Buy 1 book, get 3

Thomas Nelson, a publisher with a 200 year track record and a strong position in Christian media, announced this month that it will publish content that will be available in a physical book, audiobook and e-book. By buying a printed book, consumers will also be able to download the audioversion and the e-version for the same price. Says Joel Miller of Thomas Nelson: " ...By freeing the book we free the reader to get greater use and enjoyment of titles." The concept called NelsonFree got positive press " ...taking advantage of the internet and cheap distribution methods Nelson has dragged the book world into the 21st century."

Present bad news nicely

The New York Times reported a couple of days ago on the dramatic situation of newspapers in the USA. It used a, now often applied, data visualisation technique to show the the changes taking place in circulation of the major titles. AdAge, the advertising industry magazine, mentioned that this technique is becoming the new narrative of the online business. As data is getting more and more complex and difficult to capture in PowerPoint-based charts, and as consumers want to be able to absorb data fast and in an interesting way, data visualisation has plenty of growth potential. Visa applies the technique already in a microsite.

Direct mail in transformation

A recent report from the Winterberry Group analysed the Direct Mail trends in the USA. One of the most important conclusions is that, under influence of the recession, the use of mass mailings is shifting to more targeted direct mail. In 2008 direct mail spending declined 3%, this is the first decline in more than 60 years. Two other noticable developments are: most marketers have found that online direct mail campaigns are complementary to hard-copy direct mail and an increasing powerful array of marketing automation technologies permit marketers to be more targeted in their direct mail programs

Transpromo summit

Transforming transactional documents like bills and statements into promotional items is the growing area of Transpromo. Major digital printing press companies have launched activities. Xerox, Kodak, Agfa and others are sending out their "evangelists" to promote this new channel for client communication. Infotrends will be organising the first European transpromo Summit on October 6-7 in Brussels.