Richard Bawden and Mark Harding from KPMG discuss future scenarios for book marketing and product enhancement:
With virtual worlds like Second Life and social networking destined to splinter into hubs focused on shared interests, publishers and retailers are in a strong position to leverage people’s love of books … Publishers must also consider how books on screen can enhance the reading experience, with sound and vision adding extra dimensions. Think of the crunch that the snow could make as Lucy walks through the wardrobe and enters Narnia for the first time, offering extra sensory pleasure to younger readers.
Experiences like these will trigger behavioural shifts from generation to generation and will bring on the slow decline of traditional business models. If publishers choose to embrace innovation and lateral thinking, such experiences can prompt new revenue streams which will sustain their businesses. If, on the other hand, they choose to deny the digital future or fail to prepare adequately, they will hinder growth.