Rodale Press reported a drop in revenues in 1998, but the direct-mail marketer blamed the loss on the divestiture of several noncore business and looks to rebound in 1999 with an aggressive brand-awareness campaign, an expansion of its trade book program and the launch of a new imprint, Rodale Reach, distributed exclusively to the book trade. The company also announced plans to establish the annual Rodale Healthy Active Living Award, a cash prize of $1000 each to nine booksellers, one for each region of the American Booksellers Association.
Pat Corpora, president of Rodale Books, noted that the divested magazine, book club (the company retains only the Prevention Book Club) and backlist properties represented about $30 million to $50 million in revenues. Book group revenues were about $225 million, down from about $275 million in 1997. "Nineteen ninety-eight was a troubled year," said Corpora, "but we shed those businesses to position ourselves to compete and to focus entirely on health and fitness." The company publishes about 60 books a year; 20 strictly for the direct-mail market and the rest for the trade. Rodale sold about eight million books last year through direct-mail sales, its Web site and a growing book trade presence. Although the bulk of the company's business comes through direct mail, Corpora noted that the trade book business had grown to be 10% to 15% of its business and he is "shooting for about 25% trade business to diversify us more."
Brand Awareness
In line with those expectations, Neil Wertheimer, publisher of Rodale's Active Living Group, unveiled plans to launch a campaign, beginning with a press conference in New York City April 13, to focus attention on the company's book group imprints (such as Daybreak, a spirituality imprint) and its popular magazine brand names, such as Prevention and Runner's World and their attendant book-publishing lines. The campaign, which features prizes and gifts, will promote Rodale's new titles at BookExpo in Los Angeles and continue with individual bookstore and regional book fair appearances around the country.
Wertheimer told PW that the new campaign aims to "liven up" the publishing program with new authors, new kinds of books, new cover designs, more trade book titles with better price points, more co-op money and stepped-up trade paper publishing.
The company is also launching Rodale Reach, an imprint the company hopes will "challenge the status quo" of American health and fitness publishing. Rodale Reach will debut in fall 1999 and publish six to 10 books a year, "a very focused list, author-driven with full support," said Wertheimer. The fall list will include The Fitness Instinct (Oct.) by fitness trendspotter Peg Jordan and The Carnitine Defense by cardiovascular expert Stephen L. Defelice.
Corpora also noted that the company sold 150,000 books through its online bookstore (www.rodalestore.com) in 1998. Unlike other online retailers, Rodale allows its Web consumers to order books and pay later in installments. Internet sales are "small but growing," Corpora said. "We're bullish on the Internet. But we're underrepresented in the trade. We're going to get more Rodale Books into stores."
