Michael Cairns, managing partner at Information Media Partners, has over 25 years of experience in publishing and media, focusing on business strategy and operations. His firm, established in 2006, consults on product development, sales management, and corporate reorganizations for clients in the information and education sector. The document discusses trends in education content, including the shift towards customizable and digital formats, challenges in pricing, and strategies for publishers to adapt.

1. Michael Cairns
Managing Partner
Information Media Partners
Chunking Content
AAUP Meeting Chicago 2012

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.
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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. 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. Chunking Content Real or Hype?
 Chunking educational content is inexorable
 Large textbook publishers may be
disadvantaged
 Potential for price erosion
 Many media examples
 Music
 Newspapers
 Television
 Journals
 COPE:
 Create Once Publish Everywhere
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5. Educational Content in Market Context
Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference
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6. Pricing Always Slopes Up
Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference
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7. Individual Books Are Big Business
Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference
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8. The Franchise Textbook
Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference
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9. Custom Small but Growing
Ref: Bowker Pubtrack BISG Making Information Pay Conference
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10. Addressing the Changes in Education
 Managing the cost of education & materials
 Faculty and educators demand more choice
 Seeking intuitive and flexible content creation
processes
 Expect to share content and collaborate across
‘networks’
 Migration to electronic delivery of content
 Growth of open-access and ‘free’ content
 Growing expectation for highly customizable
solutions for publishers and institutions
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11. Thoughts and Trends
 ‘Traditional’ content structured linearly
 Books/Textbooks all inclusive monoliths
 Generally to a set formula
 Movement from ‘Creamy’ to ‘Chunky’: Digital
components
 Chapters, summaries, tests, supplemental material, etc.
 Higher Ed leading progression inexorably
 Cost drivers
 Open source
 Foundations and government
 Technology enabling this transition
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12. Some Examples
 Indiana University
 Digital platform
 Content agreements with publishers
 California State University
 Publisher agreements: Cengage
 MIT Open Courseware
 Web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content
 Students and ‘self-learners’ account for 85% of access
 University of Minnesota
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13. Publisher Value Challenges
 Permissions revenues considered incremental
will become a primary revenue source
 Participating on/in platforms to for broad
distribution
 Improve metadata at the ‘unit’ level
 Offer your own custom publishing solution
 Link content across library: Leverage the
principles of cross and upselling
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14. Bookstore Value Proposition
 Exclusive content for the bookstore: Single source for
student
 Implement a flexible, specific business model for each
bookstore
 Custom content drives student demand*
 Higher sell-through: 91-99%
 Lower (none) custom returns
 Increased foot traffic: Students buy more
 Students more satisfied with content’s higher utility
 No product substitution available: custom by definition
 Presents opportunities to reduce labor & production
costs
* Research: NACS, Pearson Education14

15. Protecting Content and Copyright
 Georgia Case;
 Making content easily available and priced reasonably
 Fact: Users want to pay for content
 Apple experience with music
 Clearing copyright – either via CCC or directly with a
publisher – has been cumbersome
 Users give-up and/or steel
 Technology enables better solutions
 More policing – specifically LMS restraints.
 Easier access to appropriate permissions will drive
revenue
 Permissions models will become more simple &
transparent
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16. In the end we all try to “COPE”
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17. Please review my blog post associated
with this presentation:
http://personanondata.blogspot.com/2012
/07/aaup-panel-meeting-content-
chunking-and.html
Michael Cairns
Managing Partner
Michael.Cairns@InfoMediaPartners.com
908 938 4889
LinkedIn Twitter Blog Flickr InstaGram
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