We’re Doing More Puzzles: USA Today Scores Branding Deals with Multiple Publishers

Has it really been 25 years since those blue-and-white newspaper vending machines started showing up on street corners? I feel old…but as least I’ll have plenty of USA Today-themed puzzle books to occupy me in my dotage, thanks to a new six-publisher branding project put together by the licensing firm Nancy Bailey & Associates. Andrews McMeel is just about ready to start publishing its puzzle books, with Sterling Publishing contributing crossword collections and a sudoku-a-day calendar in 2008. There’s also going to be a monthly sudoku magazine from MultiMedia Publishing, and a puzzle-a-day calendar from Mead Westvaco. The licensing venture isn’t just limited to puzzles, either: Nolo is putting together a series of legal and business guides, and Sports Publishing has plans for a 25th anniversary volume and a sports almanac.

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.