Powell’s Books got a major plug not too long ago when Stephen Colbert outwardly expressed his anger at Amazon on The Colbert Report.

Amazon has ended presale orders for Hachette Book Group, the company that publishes Colbert’s books. Author Sherman Alexie, who appeared on the Colbert Report, said that presale orders can make or break a book’s success.

Alexie brought a copy of California – a Hachette-published book not available for presale purchase on Amazon and the pair suggested not buying it from Amazon, but instead, independent booksellers.

Colbert provided a link to Powells.com on his website pushing California and other Hachette-published books.

Powell’s, who knew little of Colbert’s plug, reacted quickly to a dramatic spike in online traffic, bringing on extra IT support to help regulate the newfound traffic – though eventually, the site slowed. Powell’s also had the aforethought to update social media, warning customers that the site was a little slow due to increased web traffic – the most Powell’s has ever seen at any given time.

This is only one example of broadcast TV blending with social media to change buying behaviors – specifically e-commerce. Traditional and digital media are working together to show the poor decisions by Amazon. By bringing attention to the issue, Stephen Colbert used his influence to tell his audience what they can do about it – buy from Powell’s.

Amazon’s brand image has taken a hit after Colbert’s segment, similar to Netflix’s Qwikster a few years ago. Qwikster was Netflix’s attempt to separate DVD and streaming rentals, which enraged Netflix users. Eventually, Netflix’s CEO pulled the plug on Qwikster, but not quickly enough to retain customer confidence and trust. By taking a stand against Amazon, Colbert further hurt Amazon’s image while providing big payoffs to the author of California and Powell’s. Free press for Magneto’s favorite bookstore? Yes please!

What do you think? Have you stopped buying from Amazon or purchased California at Stephen Colbert’s recommendation? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @MagnetoAgency!

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