Last week when I attended the London Book Fair, I sought out sessions that spoke to the technological shifts affecting the industry. Some of best content came from The Digital Hub sessions at the Tech Theater. Ostensibly paid-to-play sessions, they were short but sweet bursts of knowledge that beat out some of the more trudging sessions elsewhere.
There was much was buzz about direct-to-consumer sales, gaming, data, and the ubiquitous innovation. Presenting on "Big Data: How to Use Analytics to Increase eBook ROI" was ePubDirect CEO Gareth Cuddy who discussed applying big data principles to publishing. Cuddy suggests publishers need to adjust to the fact that there is more data, coming at a higher speed, with greater diversity, and of varying quality. He called it the 4 V's of data.
- Volume
- Velocity
- Variety
- Veracity
As publishers expand their digital business, the data points are growing, from social media to D-to-C sales analytics, and from distribution channel partners. What more data comes down to if handled properly, says Cuddy, is a better understanding of consumers and more relevant information to make better business decisions.
Another session "Selling Direct and Building Your Community" was led by Kaushik Sampath COO of Qbend, which builds ecommerce platforms for publishers. Sampath spoke about the importance of building a strong brand, establishing a digital marketing strategy, and developing a community. "Your brand must become the meeting point for you community and publishing ecosystem," says Sampath. Direct-to-consumer sales will be further empowered by versatile products (subscription, rental, outright purchases), metadata that helps books become discoverable, and more granular content.
Innovation?
A session entitled "Showcasing Innovation" was actually more interesting than its title suggests, dissecting what "innovation" actually is, if not simply a buzzword. The seminar featured Jo Twist, CEO of UK Interactive Entertainment, Claire Fox, director of Institute of Ideas and Michael Bhaskar, digital publishing director for Profile Books, with Richard Mollet, CEO of The Publishers Association moderating.
Fox most strong contention was that there is a misguided drive in publishing to compete with the gaming industry, pursuing innovation in name but not in spirit. Fox is concerned that publishers are innovating away from their core value, content and knowledge and mistaking "short-term gimmicks for innovation." Publishers have "become overly obsessed with chasing the audience," says Fox. "Publishers and writers should forget the audience to an extent...I think the sausage is what matters. The sizzle is the superficial gimmick."
Fox suggested to be innovative publishers should invest in midlist authors, those that may be a "slow burn."
Howefver, Michael Bhaskar of Profile Books disagreed that publishers should ignore gaming, and suggests gaming is a way to draw people in that might not otherwise engage with this content. He cited the Walking Dead app as an example of how publishers can draw readers in by extending their media.
Bhaskar does think that "innovation" is bandied about too much. "What people mean by innovation is another way to take pictures of coffee. It's boring. People are sick of this." Bhaskar thinks that true innovation is "historically meaningful." Though that has happened, says Bhaskar. "Publishing is fundamentally changing how science is done, how information is shared. I think publishing plays a tremendously important role."
Publishers need to be less risk averse and more bold, says Bhaskar. "Publishers don't like to cannibalize their existing revenue stream. They don't like to disrupt themselves...Is creating an app innovative? No. What you do in that app is innovative."
Fox added that so-called "innovation" has a mob mentality: "What I don't like in this [innovation] discussion is that if you don't go along with all this hype you get labeled a dinosaur." Fox pointed to a time when it was taken as gospel that reality TV was going to kill documentaries and drama, which certainly hasn't happened.
Jo Twist, CEO of UK Interactive Entertainment defined her measure of innovation more broadly: "It must delight me."
- Companies:
- Fox
- People Magazine
Denis Wilson was previously content director for Target Marketing, Publishing Executive, and Book Business, as well as the FUSE Media and BRAND United summits. In this role, he analyzed and reported on the fundamental changes affecting the media and marketing industries and aimed to serve content-driven businesses with practical and strategic insight. As a writer, Denis’ work has been published by Fast Company, Rolling Stone, Fortune, and The New York Times.