New Bible products from Zondervan and Thomas Nelson seek to engage people 'really hungry for the Word in every way and format'

The Bible once again leaps from the printed page this month as publishers continue to deliver God's Word in modern formats.

Releasing from Zondervan, the Glo Bible is the latest software product aiming to marry the Scriptures with new technologies. With a suggested retail price of $79.99, Glo has three DVDs, allowing users to experience the Scriptures through five "lenses" —the Bible, using the New International Version; an atlas, to see where major Bible stories happened; a timeline, with the ability to view the events chronologically and visually; topical, with searches of keywords and articles by scholars and teachers; and media, which includes a large collection of HD video, art and more. Included in the set are 7,500 encyclopedia articles, almost 2,500 photos and more than 450 virtual reality tours.

Nelson Saba, creator of Glo and CEO of Immersion Digital, said that the goal of Glo is to engage those increasingly focused on digital media.

"We have entire generations that were born into a digital world, and if you don't take the Bible to their world, they will become disconnected from it," he said. "If you're going to tap into those generations, you really have to have a product that will allow them to experience the Bible, to look for things the way they are used to looking for things on the Web."

Saba, who also created the best-selling iLumina Bible software for Tyndale House Publishers, visited this summer's International Christian Retail Show to preview Glo for Christian retailers, who will get a head start on sales because the product will debut first in the Christian retail channel.

Dan Merrell, chief marketing officer of Immersion Digital, said that if the track record of iLumina—selling 25% of its total sales in its first three months—holds true for Glo, "retailers are going to have a great opportunity."

One unique element of Glo is its ability to be expanded and adapted through integrated information from Bible publishers through online "Glo Stores," which will feature add-on packs such as animations and various translations, Merrell said.

"People are excited about the possibilities of this, not only as a personal engagement tool but as a platform to publish all forms of content," he said. "Publishers can push whatever type of content they want and connect it to the five lenses so that any piece of content can show up as a result of whatever a user is studying."

Meanwhile, the complete edition of The Word of Promise Audio Bible—retailing for $124.99—was to be released this month by Thomas Nelson. The follow-up to The Word of Promise New Testament Audio Bible—which received the Book of the Year award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) in 2008—the new release includes the full text of the Bible, with dramatic performances by well-known Hollywood actors such as Richard Dreyfuss, Gary Sinise, Jason Alexander and Jon Voight.

Carla Ballerini, vice president of marketing for Nelson's Bibles group, said she was expecting a big launch for the product and that the company was targeting listeners "beyond the traditional Bible buyer." The key factor in connecting customers with the new Bible would be to move beyond simply telling them about it, she added.

"Everything we're doing is all focused on allowing the consumer to experience the product before deciding if it's the right one for them," she said. "All of our purchase displays will have on-the-spot audio sampling, and we will still have our toll-free number where you can call and listen to samples."

Like Saba, Ballerini believes the end result is connecting new, technologically inclined generations with the Bible.

"We're at a time when people are really hungry for the Word," she said. "They're hungry in every way and format. We've never had a better opportunity to deliver it to them."

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