(26 June 2013) Copia, the socially-driven digital content platform that provides customized learning solutions for students, educators and publishers, today announced two major partnerships in Australia, where it is the leading partner in the region for eBook aggregation and distribution.
A strategic partner of the Australian Publishers Association (APA), Copia is powering the eBook component of TitlePage Plus, a new subscription-based supply chain solution for the book industry. The service allows stores to scale their offering while helping them to efficiently access and sell a wide variety of printed and eBook titles. By offering a white-labeled (WL) version of Copia to bookshops, TitlePage Plus empowers retailers to reach consumers in the most interactive and relevant ways possible. The reading app, powered by Copia, is available for free for consumers across an assortment of platforms – including iOS, Android and Blackberry devices as well as directly from Windows and Mac desktops.
“In recent years there has been an incredible shift in consumer reading habits to digital platforms,” said Gary Pengelly, General Manager of Thorpe-Bowker. “These new formats typically exclude ‘independent’ bookshops from offering digital content to readers. Now with Copia as the back-end, all bookshops no matter their size can extend the relationship they have with their customer to both printed titles and eBooks from the bookshop with 24/7 convenience.”
Customers also receive the convenience of home delivered printed books through a consumer direct fulfillment (CDF) offering. TitlePage Plus leverages Copia to empower booksellers to offer eBooks with built-in social functionality and enhanced metadata – including reviews and a discussion channel – in one seamless e-reading platform. Founding publishers of this new offering include Macmillan, Penguin Group, Random House, Wiley, Allen & Unwin, Cambridge University Press, Hachette, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster and a large and expanding number of local Australian publishers.
Copia is also partnering with QBD The Bookshop, the largest company-owned retail book chain in Australia, to power its new eBook business. Similar to its partnership with the APA, Copia provides a digital distribution solution to QBD, which can now offer thousands of eBook titles to their customers through QBD’s online web stores by way of a user-friendly digital experience. The partnership with Copia has enabled QBD to expand its offerings through its e-reading solution to include a growing list of local Australian authors.
“The Australian book industry values a partner like Copia to enable bookshops, retailers and publishers to compete against larger international outlets,” said Ben Lowinger, EVP of Copia. “There is an emerging need for new platforms as the convergence of digital media and publishing becomes increasingly mainstream within this sector. Copia is proud to be a part of this evolution and to help drive this next wave of innovation.”
TitlePage Plus is a new subscription-based product. It provides packages that help booksellers easily find the price and availability of local books; to source all titles and get quality metadata; and to offer products and services that attract and keep consumers as customers. TitlePage is managed under license from the APA by Thorpe-Bowker, the Australian office of RR Bowker a US based company that provides ‘workflow solutions’ to the global publishing community. Title Page Plus is designed to improve efficiency and reduce cost in the local supply chain. It will improve the efficiency and competitiveness of local consumer offerings and provide a scalable platform, which can evolve as consumer demands change.
QBD The Bookshop (originally Queensland Book Depot) is a privately owned company comprising 50 stores within Australia. It is the largest book retailer in Australia and has been in business since the late 1800s.
Copia is a socially-driven digital content platform that is helping educators, publishers and students unlock the power of digital and non-digital educational material through the use of an integrated platform that marries and unifies people and content through a socially driven learning environment. For more information visit www.thecopia.com.
