Michael Cairns, a seasoned publishing executive and managing partner at Information Media Partners, provides insights into the U.S. publishing industry at the 2010 South Korea Book Industry Conference. With over 25 years of experience, Cairns highlights the challenges and trends in publishing, including digital transformation and market dynamics. His consultancy focuses on strategic development, and he has worked with various organizations to enhance business operations and adapt to the changing landscape.

1. Michael Cairns
Managing Partner
Information Media Partners
The United States of Publishing
South Korea Book Industry Conference 2010

2. 2
Introduction
Michael Cairns is a publishing and media executive with over 25 years experience in
business strategy, operations and technology implementation. As a business
executive, Mr. Cairns has successfully managed several troubled and under-
performing businesses, creating new business opportunities, developing new funding
sources and enhancing shareholder value for investors. His years spent as an
operating executive have largely been with brand-name publishing companies such
as Macmillan, Inc., Berlitz International, Wolters Kluwer Health, Reed Elsevier and
R.R. Bowker. As a consultant, Mr. Cairns has worked with clients as diverse as
AARP, Hewlett Packard, InterPublic Companies and Reed Elsevier with an emphasis
on business strategy, market development and corporate development.
His skills and experience include:
 Business and corporate strategy development and implementation
 Operations management and business transformation
 Traditional and digital publishing and operations
 Print-to-digital transformation and adoption of new business models
 Software development and software services
Mr. Cairns holds an MBA (Finance) from Georgetown University and a BA from
Boston University. He has served on several boards and advisory groups including
the Association of American Publishers, Book Industry Study Group and the
International ISBN organization. Additionally, he has public and private company
board experience.
2
Michael Cairns
Information Media Partners
Strategy Consulting
New York, London, Melbourne
Tel: 908 938 4889
Michael.cairns@infomediapartners.com
Find me:
LinkedIn Twitter Blog Flickr InstaGram

3. 3
Information Media Partners
Michael Cairns established Information Media Partners in 2006 as a boutique strategy
consulting firm focused on the information and education publishing segment. The work
conducted by the firm includes product development, corporate development, sales
management and corporate reorganizations. We work with established businesses, private
equity owners and potential acquirers.
Examples of our work include:
 Reorganized and re-focused a $25 million software publishing company by aligning
business operations with client priorities; implementing internal collaboration tools and
project management standards; re-building executive team to focus on effective and
efficient management
 Defined a new business strategy for a large non-profit association and advocacy group,
expanding their business model into global markets to exploit their core knowledge and
expertise across a broader market
 Led an information technology capabilities review at a large international advertising
holding company. Completed over 200 interviews in 15 international offices and multiple
group focus sessions to define the operational ‘gaps’ between existing agency capabilities
and those necessary and important for client delivery by region
 Completed a sales management effectiveness review for a global software company and
defined six key project initiatives to improve sales effectiveness, market development and
account management
We approach our client engagements in a standardized, logical manner which creates the best
environment to identify key business drivers, administrative and logistical road blocks and/or
product or market definition issues. Our investigative approach leads to better insights into
your businesses and supports the development of workable solutions and recommendations
for success.
Visit the Information Media Partners website for more information.
Sample Client List

4. 4
Introduction and agenda
 US publishing today
 Trends by segment
 Publishing in the digital age
 Closing comment

5. 5
Publishing: Like any other industry
 Change
 Dislocation
 Speed
 Technology

6. 6
Characterizing the marketplace today
 Subdued
 Anxious
 Retrenchment
 Confusion
 Jealousy

7. 7
Key segment business drivers
Trade
 Big author block
buster
 Technology –
Products
 Technology –
Distribution
 Retail stability
 Media tie-ins
“Celebrity”
 Conflict over
‘attention’
Education
 Government spending
 NCLB
 Education Policy
 Local & state
 Adoptions
 Taxes
 Enrollments
 Economy
 Continuing education
 Community colleges
 Long distance
 Vocational/Technical
 Workflow tools
 Evaluative
 Administrative
Information
 Practicing
professionals
 Macro economics
 Library budgets
 Government
investment
 Workflow
applications
 Technology
innovation

8. 8
Revenues look healthy
Source: BISG Trends Report 2009
($,Millions)

9. 9
New book titles & editions: 2003-10(E)
Source: R.R. Bowker

10. 10
Publisher’s net dollar sales by segment
Source: BISG Trends Report 2009
($,Millions)

11. 11
Sectors share of book industry 2008
Source: BISG Trends Report 2009

12. 12
Sales by format 2008: Percent of total
Source: BISG Trends Report 2009

13. 13
Channel sales 2008: Percent of total
Source: BISG Trends Report 2009

14. 14
Growth leaders and laggards, 2007-8
Source: BISG Trends Report 2009

15. 15
Forecast compound growth rates 2008-10
Source: BISG Trends Report 2009

16. 16
Sales of trade e-Books ($Millions)
Source: IDPF

17. 17
Sales of digital textbooks: Percent of US market
Source: Misouri Book Company

18. 18
Many publishers have
been publishing in e-
Formats for many
years

19. 19
Pearson: Digital is 31%
of revenues in 2009
Wiley, Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer
have similar statistics

20. 20
Publisher Education Trade Info/Academic Other Total
Reed Elsevier $8,525 $1,006 $9,531
Pearson $2,905 $1,573 $760 $562 $5,800
McGraw Hill $2,388 $954 $2,610 $5,952
Wolters Kluwer $4,562 $4,562
Houghton M H $2,000 $500 $2,500
Kaplan $2,636 $2,636
Cengage $1,437 $297 $224 $1,958
J. Wiley & Sons $230 $413 $969 $1,612
Scholastic (US) $400 $1,165 $1,565
Informa $461 $577 $380 $1,418
Random House (US) $1,280 $1,280
ETS $900 $900
Harpercollins (US) $840 $840
Simon/Schuster (US) $730 $730
Macmillan US $667 $667
Hachette (US) $670 $670
Harlequin $500 $500
Total $43,121
Counting the publishers: Increasingly difficult
Source: Publisher Web Sites and Publisher’s Weekly

21. 21
Nothing is clear or clear
cut: Significant
Confusion

22. 22
So if we can’t really
rely on the reported
numbers, then what?

23. 23
Can real experience be
a guide?

24. 24
Lessons learned from the
Evolution of Information
Publishing

25. 25
Information publishers were trailblazers
CompetentMaster Learner
EducationInformation Trade
20031990 1995
20102015 2001
Rapid InvestmentNew Dangers Caution

26. 26
Information publishers took nothing for granted
 Where are the boundaries?
 Who is the customer?
 How to reach them?
 What is the role of technology?

27. 27
In the beginning: Lexis
Secondary
Legal Content
Secondary
Legal Content
Primary Legal
Content
Primary Legal
Content
Books,
Journals,
Directories
Transcripts,
Proceedings,
Opinions

28. 28
Success in information publishing
 Build deep, narrow content verticals
 Eliminate the distance to the customer
 Integration with workflow and activities

29. 29
The LexisNexis model
Secondary Legal Content
Primary Legal Content
News & Business Content
Public Records
Company & People Information
Global Application of Platform and Content

30. 30
Critical success factors
 Direct sales effort fuels product development
 Core to basic functions: Doctors, lawyers, and
business analysts, etc
 Raise job performance
 Improves worker productivity
 Topic specific vocabularies and thesauri

31. 31
From print monographs to integrated solutions
 Development of ‘platforms’
 Expanding the market
 Subscription revenue model
 Database marketing

32. 32
Education is next to adopt the strategy
 Consolidation: Segment and subjects
 Investment supported by margin growth
 Reduce distance to customer
 Expand value chain
 Broader definition of ‘customer’

33. 33
Publishing in the Digital
Age
Thoughts and predictions

34. 34
Remember the characterization?
 Subdued
 Anxious
 Retrenchment
 Confusion
 Jealousy

35. 35
Are things really that bad?
 During 2009 Book Publishing a winner
 No ‘resurrection’ during 2009
 Executives guarded about immediate future
 Short to medium term problems with education
and library funding
 No industry bail-out

36. 36
What hasn’t happened?
 No trade consolidation
 Far less Merger/Acquisition activity
 Collaboration across the supply chain
 Stable physical book retailing environment

37. 37
Change is coming
Information
 Software as a
service
 Application
providers
 Service
outsourcers
 Embedded
content
Trade
 Re-evalution of
value chain
 Direct to
consumer
models
 Publishers as
retailers,
retailers as
publishers
Education
 Expanded value
chain
 Solutions providers
 Custom production
 Content,
Assessment,
Remediation,
Management

38. 38
eBooks and eContent holds center stage
 2009 ‘Year of the E-Book’
 Apple’s (Hardware) role in book/media content
will be defining
 Google Editions: “The Cloud”
 Content ‘rights’ challenged: Concept of
ownership
 E-Content rather than E-Books
 E-Content another format option

39. 39
How trade evolves their communities
 Subject specific content silos
 Exchange titles/imprints with other publishers
 Publishers license ancillary and related content:
Drive repeat traffic
 Become sites within sites: Build community with
consumers
 Build other services

40. 40
Forecasting publishing in the digital age
 Publishing and technology will become
synonymous
 Web delivery, xml based and ‘open’ social
network orientation
 Expansion of solutions based publishing
 Education publishers rapid adoption of solutions
based applications
 Slow publishers will loose to new entrants

41. 41
Please review my blog post associated
with this presentation:
https://personanondata.blogspot.com/201
0/05/korea-publishers-conference.html
Michael Cairns
Managing Partner
Michael.Cairns@InfoMediaPartners.com
908 938 4889
LinkedIn Twitter Blog Flickr InstaGram