MARKETING: Boost sales with product promotions and partnerships

BY JENNIFER DESHLER, vice president, marketing and publishing process, gift, children’s and new media, Thomas Nelson

The year 2012 brought challenges and opportunities as store traffic decreased and online shopping and e-book purchases increased. But research shows that consumers still want the community that exists with retailers, and that allows us to think creatively about initiatives that can increase interaction and sales.

When thinking about new marketing and promotion opportunities, here are a few key components to consider:

Traffic: What areas of your store are most highly trafficked? For many, one is the gift section at the front of the store. Why not do a test and move several of your top gift books there as well? The impulse nature of that area will also likely lead to increased gift book sales.

GIFTS: New features, nostalgia mark offerings in framed art, plaques and more

BY SHERRY MORRIS, marketing manager, Carpentree

A preview of the new year offers a host of fresh and fun looks in gifts. Retro patterns, new shapes, textures, a fresh color palette and unexpected embellishments are just a few of what buyers can expect to see this spring.

In framed art, expect to see everything from photography to wallpaper looks to traditional art styles. With high-end looks, framed art trends include dimension-creating channel cuts, innovative decorative mat cuts and deckled edge mats. Watch for vintage patterns and design elements. Patterns like the chevron, ikat (a dyeing technique) and polka dots will add visual texture.

FICTION: Experiencing a new British invasion with Regency and Victorian drama

BY DAVID LONG, senior acquisitions editor, Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group

It is a fact universally acknowledged that a publisher, seeing the rise and success of a new category of fiction, will eventually try to find an author of their own to fit that category. So it has been since the days of Jane Austen and so it is still. In fact, things have changed so little that, all these years later, it is still Miss Austen we’re all chasing.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Communicating powerful truths to the younger generation at their level

BY MARILYN LARGENT, vice president of sales, David C Cook

A young boy wants to give Jesus a gift. But how can he do that when Jesus is in heaven? In Ronnie Wilson’s Gift, children learn that helping others in need is a way of serving Jesus Himself. It’s a truth kids hear in other forms—but perhaps it makes its biggest impact through story.

We were thrilled to win the 2012 Retailers Choice Award for Ronnie Wilson’s Gift by Francis Chan and Jim Madsen. It’s no coincidence that this story is touching so many children and their parents. After all, Jesus Himself communicated truth through story!

MUSIC: Christian music expands reach with high ticket sales, top honors

BY NATALIE GILLESPIE

Christian music hit some significant milestones in 2012, from eye-popping concert ticket sales to top positions on mainstream music sales charts, prompting TIME magazine writer Tim Newcomb to declare in a Sept. 17 online article titled “Christian Music’s Moment: How TobyMac and Lecrae Conquered the Countdown” that Christian music is “no longer a style, but simply a lyrical perspective.”

Winter Jam, Casting Crowns and the Rock & Worship Roadshow landed in the top 100-grossing tours for the first half of the year, with more than $14 million in tickets sold. Ticket sales have become such a hot property that a Vancouver-based Christian music promoter, LMG Concerts, filed a lawsuit against Salem Communications, alleging that Salem is running a monopoly in the Christian radio market.

Industry News: Family Christian buyout, ‘Obamacare’ rulings top newsmakers

Two of the biggest stories of 2012 came near year's end—the contrasting mid-November rulings involving Tyndale House Publishers and Christian-owned-and-operated Hobby Lobby Stores and sister company Mardel Christian & Education. 

A Nov. 16 federal court ruling stopped enforcement of the Obama administration’s abortion pill mandate against Tyndale, which filed a healthcare lawsuit against the government Oct. 2. Tyndale specifically objects to covering abortion pills.

GIFTS: Toys and Fair Trade grow category’s sales, while companies raise T-shirt prices

BY RHONDA SHOLAR

While gifts appeared to be an overall bright spot in 2012, a few areas stood out.

T-shirts continued to sell well despite rising retail prices. Some vendors’ decisions to raise prices to absorb increased costs has some worried as they remember a decade ago when shirts rose to $18.99 before the market collapsed. Customers are looking for quality shirts with clear graphics and are tiring of the logo “take-offs.”