Situation

Seagull Book & Tape, Inc. (www.seagullbook.com) was founded in 1987 by V. Lewis Kofford as a new distribution source for books and media targeting members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), as well as for products from Covenant Communications, Inc., established in 1958 – a sister company owned by Kofford. In addition to carrying products produced by Covenant Communications, Seagull Book & Tape also sold books published by Deseret Book Publishing.

After years of disagreeing on marketing and merchandising practices, Deseret Book Publishing sent a internal memo to employees and letter to Seagull Book announcing it would no longer sell its products to Seagull Book at wholesale. Within days of receiving the Deseret Book letter, a copy of the memo was leaked to a reporter at the Ogden Standard Examiner business desk. Media and concerned customers began clamoring for more information, many worried that Seagull Book could not continue to thrive without Deseret Book inventory.

Company Objectives

• Lift the threatened product ban and initiate conversations with Deseret Book Publishing, resulting in an agreeable compromise for both companies.
• Reassure Seagull customers that they would receive pending Deseret Book products ordered through Seagull Book & Tape.
• Inform media and customers that, contrary to local reporting, Deseret Book product sales did not account for 50 percent of Seagull Book & Tape revenues.

Solutions

After consulting with the Politis team, Seagull Book recognized the importance of maintaining a positive business relationship with Deseret Book. Politis Communications went to work drafting a release and preparing a press event to address misconceptions created through premature coverage and expose what Seagull Book thought might be a deliberate attack on its presence in the LDS market.

Results

Within hours of announcing the impending press event, Deseret Book agreed to lift the ban for one month while pursuing discussions with Seagull Book. The companies released joint statements announcing intentions to discuss the relationship further.

After four months of deliberation, Deseret Book made an offer to buy Seagull Book and Covenant Communications. Deseret Book publicly promised to continue operating both brands independently of each other, saying each brand filled an important niche in the marketplace.