Grey Collar BooksE-ntertaining Canada’s professionals

A digital-only leisure imprintPresenter: Arundati Dandapani

What are we doing?

• Research objective: Assessing the niche market of Canada’s e-reading professionals to evolve a new leisure reading imprint producing digital editions of contemporary titles in fiction. • Assessing existing customer-retailer

experiences with e-books to innovate in the best tie-ups and strongest retail distribution networks as a publisher.

Methodology

• Online panel administered via Fluid Surveys; 32% response rate; 96% completion rate • Anglophone professionals in Canada• Sample: classmates and faculty (in the real

world) but in the ideal world it would be customers of Penguin Random House books sought from businesses, i.e, random list of e-mails

[Attitudes] "Reading takes up a lot of time. I don't have enough time to read for leisure." Do you agree?

Response Chart Percentage Count

Strongly Agree 0% 0

Agree 33% 8

Neither Agree Nor Disagree 25% 6

Disagree 25% 6

Strongly Disagree 12% 3

Don't Know/Refuse to Say 4% 1

Total Responses 24

Reading vs. TV viewing,School and Work

work and cookingsoccer, workWork and SchoolSchoolFootballSchoolSchool, Sleepsocial mediatelevision, friendsi read on the computerschool and workmovies, internetSchoolyoutube

Internet influences e-reading

• The age of print books is not over! •Majority still prefer the old format• Less experimental with format of book•Most read < 30 minutes followed by those

between 1-2 hours• Top genres: Social media comments,

Humour, technology news, sports blogs

Respondent Profiles

Top Respondents: Students, Marketing Researchers

Desire to E-read

N= 25, Strongly Agree/Agree

Facts and Findings

• Nobody had used a multimedia book app!• Top features desired for e-retail in books:

excellent retail environment, wide variety of ebooks, and book products offered in this electronic store, competitive prices, portal navigation, attractive website• Ideas for Apps forthcoming– ability to

visualize fiction in apps

Any surprises?

• People are lesser aware of e-books even if they have lots of gadgets• E-book retail still new• Amazon leads (3 buyers) followed by Kobo

(1) in the past year – surprisingly low

Conclusions

• Target Amazon – most popular retailer• Target other online retailers too • Revamp publisher website to enable

easier ecommerce• Fiction is the top editorial priority• Digital strategy includes capitalizing on

online launches followed by events/launches in brick and mortar retailers

Imprint Launch Party on Canada’s Labour Day 2016

• Catalogue to be presented• Frontlist to be announced• 6 books to be launched on the same day• Giller Prize Winner will be addressing the

launch party with a speech on “Canada’s Cultural and Digital Momentum” and Heritage/ Communications Minister to conclude• Canada Council for the Arts to be sponsors

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!