The fundamental value proposition for Britannica was alleviating parents’ guilt around their children's education and signaling to the world 'I care about my kids and have enough money to spend $2,000 on a set of books', which the in-home sales experience maximized.įun fact: Market research demonstrated that the encyclopedias were opened less than once a year, on average.īritannica's guilt-inducing mechanism worked and by 1990, Britannica dominated the $1 billion encyclopedia market with a 7,500-strong worldwide salesforce, selling over 110,000 and generating $650 million in revenue that year.īut while Britannica executives where shopping for a car that said 'I'm a clever intellectual with Fuck You Money' something in Seattle was brewing. The first edition had three volumes but then the encyclopedia grew in size: the second edition was 10 volumes, and by its fourth edition (1801–1810) it had expanded to 20 volumes.Īs it grew in size, it grew in revenue by establishing a reputation as a solid, authoritative and comprehensive source of content, which was cemented by continually revising and adding innovative features like an atlas.Īfter some initial traction in the institutional market (think libraries), Britannica recognized the opportunity behind the homes market and created an aggressive and direct sales force that targeted middle income families by going door to door. In 1768 in Edinburgh, Scotland the first Encyclopaedia Britannica was published.
