The panel discussed managing organizational change in challenging situations. They provided tips for turnarounds based on case studies from Choice magazine and the University of Wisconsin Press. Choice faced declining print circulation and revenues as its market changed. It responded by refocusing its mission, rebranding, and developing new products to better serve librarians and other users. The University of Wisconsin Press addressed financial losses through triage, trust-building, prioritizing strengths, and patience. Both organizations leveraged their strengths and adapted to changing environments through strategic pivots.

1. Turnarounds, Pivots, and
Repositioning
A panel on managing change under challenging conditions
The Charleston Conference
November 4, 2016

2. Sometimes an organization finds itself in a
challenging position. It may have found that the
marketplace has shifted or perhaps it has taken
longer than expected to bring out a new product.
Cash may be tight, owners may have become
impatient. It’s now time for a turnaround or a
change in direction. What are some tips for
managing an organization in this situation?

3. Participants
• Mark Cummings, Editor and Publisher, Choice
• Dennis Lloyd, Director, University of Wisconsin Press
• Pinar Erzin, Founder and CEO, Accucoms International

4. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  4
(Just Like) Starting Over
A CHOICE CASE STUDY

5. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  5
“Oooh, look out, you rock ‘n’ rollers
Pretty soon now you’re gonna get older”

6. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  6
About Choice
 Publisher of Choice magazine and Choice Reviews (online)
 7,000 reviews of new scholarly monographs/websites published annually
 Originally designed as a collection-development tool
 Database of 200,000 reviews dating from 1988 to the present
 Established, well-respected brand
 Published continuously since 1964
 50% market penetration among US colleges and universities
 Twenty full-time staff members; annual revenue < $5MM
 Operationally independent of parent organization
 “Constraints”
 Not for profit, part of member-services organization (ACRL/ALA)
 Growth consistent with ALA mission
 Brand synonymous with flagship product
 Source of friction in brand expansion
 Small size
 Limited ability to scale

7. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  7
Facts on the Ground
 Declining print circulation
 Poorly designed digital product; no corresponding growth in digital circulation
 Declining ad revenues in line with circulation losses
 Declining royalty income following on industry consolidation among aggregators and
wholesalers
 Rising infrastructure costs

8. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  8
Causes
 Lack of Demand
 Diminished use of reviews in the collection-development process owing to changing collection-
development methodologies
 Approval Plans
 “Big Deals”
 Materials budgets
 Decentralized information discovery and consumption, with increasing role for end users
 Demand-driven acquisition
 The open web
 Diminished gatekeeper and curatorial roles for the librarian

9. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  9
Contributing Factors
 Historical
 No clear mission independent of that of parent organization
 Structural
 Members are not “owners”; interests vested in the larger organization, not Choice
 Environmental
 Library materials budgets flat or falling: Choice a declining product in a shrinking market

10. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  10
The Pivot
 What do our members and customers believe is the future of the
library and librarianship?
 How does their vision of the future role of the library align with
our core strengths and values?
 How can we leverage these values to support that vision?
Mission
Brand
Strategy

11. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  11
Mission
 What we did
 Focus groups
 Professional market research
 What we found
 Concern regarding decentering of the curatorial role of the librarian
 Burden of discovery and selection shifting to end users
 Enhanced need for discovery and selection skills and tools
 Our goal
 Choice will support the information evaluation and selection process
among a broad spectrum of user types and use-case scenarios, both
traditional and new

12. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  12
Brand
 What we did
 Retained publishing consultant to advise on repositioning Choice
 Retained advertising/design agency for market research, brand makeover
 What we found
 High regard for brand attributes: trusted, authoritative, objective, high
quality, old friend
 Conflation of publishing unit and its flagship product
 Mismatch between brand perception and actual product acceptance/use
 Our goals
 Protect the brand: leverage brand equity to rebuild its value and visibility
in our traditional markets
 Extend brand associations and awareness to new users and markets

13. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  13
Rebuilding Choice is about nothing less than changing
the way people think about us, rebuilding a brand

14. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  14
Brand Strategy
 Expand customer perception: “Not just a magazine”
 Develop differential messaging for principal market segments: “Start with Better Options”
 VALIDATING THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARIAN:
“You remain the critical link in the discovery and selection chain. Choice makes you more effective by
conducting the crucial ‘first cut’ of resources, giving you the information you need to quickly make
authoritative selections and/or recommendations.”
 SUPPORTING FACULTY AND STUDENTS:
“In an information-rich world, the sheer number of resources to be considered is overwhelming. Choice
saves you time by directing you to only the best and most important resources for all major areas of
study."

15. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  15
Brand Strategy
 Create multiple touchpoints in a Choice digital environment; expose selected Choice content
outside paywall to increase customer engagement and drive sales/subscriptions
 Website: www.choice360.org
 Choice Reviews: www.choicereviews.org
 Choice Media Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4AQ1G-u32Y9OX5hRzxdXrQ/
 Choice LibGuides: http://ala-choice.libguides.com/c.php?g=382336
 Social media: https://www.facebook.com/choice.reviews
 Leverage our brand in a suite of new products

16. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  16
Product Development Strategy
Choice as
Information
Provider
Choice as a
Discovery
Tool
Choice as a
Library
Toolset
1. Strengthen our current
products to maximize their
value to librarians in a
changing collection-
development environment
2. Extend the audience for
Choice content to end users to
serve the needs of students
and scholars
3. Provide professional
development and
analytical tools for
librarians and others to
extend the Choice brand
beyond reviews
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

17. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  17
Product Development
 Launched completely rebuilt Choice Reviews (summer 2016)
 Reestablish brand credibility among core users
 Bring Choice content “in front of the desk”
 Target audiences: librarians, teaching faculty, students
 Developing CC Advisor (spring 2017)
 Review service for academic databases
 Collaboration with The Charleston Company
 Target audiences: librarians, teaching faculty, students
 Developing Choice/ACRL Trends Reports (spring 2017)
 Actionable intelligence to support strategic organizational and business decisions
 Target audience: library directors, provosts, foundation heads, publishing executives, library service
providers

18. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  18
Product Development
 Planning Open Choice (summer 2018)
 Review service for evaluation of open educational resources
 Target audiences: teaching faculty, instructional designers, librarians
 Expanding Choice/ACRL sponsored webinar program (ongoing)
 Professional-development webcasts
 34,000 registrations, 14,000 attendees LTD
 Target audience: librarians

19. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  19
Culture Change
 Rebranding begins at home
 Build capacity through new hires
 Revise and expand job descriptions, requirements
 Rationalize workflows and job assignments
 Look for and encourage “self-selectors”
 Encourage collaboration, cross-functional teams

20. Charleston Library Conference  4 November 2016  20
Mark Cummings
Editor and Publisher
mcummings@ala-choice.org
+1 860.347.6933 x119
Thank you

21. Managing through a Transition
Dennis Lloyd
Director

22. April 13, 1936: University of Wisconsin faculty senate enacts
legislation to “publish particularly meritorious manuscripts as books
using the imprint ‘The University of Wisconsin Press.’”
“Publication is as much a function of the university as teaching or research [and]
an obligation that every great university owes to itself and to society.”
—The University of Wisconsin Committee on University Publications

23. Financial Performance
Books Division:
End FY12: $ 63,318
End FY13: -$210,442
End FY14: -$199,823
End FY15: -$295,086
Cumulative total: -$642,033

24. Financial Performance
Journals Division:
Historical balance at end of FY11: $1,679,067
End FY12: $ 316
End FY13: $ 86,877
End FY14: -$ 514,235
End FY15: $ 20,091
Cumulative total: $1,272,116

25. Triage

26. Listen

27. Trust but verify

28. Low-hanging fruit

29. Build on strengths

30. Be visible/transparent

31. Be patient

32. FY16 Financial Performance:
Journals Division: -$107,250
Books Division: $129,483
Combined total: $ 22,233

33. QUESTIONS?
Dennis Lloyd
608-263-1101
dlloyd2@wisc.edu
Twitter: @DLBOOKMAN

34. THE GLOBAL STORY
Through The Eyes Of
A Mini-Multinational
Pinar Erzin
Founder & President
Charleston 2016

35. History
1999
SWETS
2001
EXTENZA
2004
ACCUCOMS
Launch
SSP in SF
2011
ACCUCOMS
sold to
SWETS
2013
ACCUCOMS
grew by
400%

36. History
1999
Swets
2001 EXTENZA
2004
ACCUCOMS
Launch
SSP in SF
2011
ACCUCOMS
sold to
SWETS
2013
ACCUCOMS
growth
35%-400 %
Sept 2014
SWETS
bankruptcy
Nov 2014
ACCUCOMS
acquisition
Dec 2015
Growth from
38 to 65 staff
Jun 2016
Launch New
Era for
Scholarly
Publishers

37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHEl2wVI-H4

38. Thank you for listening to our story!
www.accucoms.com