The Freaks and Geeks Manifesto: Genre Readers are Revolting

By:
Justin Thorne
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There is a 'movement'… a revolution if you will, being led by genre readers. There are whole communities of online consumers of highbrow, intelligent, adult fiction and they are starting to make demands of the publishers of genre fiction.

Marx (Hands, 2005), thought that unions of workers made up of dissatisfied proletariat would continue to expand, facilitated by modern forms of communication like the railways. Well guess what, the Freaks & Geeks movement is being facilitated by a modern form of communication… the Internet. A revolution is coming.

So far, publishers seem to be ignoring this new medium in favour of traditional marketing communications such as blurbs, covers, testimonials from other authors and shelf space. Not only are they missing marketing opportunities, but the methods they are employing seem to be missing the mark by some way. Do publishers even know who their target markets are anymore? Are they stereotyping the consumers of their products rather than segmenting?

The Freaks and Geeks Manifesto is a paper on the rise of the postmodern consumer, postmodern marketing and the power of online discussion forums and blogs... creating the opinion leaders of tomorrow.

This paper received a distinction (90%) as part of a MSc in Marketing through the University of Glamorgan. The author maintains a number of pop-culture blogs and discussion forums and is a passionate fan of genre fiction in addition to writing it.

The researcher is now completing a thesis on how the Internet is influencing the buying decision for consumers of genre fiction and is working with consumers and published authors from around the world.


Keywords: Genre Fiction, Internet, Discussion Forums, Blogs, Publishing, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Postmodern Consumers, Postmodern Marketing, Book Jackets, Blurbs, Word Of Mouth, Recommendations, Opinion Leaders, Opinion Formers, Generation X, Generation Y, Geeks
Stream: Books, Writing and Reading, Publishing
Presentation Type: Virtual Presentation in English
Paper: Freaks and Geeks Manifesto, The

Justin Thorne

Head of Marketing, Cimandis (Channel Island Manufacturing & Distribution), University of Glamorgan
Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands, UK

As Head of Marketing for Cimandis, the largest fast moving consumer goods company in the Channel Islands, Justin is responsible for local and global brands including Coca-Cola, Laurent Perrier, Budweiser, the island's two commercial bakeries, Co-op & Marks & Spencer products, two food service businesses and for developing the corporate brands for the eight divisions of Cimandis. Prior to joining Cimandis, Justin was Marketing Manager for International Investment Funds, Private Banking and Trust services for one of the UK's largest retail banks and fund managers. Justin is a musician and a writer and has been published in various magazines featuring horror, science fiction, fantasy and mystery short fiction. He is also a moderator at the World's largest online community for science fiction and fantasy literature, SFFWORLD.com

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