Digital Strategies
Computers and mobile devices have become individual points of sale, providing access to an infinite choice of books and content, from new releases and backlist titles to long out-of-print works. Digital is diversifying the experience of reading and learning, opening up fertile new ground for talent scouting by publishers and providing authors and illustrators with new opportunities for expression. Hachette Livre has been in the vanguard of the book industry’s response to the multiple innovations generated by these technological breakthroughs. It has adapted to emerging consumer behaviors and new forms of reading. At the same time, as custodian of its authors’ fiduciary interests, Hachette Livre is careful to ensure that each book’s true value is recognized.
Meeting the Full Range of eBook Readers’ Expectations
As early as 2006, Hachette Livre was one of the first publishers to start digitizing its catalogs. The Group has a thoroughly up-to-date infrastructure, ranging from rights management systems to digital warehousing, enabling it to provide its titles in digital format on all sales platforms. In response to the boom in digital book reading equipment (tablets, ereaders, smartphones), Hachette Livre optimizes the rights granted to it by its authors and offers an appealing range of ebooks to meet reader demand worldwide. In 2017, Hachette UK acquired Bookouture, an innovative digital publisher and leader in the books for the general public market.
The catalogs of Hachette Livre’s publishing houses are available on all ebook sales platforms, including international pure plays, the big national chains and independent booksellers. In just a decade, Hachette has sold nearly 100 million copies worldwide, and everywhere, Hachette Livre is at the top of the list of best-selling ebooks. In 2019, digital offerings (digital books and audiobooks) accounted for 11.1% of Hachette Livre’s overall revenue.
More than 100,000 titles are available in digital format.
Enhancing the Reading Experience
Publishers are keen to build gateways between paper books, to which readers remain attached, and the new possibilities offered by digital media.
Detecting Talent in New Media
On social networks, blogs and websites, aspiring writers can exercise their talent and test their ideas with readers. Publishers scan this new media landscape and spot budding authors; many books have been published via this route.
Spreading a Culture of Innovation
The aim of the Hachette Innovation Program (HIP) is to accelerate the Group’s digital transformation by spreading a culture of innovation throughout the organization. Based in San Francisco and Paris, the HIP team acts as a gateway to innovation ecosystems and start-ups. It tracks developments and reports on innovations in the publishing industry and analyzes trends and breakthroughs with the potential to affect our business.
Defining Open Technology Standards
In support of compatibility and accessibility, Hachette Livre is defining and developing open technology standards. It is active in international cross-disciplinary organizations such as the Readium Foundation and the European Digital Reading Lab (EDR Lab) as well as W3C and Publishing@W3C.
Supporting Evolving Educational Practices
Drawing on its long experience in educational publishing, Hachette Livre is taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technology to enhance its tools and resources aimed at students and teachers in elementary, secondary and higher education. All the school resource publishers in the United Kingdom, France and Spain are developing innovative solutions for both classwork and homework, in line with government policies promoting the use of digital media in education. From multimedia digital versions of textbooks to enriched classroom content to game-changing self-assessment solutions, educational content is becoming more diverse, personalized and dynamic. The Group’s publishing houses are perfectly prepared to support evolving educational practices in Europe.
Mobile Apps
Hachette Livre has gained a foothold in the mobile app market. This strategy consists of combining the imprints’ editorial know-how with the digital skills of pure plays and capitalizing on the growing consumption of games and content on tablets and smartphones. Three companies have joined the Hachette Livre Group as part of the new Hachette Mobile Studios unit: