million for the rights to Spare.
Amazon’s pre-order chart
All of these product launches have been coordinated so that they do not conflict. The Spotify podcast ran from August to November, was followed by the December release of the Netflix series. And is now followed by the January release of Spare.
“Had they released them all at once, their market would have been splintered. Some would have purchased the book. While others would have watched the series or listened to the podcast,” explains Mr. Coram James. “However, it’s not enough to consider their numerous stakeholders and employers. We must also consider how to stay at the top of the news cycle for as long as possible.”
Spare is currently at the top of Amazon’s pre-order chart, indicating that the exposure has been advantageous. Mr. Jones says, “It’s excellent that folks encourage others to purchase a book early.” January is a rough month for book sales, but this book is fantastic for the publishing sector.
Before the publicity generated by the book’s leak, Spare was fourth on Amazon’s weekly nonfiction ranking.
Miriam Margolyes’ autobiography and two cookbooks, Pinch of Nom and Bored of Lunch. The Healthy Slow Cooker Book, outsold Harry on Amazon’s best-seller list.
Ultimately, regardless of the level of interest in Harry. His most formidable rival may be a recipe for 463-calorie Red Lentil Dal.
