The Publishing Continuum
Lauren Fogel
VP, Director, Media Development
Pearson Science
San Francisco, CA
15 September 2010
Market Drivers
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Price resistance
Economic/cost challenges for students (and
institutions in academia)
People expect a digital environment
– In higher ed course redesign is a powerful
motivator for professors and institutions
– Students and professors have high standards based
on their current internet use
– Technology offers great educational opportunities
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Sourcing alternatives/changes to distribution
Influence of major players (Amazon,
Microsoft, Apple, Google) on how people
access content and on hw/sw ecosystem
Devices: mobile, eReaders, iPad
Technology strategy
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Personalization
Data and analytics
Ease of use
Support the emerging multi-device ecosystem
Driving better results: improving student
performance, instructional effectiveness, and
institutional productivity
Balancing demands for scale/high performance
with innovation and speed on emerging
opportunities
Internet Use
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Expanding internet usage impacts growth
– Internet use over time
– Facebook
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Extensive revenue growth
– FT Group profits jumped from £14 to £30 million, and
digital subscriptions increased 27 percent to 149,000 and
250,000 people downloaded the iPad app
– In July Amazon announced that sales of ebooks on its US
site had outnumbered hardbacks for the first time
Social Media Networking
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Most publishers are trying to figure out how to make social
media work for them
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Pearson's social media index page
Penguin focuses on teens
MyMathLab Instructor Exchange
Choosing Health
Financial Times
• FT Blogs
• Mobile
Case Study - A Science Textbook Package
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The beautiful textbook you expect PLUS
– Online tutorial and assessment program for students and
instructors (MasteringBiology)
– Strong animation program, simulations where appropriate
– eBook
– Study Guide/Solutions Manual
Case Study - A Science Textbook Package
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Substantial instructor support
– Instructor Resource DVD (and online) includes art, PPT
lecture outlines, animations, electronic test bank,
solutions manual
– Print test bank (some markets moving away from printing)
– Instructor’s Manual/Solutions Manual
– All of these assets on hard media as well as online
Case Study - A Science Textbook Package
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What has gone away?
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Acetates (replaced by JPGS)
Ubiquitous printed supplements (reduced in number and/or put
on IRDVD)
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So, not much!
How do we move forward?
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Meet customers where they are and then move them
forward
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Move customers along the technology continuum
Address their individual skill set and improve it
Address technology available at the institution
Offer lots of opportunities for training
Develop online products that address customers’ key
goals in ways that print products can’t
– Efficicacy studies
– Content that takes advantage of the medium
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Evaluate and revise the production workflow
– Repurpose book content for digital products where it
makes sense
– Adapt workflows on print supplements to provide digital
and print products simultaneously
Welcome to the “post-PC era”
“the mobile era
is about low
power devices,
touch interfaces
and open web
standards”
Steve Jobs Timeline
Pre-Apple/1977
The Mac/1984
NeXT Computer/1988
Steve Jobs Timeline
Return to Apple/1996
The iPod/2001
The iPhone/2007
The Mobile Web
Mobile Initiatives
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Bring content to your user however they want to receive it
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Financial Times
Penguin ebooks
Penguin iPad products
eBooks in higher education
Develop a mobile stylesheet
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What makes sense to offer on mobile?
Conclusions?
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Research constantly
– How are your customers changing?
– How can you use technology to improve your
customers’ lives?
• And save your company money/drive revenue
– What is going to make a difference - what will they
buy?
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Prototype and market test
– Experiment and get feedback!
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Be flexible and open to new ideas
Q&A
Questions?