Customer profiles and digital media were among the topics discussed at the 2008 Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's (ECPA) Executive Leadership Summit and Annual Member Meeting concluded Tuesday in Dallas.

Held at the Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West, the event, which began Sunday, drew 145 representatives from more than 60 companies.

On Tuesday, R.R. Bowker General Manager Kelly Gallagher and Christianity Today International (CTI) Executive Vice President Keith Stonehocker presented a detailed profile of five different types of Christians categorized by behavioral habits from a study commissioned by CTI and Zondervan: Active Christians, Professing Christians, Liturgical Christians, Private Christians and Cultural Christians.

Active Christians, the study said, were the highest purchasers of Christian products and the most faithful customers of Christian retail. “If Active Christians are the primary book and Bible buyers, how can we most effectively reach them?” Gallagher asked. "What unmet needs do Active Christians have for other media products besides books and Bibles?"

On Monday, "Digital Strategies and Experiences From Trade Publishing," moderated by the Book Industry Study Group's Michael Healy, included back-to-back presentations on electronic book formats and digital marketing. Digital media was also discussed during a session with Amazon.com's Daniel Slater, who spoke on the impact of the company's Kindle book reader and the growing market for e-Books.

Tyndale House Publishers Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Johnson said the event had given him a "page-and-a-half of action items" to implement. "The variety of opportunities in the electronic aspect (was a highlight)," he told Christian Retailing. "We've already been looking at those things, but this is what's helping open the doors a little bit more in that thinking."

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