The International Christian Retail Show met in Atlanta July 10-13. CBA—the association of Christian stores, which produces the show—reported total attendance of just under 5,000, a 6% increase over last year’s convention in St. Louis. The association itself has seen some growth through new memberships, but store attrition continues. Most publishers say the show is still an important place for them to have a presence, even if scaled back, but they are approaching it with new strategies. See our complete report from last week’s Daily.
Even as the Christian trade show evolves, publishers were writing orders, and professional attendance of almost 1,750 mostly included buyers. Steve Gemeiner, director of sales at Moody, said Monday was a busy day, but he saw fewer drop-bys--browsers without appointments. Moody’s booth space is half the size it was two years ago. Rite of Passage: A Father’s Blessing by Jim McBride (Aug.) was doing well for the house. McBride is the executive pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church and has also served as executive producer of the church’s film Fireproof and the forthcoming film Courageous.
On Tuesday Julie Marshall, director of retail sales for Oxford University Press, said business was a little slow, “but we’re getting there.” All of the orders she had written on Monday were international; many publishers commented on international attendance and rights activity at the show. “It works for us,” said Anthony Gosling, sales manager at Christian Focus. CBA reported international participation up 16 percent, with 431 attendees from 61 countries. Booth space in Market Square, the area devoted to international rights and sales discussions, increased by 14 percent.
At a presentation on the children’s market, Mary Manz Simon told 200 retailers in attendance to look for publishers to do more digital marketing of products. While little data is available about the state of the digital publishing revolution in the children’s market, she said that 66 percent of 4- to 7-year-olds have used an iPod Touch or an iPhone. Like other experts at the conference, she highlighted the importance of social media in marketing, saying that “mom bloggers”--who can wield influence on book sales--are migrating to Facebook. Simon also said that the afterlife is a trendy theme now; the bestselling Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Tommy Nelson) will release in a youth edition in November. PW will take an in-depth look at children’s religion books and publishing in the August 15 issue of Religion Update, our quarterly print supplement.
ICRS had its usual complement of celebrity books and people dressed in biblical costumes, as well as dancing vegetables promoting the Veggie Tales line. But this year’s show also included a display of Thoughtful Books aimed at pastors, church leaders, and other readers craving depth. The 60-foot section highlighted titles in Bible reference, theology, cultural issues, and biblical studies. The area, with several hundred books, was designed by InterVarsity Press in partnership with CBA and Kregel Publications. Crossway and Baker Publishing Group also featured titles. Selected books were given away in a drawing.
