At Digital Book World 2016, as part of the Launch Kids pre-conference day, I spoke about what we've seen in children's publishing in the last 5 years and where we could be headed. The evolution of digital, content as a driver, and the development of Put Me In The Story, which is adding significant revenue to author and book brands.
Through the Looking Glass: The Past, Present and Future of Children's Publishing - Digital Book World 2016
1. Through the Looking Glass:
The Past, Present and Future of
Children’s Publishing
Launch Kids, Digital Book World March 2016
Dominique Raccah, Publisher and CEO
14. 90%
of
teens
read
physical
books
40%
of
teens
EXCLUSIVELY
read
physical
books
Source: Nielsen Books & Consumers Children’s Deep Dive, June 2015
1 of the
surprises
16. “
”
Today children are playing Minecraft, watching YouTube
and playing with apps—but they’re also still reading
books, watching TV and playing with toys. Kids are
more digital, but that doesn’t mean they’re abandoning
traditional sources of entertainment.
The Guardian, YouTube, apps and Minecraft: digital kids and the future of children’s media
29. The Opportunity: Books Are Great Gifts
$15.72 billion!
2014 U.S. trade book
sales (AAP Snapshot)
$2.36 billion!
The opportunity in the
books-as-gifts market
43%!
For children 12 and
under (Nielsen)
15%!
Trade books bought as
gifts in the U.S. (Nielsen)
And personalized books can create extraordinary gift experiences
35. Bestselling Author Brands
Come from book publishing and are author/creator driven
Lemony Snicket
Bestselling author of the Series of
Unfortunate Events, we are creating
personalized hilarity with his All The
Wrong Questions series.
Nationally known gift product
and novelty book author brings
her new picture books to
Sourcebooks & PMITS.
Internationally renowned photographer
Anne Geddes has joined Sourcebooks
with both personalized and non-
personalized product.
Marianne
Richmond
Cornerstone Sourcebooks
and Put Me In The Story
author with more than 2
million books sold.
Nancy Tillman
New York Times bestselling author and
illustrator.
36. Creating extraordinary customer + book experiences…
Your child as narrator
Your child’s name woven into
Illustration
Play “I Spy” with your
child’s face
37. An Adoption Story
“Safe and sound, you’re here with
me now, and that’s all I’ll ever need.”
11 Year Old with Asperger’s
“I got this book for my 11 year old
daughter with Aspergers. She absolutely
loves it and reads it over and over. It’s
helped bring some positive interactions into
every day, days often filled with frustration.
I’m going to order her a second one. This
is the best gift I’ve ever gotten her.”
100’s of Different Use Cases
How customers use Put Me In The Story
Deployed Daddy
“My boys love this book, especially my
3 year old. Daddy is deployed, so
whenever he misses him he can look
through the book and find Daddy’s
smiling face on every page.”
42. 2015: Put Me in the Story adds significant additional revenue
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
PMITS
%
of
Sales
PMITS
%
of
Sales
AVERAGE
36%
On average
Put Me in the
Story adds
36% NEW
units
44. Creating an Additional Revenue Stream for Books:
Experimenting with Non-Book Product
Plush
1. Sleepytime Elmo
2. My Favorite Teddy Bear
3. Cozy Polar Bear Plush
4. Sesame Street Elmo Plush
Personalized Gifts
1. Santa is coming placemat
2. I Love You placemat
3. Lil Owl Nightlight
4. Little Sweetheart Pillowcase
5. Whooo Loves You Placemat
49. There are no
secrets to
success. It is
the result of
preparation,
hard work,
and learning
from failure.
Colin Powell
The future of children’s
books —
physical books and read
aloud will not change
50. “
”
Every author is a potential brand, every brand is a
potential license; every book has multiple format and
market opportunities. What is great about children’s
publishing and media is that there is both lateral
opportunity—formats, series, tv, movies, games,
licenses, toys, etc.—and potential for ubiquity and
longevity that happens in the adult market only rarely.
—Lorraine Shanley, 2016
51. Creating New Revenue Streams for Authors + Brands
Around Personalized Books As Gifts
Personalized Book
Personalized versions of print or
digital books.
Personalized Gifts based
on books
Personalized non-book gifts
include puzzles, placemats, wall
art and more.
Non-Personalized Gift
Non-personalized, non-book gifts
include things like plush, to be
bundled with book product.
Non-Personalized Book
The trade version of a book, in print
or digital. The same product that
could be purchased in stores.
non-personalized
personalized
physical + digital book
non-book gifts
CONFIDENTIAL
52. “
”
Ingram sees personalized publishing as a
strong growth area both for trade publishing
and also for our print and fast distribution
capabilities.
In creating Put Me In The Story, Dominique
Raccah and her Sourcebooks colleagues
foresaw this trend, locked up premium
content with licenses, and have started an
unbelievable franchise that is only scratching
the surface of its potential.
—John Ingram, March 2016