Inspiration meets innovation at Brandweek, the ultimate marketing experience. Join industry luminaries, rising talent and strategic experts in Phoenix, Arizona this September 23–26 to assess challenges, develop solutions and create new pathways for growth. Register early to save.
It’s probably a sign of the times that reality stars like Hannah Brown—an alum of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Dancing With the Stars—has not only finished writing her second book, but that it’s also a romance novel. Set for release on May 7, Mistakes We Never Made is a story that Brown has called “fast-paced, steamy and hot.”
Which could also describe the entire romance novel sector.
While much of the publishing industry struggles with layoffs, consolidation and social media platforms siphoning off would-be readers, the pulpy love story is enjoying a renaissance. Romance novel sales have risen by 113% over the last three years, according to data from Circana. They’re now the highest-earning genre in fiction, whose 39 million titles sold in 2023 generated revenue of $1.44 billion.
Within this special-interest domain, no publisher (including Forever, the imprint releasing Brown’s novel) approaches the dominance of Harlequin Enterprises. The Toronto-based fiction colossus cranks out 120 titles every month in North America (globally, that figure swells to 800) and sold 131 million books last year—a little over four books every second.
For all its size, Harlequin doesn’t take its lead position as a given. Today, the publisher is taking the wraps off a major brand refresh that’ll be visible everywhere from its book covers to its website to the language it uses on social media.
“Our 75th anniversary was a great moment for us to make some changes to our publishing strategy and also our marketing and communications,” vice president and associate publisher Farah Mullick told ADWEEK, explaining that the brand is also responding to “a shift in consumption. Consumer behavior changes, and we need to be responsive to that shift.”
Why the shift? Amid the 1,157 stressful and isolating days of the pandemic, thousands of consumers sought solace in romance novels. “They needed something that is a feel-good story that leaves them hopeful and optimistic,” Mullick said.
And while the readers of love stories tend to be female (82%) and middle-aged (42 is the average), they’ve been steadily getting younger: Today, a third of Harlequin’s readership is under 30. TikTok has had an especially heavy influence on this age group, and so Harlequin has made tweaks to stay in step with the mores of that online community, as well.
Here’s a breakdown of where Mullick’s team—with a creative assist from Québec City-based agency Cossette—made their adjustments, and why.
