More things I couldn’t help noticing on a trip to the USA…
The highlight for me of attending the International Christian Retail Show in Denver last week was to stand a mere six feet away from the great Jim Packer, as the people at Crossway Publishers celebrated his 80th birthday with a huge chocolate cake.
But I couldn't help wondering what this legendary Christian theologian and writer would have made of the ICRS.
For a start, I'm not sure he would be delighted with the name change. What for many years has been called the Christian Bookseller's Convention has had its name changed to refelect the reality that a declining proportion of the huge Christian retailing industry is made up of actual book sales. As I will highlight in my next post, the range of paraphernalia in the Christian marketplace is astonishing, amusing and somewhat soul-destroying (perhaps literally).
Here are a few other observations:
- This is a huge industry showcase. I had been warned that it was big, and overwhelming, and astonishingly crass, but to see it firsthand was truly remarkable. According to the Show web site the show has “125,000 net sq ft of exhibit space, 425 exhibits, and nearly 100 meeting rooms. The show brings together more than 10,000 attendees and exhibitor personnel from across the United States and more than 50 other countries.” The Christian retail industry has become so big, that large secular retailers, like Wal-Mart, have jumped on board and are selling Christian product.
- On show is not just the full range of Christian products, but almost every secular marketing technique under the sun (with the possible exception of attractive young women in skimpy bikinis—but there's always next year!). There is a worldliness that is almost tangible. And the retailers seem almost infatuated with the industry and its marketing techniques, forming long queues in order to get a personally autographed copy of a big name author's book or a musician's CD at one of the “personality booths”, wheeling around large bags full of freebies, and even dragging their children around so that they can get the freebies from the kids' product booths. They are also being thanked and praised for their selling efforts by the publishers through fine entertainment, ranging from expensive dinners to performances by members of Cirque du Soleil.
- Despite all the non-book products that were in evidence, there still seems to be a recognition that books remain a fundamental part of the Christian retail industry. It was encouraging to see that publishers like Christian Focus, Crossway-Goodnews, and Evangelical Press are still playing an important part.
- I couldn't help but notice that one of the new trends in Christian publishing is the success of authors who are young women (mostly blonde and of course extremely well-groomed). I'm not sure what that means, but I do note that they are very clever at coming up with titles that obviously appeal to other women: “Can Martha have a Mary Christmas?”, “Born to be Wild: Rediscover the Freedom of Fun”, “Divine Stories of the Yahweh Sisterhood”, “If You Don't Die to Self, I may Have to Kill You: an Extreme Marriage Makeover”, “The Bathtub is Overflowing, But I feel Drained: How to Defeat Mommy Stress”, “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World”, “Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged or Just Plain Tired Homemaker”—and many, many, many more.
- The prize for the most overused word at the Show, thrashed to within an inch of its meaningful existence, is: “inspirational”. It seems that you can sell anything at the Christian Retail Show as long as you can label it with this word. Just what it means is a little unclear, but I think it basically means it makes you feel good about your life.
In my next post, I'll share with you some of the highlights of the show which caused me to chuckle at what people will do to make a buck... oops, I mean to inspire people in their daily walk with Jesus.