FOR IMMEFOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Pamela
McClure, 615.595.8321
Heather
Adams, 214.902.2224
Lucado BThomas Nelson Inc. Releases Results of
Lucado
Market Research Projectook Tour Anchors “Come
Thirsty” Campaign
Survey Verifies Powerful Extensive Marketing
Campaign Launches with Pre-Sell EffortsName Recognition and
Broad Readership
NASHVILLE, TENN--It’s
a safe bet that Max Lucado’s new book, Come Thirsty: No Heart Too Dry for His Touch, will
become a national bestseller—as each of his trade titles have done for
decades. But bestseller status is not
the only goal for W Publishing Group as this new title releases in
October. Marketing efforts for Come Thirsty kickoff
with a pre-sell campaign in July, and the campaign’s intensity will peak with
Lucado’s multi-city book tour in November.
All these efforts are focused on two goals: inviting current Lucado fans to enjoy Come Thirsty;
introducing new readers to Lucado’s soul-stirring writing style. W Publishing Group, a division of
Thomas Nelson Inc. which has published Max Lucado since 1990 and has a new contract
through 2010, is releasing results of national market research conducted
earlier this year. The Lucado Market
Research project, funded by W Publishing Group
and Thomas
Nelson Inc.
and managed by an independent consulting firm, the Ligon Group, covers a broad range of
issues related to the Lucado publishing program. For the first time, the publisher is able to quantify Max Lucado’s powerful national name recognition
and broad
readership
base with
empirical data.
The survey, which
included national
retail and consumer
components,
was conducted Spring 2004. Key findings related to the Lucado publishing
program
include:
·
Strong name
recognition: According to a
random digit dial (RDD) survey conducted, Max Lucado has the second highest awareness among
Christian/Spirituality authors, second only to Billy Graham. Total awareness for Lucado among consumers is 21.8%. It increases to 25.9% among frequent
readers, which
make up 50% of the population.
·
Broad readership: 1 in 10 Americans have read a Lucado book (11.3%). Two-thirds of those have read one or a few
Lucado titles, the other third have read more (RDD). Among Christian consumers surveyed, over 50% indicated
they have read several Lucado books. 79% of
CBA* retailers surveyed and 50% of general
market retailers surveyed had read several to most Lucado books.
·
Accessible
language: approximately 75%
of Christian
consumers
surveyed believe Max “speaks their language.”
·
Positive Perception: When asked to name their favorite
Christian/spirituality author, 16.8% of Christian consumers selected Lucado
(unaided), more than any other communicator.
Both
Christian retailers (89%) and
general market retailers (64%) rank Lucado as having excellent brand
equity.
·
Publishing Pace: When asked about product release pace, over 70% of
Christian consumers surveyed indicated Max is “on the right track” with another 10%
indicating they would welcome an increased pace of publishing. Less than 10% perceived Lucado as “writing too many
books.”
·
Product popularity: When asked in an unaided question, “What is your
all-time favorite Lucado book?” Christian consumers surveyed listed 32 specific products by title—adult, children’s gift and bible products were all
named.
Greg Ligon, co-founder with Susan Ligon of the Ligon Group, says one explanation for
Lucado’s success may be the clear core message that Lucado expresses: God loves
you as you are. “Retailers chose this as the ‘one message’ for which
Lucado is best known. Consumers agreed,” reports Ligon. “I believe few authors have the potential to communicate one timeless message with such clarity to so many people.” Other factors Ligon believes may
contribute
to Lucado’s
popularity include gifted storytelling, his ability to understand people’s pain and
his ability
to offer encouragement.
In addition to surveying retailers
and consumers, The Ligon Group also quantified Lucado
book sales
and distribution statistics (via STATS** and publisher cooperation). They discovered a history
of:
·
Sales and
distribution: Lucado currently
has more than 39 million books in print, among more than 50 total titles,
available in more than twenty foreign languages
worldwide.
·
Product diversity: Lucado publishes across eight product categories
with sales leadership in five. According
to STATS, Lucado was the number one inspirational author and the
number one children’s
author and the number one
general interest author for 2003.
“What we have known
intuitively is now quantifiable,” explains David Moberg, Senior Vice President and
Publisher at W Publishing Group. “Max Lucado’s message of grace and God’s love
has penetrated far beyond the traditional CBA market, and readers still want
more from their favorite author.”
The Lucado Market
Research project, commissioned by Thomas Nelson Inc., was managed by the Ligon Group of
Dallas, Texas. Survey questions
were created by The Jim Seybert Company with input from key members of the
Lucado publishing team. Data collection
included tools such as retailer surveys (more than 60 Christian and general
market booksellers), consumer online surveys (more than 8,000
responders),
and a
national random
digit dial consumer survey (conducted by Perdue Research Group among 500+
respondents
yielding a statistical
accuracy of + or – 4.3% at 95% confidence).
Additionally, the Ligon Group conducted a consumer focus group and mall intercept interviews were conducted at two Hallmark® locations.
Jerry Park, Executive Vice President and Group Publisher of the Christian Book Group at Thomas Nelson Inc.,
believes this new data will help the Nelson sales team better present the
Lucado story to retailers. “We are now better equipped to
explain Max’s
mission, history and success to our retail
partners. And as a direct survey benefit to retailers, we are designing strategic in-store display systems for a variety of Lucado products.”
Rodney
Hatfield, Vice President of Brand Strategy, Thomas Nelson Book GroupMarketing
VP for W Publishing Group, explains, “We enjoy the challenge of making each
Lucado release more successful that the last.
Not only do we want to hit bestseller lists consistently, we are also
eager to introduce Max to new readers.”
A fitting task for the publisher since Lucado’s name recognition is
skyrocketing alongside book sales (insert research stat here?). Mention that W will
have X more titles over next five years? I like adding the research stat and the new
signing contract.
The intense, initial marketing campaign will span six
months and include elements such as:
Consumer pre-sell
campaign (launches July 2004)
Advance galley
distribution to trade and consumer media and key retailers (Summer 2004)
Teaching seminars
with Michael W. Smith in select markets (September 2004)
Marketing
partnership with Hallmark in Gold Crown Stores (Fall 2004)
Multi-city Author
Tour (November 2004)
Interactive End Cap
Display and merchandising kit for retailers (October – December 2004)
National print and
internet advertising campaigns
Regional radio
advertising campaign
Outdoor Billboard
advertising in select markets
National publicity
campaign
Nationally
syndicated “Come Thirsty” radio special
Publishers
Weekly says “there aren’t many authors bigger than Lucado,” and with more than
33 million books in print, decades on the national bestsellers lists and
numerous awards, Max Lucado is indeed a publishing phenomenon. His books have appeared on many and various
bestseller lists including The New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly and
the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA).
(This
paragraph HAS to be changed. J)
W
Publishing Group is a
subsidiary of Thomas Nelson, Inc., a leading publisher, producer and
distributor of books emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value
themes. Thomas Nelson Inc., which stewards the majority (78%) of Max Lucado’s titles, is the
largest publisher of Bibles and inspirational books in the English
language. For more information, visit www.wpublishinggroup.com.
Max Lucado is a New
York Times best-selling author credited with more than 39 million books in
print and a multitude of licensed products including a greeting
card line with Hallmark/Dayspring. His newest book is Come Thirsty (October 2004, W Publishing Group). Max serves as senior minister at Oak Hills Church
in San Antonio, Texas. He is husband to
Denalyn Lucado and father to their three daughters: Jenna, Andrea and Sara.
# # #
*CBA=Christian
Booksellers Association
COME
THIRSTY
By
Max Lucado
Available
October 7, 2004, from W Publishing Group
Hardcover: ISBN 0-8499-1761-1, $22.99, 240 pages Audio: CD, 180 minutes, $24.99, ISBN 0-8499-6376-1**STATS=Sales Tracking
Analysis Trends Summary, 2003 Christian
Retail Trends Report (2003 calendar year normalized to 1000 CBA stores)