Do the academic publishers need branding? Analyzing the UFU Press’ visibility

The academic and educational publications are among the most demanded publications in the Russian book market and hold their substantial share. However, university publications do not find wide audience and are unknown to readers though needed by scientific community. To evaluate the demand for academic and scientific literature, the authors analyze 2021–2024 statistical data provided by the Russian Book Chamber. The books published by academic publishers make the significant share of the book market segment. According to the surveys conducted by the authors in 2020 and 2024, the Ural Federal University students and faculty are unaware of the products and services of university publishers which is a serious challenge for commercialization. The academic publishers lose their audience due to their invisibility and limited circulation of the published books though the academic readers are potentially interested. To resolve the situation, the awareness of academic publications and publishers has to be increased. For this purpose, the authors identify the promotion specific features for academic publishers as the book market players; they also discuss the publishers’ interior and exterior brand attributes. The case study of the Ural Federal University demonstrates the application of branding instruments.