Wired and Barnes & Noble Launch Co-branded Web Booksite and In-store Display
Campaign
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- In an innovative
co-branding partnership between a major book retailer and a prominent media
company, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and Wired Ventures have teamed up to bring
added value to shopping for books, both online and in Barnes & Noble stores
across the country.
Today, Wired Digital, the online media division of Wired Ventures Inc.,
launched an online bookstore sponsored by Barnes & Noble. Available on
Wired's online market place Shop Wired (accessible via www.hotbot.com), the
site will feature selected Wired titles such as Marshall Macluhan's seminal
The Medium is the Massage, and the latest must read for Web designers,
HotWired Style. In addition the site will feature Wired editors' book
recommendations, as well as reviews, commentary, preview chapters, and
additional links to the latest catalog of Wired books. After previewing the
Wired selections, readers can link directly to BarnesandNoble.com to purchase
the books online.
The partnership also extends offline, now that visitors to selected Barnes
& Noble locations will have a unique opportunity to get even more perspective
from Wired. Select Barnes & Noble locations now feature special in-store
Wired displays leading off of Barnes & Noble's new nonfiction title sections,
that will host a selection of related cyber-business and culture titles
recommended by Wired editors, along with the current issue of Wired magazine,
and a selection of Wired Books. In addition to enhancing the new nonfiction
section in-store, the display invites visitors to browse the online bookstore
by directing them to the Wired/Barnes & Noble URL (www.hotbot.com).
After the initial pilot roll out this month, Barnes & Noble will introduce
the Wired in-store displays nationally in early summer.
"We are extremely excited to be working with Barnes & Noble on this
project because it utilizes the strengths of two leading companies to provide
our mutual customers with a great place to easily browse and purchase the
smart technology media that Wired is famous for delivering," said
Jane Metcalfe, president of Wired Ventures Inc. "Barnes & Noble's commitment
to both online and in-store promotions associated with the Wired brand is a
testimony to their commitment to providing their tech-savvy customers with the
latest book titles helping to connect them to the technological future."
The co-branded book site and in-store displays will feature Wired titles
including The Medium is the Massage, Hotwired Style, Bot, and Artificial Kid.
The first selected books will be recommended by Brad Wieners, associate editor
at Wired Magazine, author of Wired's Reality Check, and editor of Burning Man,
also a Wired Books title.
Wired magazine is a division of Wired Ventures Inc., a global, diversified
media company that creates branded content for print and online services. Its
current businesses include Wired magazine, Wired Books, and Wired Digital,
which produces original Web content, including HotWired, and Wired News, and
its search products HotBot and NewsBot.
SOURCE Wired magazine
-0- 03/25/98
/CONTACT: Shelley Tatum of Wired Magazine, 415-276-5162, or fax,
415-276 5100, or statum@wired.com; or Andrew de Vries of Wired Digital,
415-276-8542, or fax, 415-276-8499, or andrewd@wired.com/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804,
ext. 122544/
/Web site: hotbot.com and barnesandnoble.com
(BKS)
CO: Wired magazine; Wired Ventures Inc.; Barnes & Noble
ST: California
IN: MLM
SU: PDT
MP-CM
-- SFW042 --
3726 03/25/98 15:25 EST prnewswire.com |
