Contact: Jana Muntsinger, MMPR 281.251.0480 or jana@mmpublicrelations.com Nashville, TN – Thomas Nelson Publishers announces the Lucado Impact Plan—a strategic three-year retail sales program for Max Lucado products. The unparalleled retail sales plan incorporates all Nelson product lines (adult, children’s, gift, Bible study, fiction and Bibles) for both frontlist and backlist titles. All retailers are invited to participate in the program, from chains to independents, from Christian retail to general market bookstores. The program launches May 2011 with the release of a new trade book, Max on Life: Answers and Inspiration for Today’s Questions, and a daily devotional entitled Live Loved: Experiencing God’s Presence in Everyday Life. More details are available from Thomas Nelson sales representatives, who will begin presenting the plan to retailers this month. Max Lucado, who has 100 million branded items in print including books, greeting cards and ancillary products, has one of the most expansive backlists of any published author in both the religious or general interest non-fiction genre. Thomas Nelson, which has published Lucado for more than 20 years, is launching the sales plan to help retailers maximize the success with the popular author’s backlist while continuing to introduce new products. The Lucado Impact Plan allows retailers of all sizes and styles to strategically manage and sell a greater number of Lucado titles during 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Lucado Impact Plan provides a detailed in-store plan for stocking and displaying key Lucado titles each season of the year. The Impact Plan contains three major components: Lucado Essentials Plan: this is a three-year master promotional and product plan. The plan will change seasonally and promises significant marketing promotions for each selling cycle. Never Out In-Line Program: this program consists of recommended top-performing titles to be carried in store at all times. The Lucado Preferred Retailer: this top-tier program rewards retail partners for their participation in the Lucado Impact Plan.
David Moberg, senior vice president and group publisher for non-fiction at Thomas Nelson, believes this long-term retail plan is a first for the book industry. “The Lucado Impact Plan is unprecedented,” said Moberg. “There are few contemporary authors with these sales numbers – Max has 100 million products in print. There is no other author with this product depth – Max has written successful books on a variety of subjects, in multiple genres for a wide array of audiences. This is a unique opportunity for retailers to strategically leverage all that only the Lucado brand can offer their consumers.” Max Lucado has more than 100 million products in print in his 25 years of publishing. His books have appeared on every national bestseller list. His latest book, Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference, released in September 2010 and spent a month on The New York Times bestseller list. He and his wife Denalyn live in San Antonio, Texas, where he is the Minister of Preaching at Oak Hills Church. More on Max Lucado, can be found at www.MaxLucado.com. Thomas Nelson is a leading provider of Bibles, products and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes. For more information, visit its website, www.ThomasNelson.com # # # November 11, 2010 LUCADO IMPACT PLAN Details In store promotions for May 2011 – 2013 THREE ELEMENTS OF THE LUCADO IMPACT PLAN The Lucado Essentials Plan: this is a three-year master promotional and product plan. The plan will change seasonally and promises significant marketing promotions for each selling cycle. Thomas Nelson has mapped out products and themes for three years and will support each season with marketing efforts including catalog advertisements, promotions at MaxLucado.com and “UpWords” daily radio program, plus video and text-based Q&As, reading group promotions, social media promotions, targeted advertising and in-store placement. Never Out In-Line Program: this program consists of recommended top-performing titles to be carried in store at all times, stocked in various areas. These 37+ titles may or may not be included in each season’s Lucado Essentials Plan. To help consumers and retailers navigate key Lucado titles by topic, the Lucado Reader’s Guide is being created to categorize the titles by theme and felt need. This topical list will also be added to the back matter of future Lucado book printings and will be available online. The Lucado Preferred Retailer: this top-tier program rewards retail partners for their participation in the Lucado Never Out In-Line Program and the Lucado Essentials Plan. Bonuses provided to these Preferred Providers include a quarterly call with Lucado, incentivized terms, dedicated training materials and merchandising tools, advance readers of new releases and more. LUCADO ESSENTIALS PLAN The Lucado Essentials Plan provides themes for each selling cycle and incorporates all types of Lucado product (trade, gift, devotional, Bibles, children’s). Themes for the three-year Lucado Essentials Plan are as follows. First Year Plan: Life to the Max = May 2011 to August 2011 One Incredible Savior = September 2011 to December 2011 He Chose You = January 2012 to April 2012
Second Year Plan: Safe in Your Shepherds Arms = May 2012 to August 2012 Peace in the Storm = September 2012 to December 2012 Connect with Christ = January 2013 to April 2013
Third Year Plan: Release Your Burdens = May 2013 to August 2013 Heaven & Earth Adore Him = September 2013 to December 2013 God So Loved = January 2014 to April 2014
LUCADO PREFERRED RETAILER PROGRAM The Lucado Preferred Retailer program is designed to specifically reward retailers for top-level participation in the Lucado Impact Plan. To become a Preferred Retailer, a retailer must execute the Lucado Impact Plan by: Stocking the Never Out List titles on an on-going basis Carrying the Lucado Essentials end cap or develop a merchandising program that features the selected titles Educating sales staff on the Lucado products for each season
Benefits of being a Lucado Preferred Retailer are unique and impactful. Retailers will receive these exclusive benefits: Participating in a 30-minute group conference call with Max quarterly Incentivized terms on all featured products Featured positioning on the Lucado community website Dedicated sales clerk training materials Lucado Preferred Retailer merchandising Online and social media marketing synergy Autographed copies of top-sellers Advance reader copies for sales staff
For further details on the Lucado Impact Plan, retailers should contact their Thomas Nelson sales representative or media may contact Jana Muntsinger at MMPR, 281.251.0480 or jana@mmpublicrelations.com. | 