Sylvia Day Creative Direction
Transforming the image of a romance publishing powerhouse
Context
With more than 18 million readers worldwide, international bestselling romance novelist, Sylvia Day, reaches a mainstream audience that goes far beyond romance. Her branding and advertising didn't reflect that breadth, so she approached Modop for a brand transformation while I was working there as a creative director.
Strategy
As creative director on the account from 2014 to 2016, I led the team that transitioned her image from romance novel cliché into the more sophisticated icon that she is.
Outcome
While working together, Sylvia published two books that debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and her social followers increased by 250%.
Print and out-of-home campaigns
I creative directed numerous awareness and direct response print and OOH campaigns to promote Sylvia as a brand, drive sales of her back list, and launch new books.
Video campaigns
Brand anthem
Conveying the joy, sensuality, and drama of the Sylvia Day reading experience, this brand anthem was used across social channels to promote her new books and the worlds she creates.
Feature-length documentary
For more than six weeks, I traveled with Sylvia and a small crew on her book tour across eight cities in four countries to create BEYOND WORDS, a feature-length documentary that goes behind the scenes of what it’s like to be an internationally bestselling novelist.
Lifestyle blog promo
An extension of the Sylvia Day brand, Beyond Words was an online lifestyle magazine inspired by her life and work. I concepted and directed this video to promote it.
Sensual shorts
I reedited short scenes from Sylvia’s brand video and juxtaposed the footage with quotes from her novels for use across social channels.
Social campaigns
Writing social copy for a bestselling novelist requires a special obsession with word choice, grammar. From 2014-2016, I creative directed social media across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for Sylvia Day, overseeing monthly conversation calendars, design, animation, videos and copy. We kept diehard fans engaged with mini-campaigns that brought to life the characters in her series, and attracted new fans by highlighting her writing expertise.
