I learned the term “book plus” at my first job at American Girl / Mattel. It was a product category for books that accompanied other products. While it sounds mundane, it was there I learned about the special magic that happens when you bring things together. 

An early product success was a “book plus toy” series for Matchbox—board books with cute license plate covers with an included vehicle. The book depicted a small story of the vehicle’s real life use. In addition to being a compelling product, the “plus” factor qualified the products to be sold in mass market toy stores, and to allow Matchbox to expand their appropriate age range to a much younger audience.  

This made a big impression on me, making me think deeply about how positioning media experience changes the experience.