Since July 1, Insight Editions has been distributed by Simon & Schuster. Terry Newell, head of sales, calls the agreement "a perfect fit. Our books complement their books. We're thrilled to be working with their sales force." S&S, he continues, expands Insight's reach into major retail and special accounts, but especially bookstores. And with many brick-and-mortar bookstores devoting "more real estate to toys, collectibles, and puzzles," Insight Editions wants to be sure they know about the products it has for those areas. "We should be good partners," Newell says, adding with a laugh, "We specialize in physical products, not e-books, so bookstores don't have to worry about alternate electronic formats that might compete for sales. The value of our books is not only in the editorial content but in the complete physical package."
Julie Hamilton, sales director, adds, "With our growth, we're happy to be partnering with S&S to expand our current customer base and open up new doors and new channels. We want to reach more booksellers, librarians, and consumers to showcase our products and help them discover the quality and creativity of each one."
Marketing director Joan Lee emphasizes that Insight Editions books make for great bookstore displays. Addressing booksellers, she says, "Just open up one of our pop-up books, such as the Disney Princess Pop-Up Book, the Game of Thrones Pop-Up Book, or Walking Dead Pop-Up Book, and let them 'speak' for themselves." She notes that the company has "a great library" of book trailers that showcase the books and demonstrate how interactive and tactile they are.
Terry Newell notes that Insight Editions "knows who the consumer is before creating the books arrive." For example, with its Game of Thrones titles, he says, "We knew how to reach fans. We've identified consumers [often at comic cons] and used social media to get to them before the book is in bookstores."