Since its premiere on November 10, 1969, Sesame Street has reached more than 74 million U.S. viewers. Random House was the first Sesame Street publisher, and accounted for the bulk of Sesame Street publishing activity through 2003, when consumers purchased 10 million Sesame Street books.
In 2004, the show's 35th anniversary year, Sesame Workshop refined its publishing strategy. "Through 2003, we had a fairly focused publishing business, with five licensees spearheaded by Random House and Golden Books," said Scott Chambers, v-p and general manager, publishing. "We had a handful of simultaneous expirations and renewal negotiations, and we decided the business would be better served if we allowed more publishers to focus on specific formats."
Meanwhile, Random House decided not to re-up for the coloring/activity portion of the business, because executives felt the age of the viewer had become too young for coloring/activity formats, and they are currently concentrating on books for young preschoolers. "We've come down in age group, along with the demographic of the show," said Kate Klimo, v-p and publisher, Random House/Golden Books Young Readers Group. Random House now focuses on formats such as novelty, hardcover picture and board books, while new licensees include Bendon for coloring/activity, Learning Horizons for workbooks, Reader's Digest for high-end novelty formats and Dalmatian for mass market storybooks. Other Sesame Street publishers include Reader's Digest Young Readers for the continuity program; Parents magazine for Sesame Street magazine; Publications International for soundbooks; Best Personalized Books; and SoftPlay for cloth books.
The more diverse roster of licensees allows Sesame Workshop to move into categories it hadn't explored in depth before, such as workbooks, upscale added-value titles and seasonal opportunities within coloring/activity. "I think that's the best thing they could've done," said Bendon president Ben Ferguson of the new strategy. "There's no children's publisher that can hit all markets effectively. Licensors recognize there are niche publishers that can service some markets better than others." Bendon's 70-title Sesame Street line debuted July 1; retailers have purchased more than 2.5 million copies.
"[Sesame Workshop] seems to be approaching it well and not overslicing and dicing the brand," added Harold Clarke, v-p and publisher of the Reader's Digest trade group, who was involved with Sesame Street when he was at Random House. "I think it's a very good strategy for a mature brand." Reader's Digest's titles will launch in 2005, as will Dalmatian's.
35 Years and Counting
The Workshop has overseen a year-long anniversary celebration encompassing a prime-time special, national sweepstakes, merchandise and a dedicated issue of Sesame Street magazine this November.
Random House reissued its Sesame Street Dictionary earlier this year with a 35th-anniversary cover; close to 40,000 copies are in print. The title includes a sampler CD featuring songs from Sony Wonder's 35th anniversary box set, the packaging of which plugged Random House's Sesame Street books. The publisher also reissued the bestselling Sesame Street title ever, The Monster at the End of this Book, as a Big Little Golden Book.
Random capitalized on anniversary awareness by bringing back an Elmo birthday promotion it had done a couple years ago, according to John Adamo, v-p/executive director, mass marketing. The promotion, which included event kits and three-foot Elmo standees, got significant retail support, including endcaps.
Although Elmo, introduced in 1984, was not part of Sesame Street 35 years ago, he has been prominent in Random House's promotions; he was included in the character group shot on the cover of the sampler, for example. Most of Random's top-performing titles have been Elmo-related, although "there have been a few Elmo-free covers that have been successful," said Klimo. "There's been lots done to keep Elmo fresh." Elmo was the first new character introduced to the show, was at the center of the Tickle-Me Elmo craze a few years back and has starred in a spin-off, Elmo's World, since 1998.
"It may appear as if Elmo drives the business, but our bestsellers are not all Elmo," Chambers maintained, citing as an example Random House's Sesame Beginnings line, which targets children six months to four years. Only a couple of the dozen books in the line depict Elmo on the cover. Sesame Beginnings has been so strong in publishing that it is being expanded to other consumer products; like the books, each item will include tips for parents.
Freshening an Evergreen
Over the last year or so, the licensor redesigned its Sesame Street artwork. "We created a publishing-specific style guide for the first time," Chambers reported. The Workshop also is creating a digital archive so licensees can browse 250 book and magazine titles online "for inspiration or repurposing."
Coming up next season is a program called Healthy Habits for Life, which promotes physical and mental health. The child-directed facets—including two storybooks, two workbooks and a dedicated magazine—fall under the Happy Healthy Monsters umbrella. Also next year, Random House is introducing a nonfiction line tentatively called Sesame University, covering "things the average two-year-old needs to know," according to Klimo, who added, "Our collaboration with [Sesame Workshop] is total. [The books] have to be on-character, on-message and on-curriculum."
Sesame Workshop views international publishing as a key growth opportunity. Different versions of Sesame Street air in different countries, each with localized content, characters and culture, which makes global activity a challenge. Yet publishing programs are moving forward in Russia, South Africa and Latin America. In any territory, publishing is a natural, reinforcing the educational content of the TV series. "[Sesame Street toy licensee] Fisher-Price is selling more product and perhaps bringing more revenue into our bottom line," Chambers said. "But publishing is an important mission initiative and a significant revenue initiative. With publishing you can offer an important educational product as well as a deeper relationship and experience."
