Scholastic

Company: Scholastic Inc.
Company Description: Scholastic Corporation is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys.
Nomination Category: Team Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Communications Team

Nomination Title: Harry Potter V Communications Team

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved in 2003 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Since l998, Scholastic has published five books in the phenomenally popular Harry
Potter series capturing the hearts and minds of children and adults alike. The fifth
book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was released at 12:01 on June
21, 2003, and set a new all-time publishing record, selling five million copies in the
first 24 hours and reaching the eleven million mark within the first three months.

Although a great deal of buzz about the book had already been generated through
the success of the previous titles, the Communications Team encountered
obstacles which included J.K. Rowling’s decision to participate in a limited amount
of interviews, a three year waiting period since the publication of the last Harry
Potter book, and a challenging environment for the publishing industry.
Regardless, through a carefully orchestrated strategic PR campaign the
Communications Team was able to fully capture the attention of the media and
generate record-breaking demand from retailers and fans alike.

The official countdown to the greatest publishing moment in history began on
January 15, 2003, when Scholastic announced that the fifth title in the record
breaking Harry Potter series would have a simultaneous release at midnight on
June 21, 2003, with a record breaking first print run of 6.8 million copies.

Scholastic had banned the disclosure of any information pertaining to Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix until its release on June 21, 2003 which left fans
everywhere waiting in anticipation. On March 20, 2003, the Communications Team
released the cover of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix revealing a much
darker and older character. This sparked a tremendous amount of interest and
speculation about Harry’s new adventures.

On May 2, 2003, Scholastic announced a Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix national contest with USA Today, in which fans were asked to write an
essay answering the question “If you could have one special power taught at
Hogwarts, what would it be and why?” Ten lucky winners and their chaperones
were guests of Scholastic for an all-expense paid trip to London, England to hear
J.K. Rowling answer questions and read from her new novel. The winning letters
were published in USA Today and also generated local media.

Additionally, on June 12, 2003, under tight security, the company flew the first and
only signed copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix from Scotland to
New York.  The book was transported in a lock box and was housed in a secret
location until June 20, 2003 when it was presented to The New York Public Library as J.K. Rowling’s gift to the city. Reports on the media event aired on numerous
TV stations and a story appeared on page one of the Metro Section of The New
York Times.

As part of the marketing campaign leading up to the publication of the book,
Scholastic supplied over 15,000 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix event
kits to booksellers throughout the country to help them plan their midnight release
parties. The Communications Team located retailers in the top markets and
promoted their celebrations generating stories on local and national media.

The planning and successful execution of these PR events built anticipation and
garnered tremendous media attention, which in turn helped generate record-
breaking sales. The communications team was able to secure the cover of Time
magazine, a 7-page story in Newsweek, numerous stories in USA Today, Wall
Street Journal and The New York Times, an exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling
on the Today Show and a 1-hour special on Dateline, as well as extensive national
TV and radio coverage.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:

Supporting materials for this nomination were submitted offline.

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of this nominated team:

Judy Corman, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Media
Relations, led the Harry Potter V Communications Team, which includes
Scholastic Corporate Communications, Scholastic Trade Publishing and Goodman
Media International. 

Reporting to Dick Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO, Ms. Corman is
responsible for devising and implementing overall corporate strategies as well as
overseeing media relations for the education, book publishing, entertainment,
international, finance, e-Scholastic, community relations and corporate giving divisions. Besides overseeing Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Ms. Corman manages the operations of Scholastic Corporate Conventions, The Scholastic Store and Scholastic Corporate Productions.   

Prior to joining Scholastic, Ms. Corman held the position of Senior Vice President
at the strategic communications firm, Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery. She had
previously been Vice President for Corporate Communications and Media
Relations for Phoenix House, the nation’s largest drug abuse services agency.  In
2001, Ms. Corman received a New York Women in Communications, Matrix
Award in Public Relations.