Cornerstone wins five-way auction for Nike marketer's guide to creativity

Cornerstone has triumphed in a five-way auction to publish a guide to creativity from a former chief marketing officer at Nike, Greg Hoffman.

Publishing on the Random House Business list, Emotion by Design will be Hoffman's first book, drawing on his experience with the company Nike, which spanned more than three decades. Cornerstone senior editor Rowan Borchers bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Will Francis at Janklow & Nesbit.

Hoffman joined the company in 1992 as a design intern and rose through the ranks, retiring as chief marketing officer 28 years later in 2020. As chief marketing officer, he was responsible for maintaining Nike’s brand recognition globally, helping craft campaigns such as the "Find Your Greatness" videos at the London 2012 Olympics, Nike Football’s "Risk Everything" campaign at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and Colin Kaepernick’s "Dream Crazy" ad in 2018.  

In the book, Hoffman outlines a series of principles intended to help any company become more creative, a process he describes as "Emotion by Design". It is "a combination of market analysis and artistic daring that allows brands to forge deep, emotional bonds with consumers".

Promising "a masterclass in creativity", Emotion by Design will be a lead title for Random House Business, publishing in hardback and trade paperback in spring 2022.

Hoffman said: "Throughout my career I have experienced how building a strong culture of creativity within a brand can help drive success, and lead to what I call 'Emotion by Design'. I hope my book will allow all types of business people to harness the power of Emotion by Design, and help them forge deeper emotional connections with their consumers than ever before."

Borchers said: "Publishing is all about connecting with readers’ emotions; it’s the goal every time you write a blurb, organise a PR campaign, or design a cover. And so Greg’s visionary argument for the power of Emotion by Design immediately chimed with everyone at Cornerstone. We can’t wait to take his ideas to the largest audience possible."