The American Automobile Association (AAA) is trying to leverage its 46 million members and one of the best-known travel names in the country to broaden its consumer book publishing program.
Although the association has long published books and maps for its members, it only entered the retail market in 1988 with the release of the North American Road Atlas. After that, AAA didn't begin a more serious commercial publishing venture until 1998, when it signed a distribution agreement with Simon & Schuster, said John Coerper, director of AAA publishing retail sales. Coerper, along with Patty Wight, director of publishing marketing communications, and Bill Wood, director of publishing product development, direct AAA's publishing program under the leadership of Rick Rinner, executive v-p for publishing and administration.
AAA's retail efforts got a big boost in 2001 when it acquired the Essential series from NTC, a move that resulted in a 42% increase in revenue for that year and boosted the number of titles in its catalogue from 123 to 289, including about 30 new titles per year. The inexpensive pocket guides, which sell about 60,000 units annually, complement AAA's Spiral Guides and TravelBooks series, which offer more comprehensive information on different destinations. Excluding its Tour Book titles, offered exclusively to members, TravelBooks is AAA's largest series, selling about 350,000 units annually. Top titles in the line include Mexico TravelBook, Caribbean TravelBook and Europe TravelBook. The Spiral Guides, which sell about 80,000 yearly, are lightweight, portable books that provide a range of information from maps to where to eat. Popular titles include guides to New York and Paris.
While AAA is best known to the traveling public for its road services, Wood noted that the association has a network of inspectors that rate lodging accommodations, ratings that have contributed to an "enormous" database of travel information. AAA is working to turn that information into a "revenue generator," Wood said. In addition to its series, the association has used the database to create a variety of single titles. Traveling with Your Pet has been one of AAA's top sellers in recent years and now is in its fifth edition. AAA also used the database to mine information that led to the creation of a relatively new series, Barrier-Free Travel, which is designed for mature travelers and disabled travelers. Coerper said he has been disappointed that retailers have been slow to carry the line.
Disappointment with Barrier-Free notwithstanding, AAA's retail sales have picked up in 2003 following a decline in 2002 that the association linked to the reduction in travel since the September 11 attacks. "We're in more stores than ever before," said Coerper. Mainstream retailers are one of three marketing channels AAA uses to reach consumers. Most of the association's titles are also sold through the 594 travel stores run by the club's affiliates. And the company is stepping up its online program. It recently completed a partnering deal with Barnes & Noble.com under which the e-tailer is running AAA's online bookstore. In addition to selling books, AAA is using the Internet to deliver information and has developed the popular TripTik service that lets travelers plot their own travel paths online.
