Nine staff depart in PRH audiences, brand and communications restructure

Nine members of staff have been made redundant following a restructure in Penguin Random House’s audiences, brand and communications department which will also see new roles and an in-house "agency" created. 

The publisher said it had undertaken a strategic restructure in order to “strengthen its digital marketing capabilities and leverage the power of the Penguin brand” while responding to the rise of online book communities. The Bookseller understands the nine departures came from across the department following a consultation. Rebecca Sinclair will continue to lead the department under the new title of chief brand officer, and will continue to report to c.e.o. Tom Weldon.

PRH said the move would also create “a number of new roles” including in analytics, programmatic media and digital channels, as it looks to grow and develop additional skills within digital marketing. These vacancies will go on the company’s careers website in the coming weeks. 

The audiences, brand and communications department will be renamed as "brand". The publisher said the department will “house a number of central areas of specialist expertise, which support and work closely with the publishing houses to increase discoverability of Penguin’s books and authors and build a future pipeline of readers”. It added: “The transformation reflects and responds to the changing market backdrop, including shifting consumer behaviours and the rise in influence of online book communities.” 

The reorganised department will establish an internal "agency" to support the publishing houses with key technical and creative skills throughout the publishing process, to boost campaigns and enhance author brands. These skills include consumer insight, marketing attribution, design, photography and events production and will “enable stronger co-ordination and more effective workflow”, the publisher said. It will also develop its social impact agenda, including driving programmes such as the Lit in Colour campaign, the Primary School Libraries Alliance and WriteNow, as well as supporting the company’s inclusion strategy. 

PRH said: “One of the key drivers behind the transformation is to build a digital marketing platform for PRH authors that leverages the power of the Penguin brand and the collective strength of authors past, present and future to increase discoverability of our titles; whether that means creating awareness for new voices or exposing established authors to new and diverse audiences through brand activity. 

“By developing essential skills and infrastructure in the digital marketing space, the team aims to draw on first-party data to build a deeper understanding of consumers, to help them better identify and anticipate their needs—and meet these through our extensive back catalogue.” 

Weldon said: “There is more opportunity than ever before to use the power of our brand, together with our owned channels and platforms, to reach readers and to create awareness to deliver on our mission. And, with the acceleration in the shift to online, we want to strengthen and optimise our digital marketing capabilities to sell more books and widen our reach. 

“Since taking on this department at the start of 2021, Rebecca has already put in place the foundations to capitalise on this opportunity, including establishing our fast-growing digital marketing team headed up by Jon Donovan. Over the past few years, she has also been hugely influential in shaping the brand as it is today, from our social impact agenda to our company mission. I am delighted that she will continue to lead the department in this increasingly important role. I am confident that, with a talented team behind her, we now have the structures, tools, and crucially the brand to take advantage of the unique opportunity that digital marketing offers us.” 

Sinclair added: “The brand department is full of talented and committed colleagues and I feel immensely privileged to lead it as we start this new phase.  

“We are lucky to be custodians of one of the best-loved brands in publishing and that will become increasingly important as consumers seek differentiation online. These changes will help us leverage both the commercial and social capital of the brand to best effect. 

“Transformation of this scale can mean making difficult decisions and sadly, nine colleagues will be leaving the business as a result. All of them have made a valued contribution and they will be missed. They leave with our very best wishes and thanks.”