Storyselling, by Daniel Hade, is an article that argues again mass marketing and cross-promotion of children’s literature. He expresses his concerns of money-focused publishers controlling what books can be published and where they are being sold. He explains what’s most “troubling” to him is the idea that literature will become just another means of product placement and promotion. He feels children will no longer like the book, but instead they will want the merchandise associated with it. Children are picky and will read what they like. I don’t believe that children will choose to decorate their bedrooms with Curious George if they never read the book.
As an advertising major it’s no surprise that I feel differently. I believe that successful books that children like should have the opportunity to market their brand and sell merchandise. Cross-promotion isn’t a bad thing in fact I believe it encourages reading by reinforcing the literature. Marketing literature is a smart move for authors and publishers because it increases product awareness which in turn increases literacy.
An example from Storyselling that I thought was interesting was his extreme distaste for the cheerios counting book. This article from Publishers Weekly explains the benefits of that book and others for young children. Children feel comfortable because they recognize the cheerios while they learn dexterity, math, and counting.
Finally, Hade has a major fear of this cross-promotional marketing of literature, but I like to look at the “good” examples like Dora the Explorer and the Magic School Bus because children who wanted those cross-promotional merchandise were still learning and benefiting from the brand. Reinforcing positive behavior and morals through marketing could actually be more successful for child development.
I never thought about how beneficial it is for the author to do cross-promotion. Kids are more likely to want something if it is advertised properly. Say if a child never read "Dora the Explorer" until they saw a doll of her they wanted. Then the child would love almost anything that is Dora, including books. They would want to read that book over and over again, thus increasing literacy. I believe that using cross-promotion does have a a positive affect on child development.
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