International Rights and Distribution Sales at All-Time High

There’s no doubt that orthopaedists and others around the world benefit from AAOS products. The proof? The Academy recently achieved $1 million in international sales, rights royalties, product distribution sales, Orthopaedic Knowledge Online subscriptions, and sales to international Annual Meeting attendees.

“A million dollars is a lot of money in anyone’s book,” says Lynne Dowling, international department director. “That sales number represents about 14 percent of the AAOS’ total print and electronic media product sales. Because we’re a small, not-for-profit publisher, having that much of our sales come from the international market is a major achievement.”

International editions of the Journal of the AAOS as well as the Academy’s books, CDs, DVDs, and patient education materials have been translated into Turkish, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and French. AAOS products in English are distributed in more than 85 countries.

“Rights and distribution—and especially rights, worldwide—are huge businesses,” says Dallas Tomlin, manager, international rights and distribution. “The AAOS has been in the forefront of medical associations in the foreign rights area for many years.”

Increasing the international demand for AAOS products
One of the ways the Academy has built a strong international reputation is through its active participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest book fair in the world. In 2007, the book fair attracted a record 7,448 exhibitors from 108 countries.

“At Frankfurt, we usually have between 27 and 33 rights negotiating meetings over the course of three days,” says Ms. Dowling.

While attending the October 2007 Frankfurt Book Fair, AAOS international department staff members secured deals projected to yield $450,000 in new business revenues through December 2009.

Ms. Dowling points out that international customers are exposed to AAOS products in several other ways.

“The more that people come to the Academy’s Annual Meeting and get exposed to the quality of our educational products, the more we’re at international scientific meetings with exhibits, and the more our products are published in other languages, the greater the demand for and awareness of Academy products,” she says.

Working toward a common goal
The AAOS’ international department conducts most of the day-to-day negotiating and deal-making that contribute to the Academy’s success in international sales and distribution. In addition, the international department also collaborates with the publications, marketing, and customer service departments, as well as the electronic media unit.

“It really is a joint effort,” says Ms. Dowling. “Fifteen years ago, the Academy’s annual international sales totaled approximately $48,000.

Now, sales are more than $1 million. That’s remarkable.”

Jennie McKee is a staff writer for AAOS Now. She can be reached at mckee@aaos.org