On the Same Page
D&AD New Blood 2022
Brief
Break books into the mainstream cultural conversation and play with their content in formats not traditionally associated with books to encourage occasional book buyers to engage with them on a deeper level. Whatever your idea, you need to think about how you’ll make books a water cooler moment, something discussed in the ‘here and now’ amongst the wider public.
Insight
Reading is drifting further away from the daily lives of digital natives*, due to a lack of time, interest and representation. In today’s online world we are flooded with stimulating content resulting in a constant
fragmentation of our time and attention. Research has shown that this is not only causing our attention spans to dwindle but changing the way we digest content and the type of content we choose to engage with.
As a whole digital natives* are becoming increasingly impatient with boredom, being able to change what they interact with almost immediately. A daily reading habit is viewed as unattainable or a tiresome chore. And it’s not just books, all forms of media are being forced to increasingly adapt as a result of this pressure, coming up with innovative ways to hold our attention. The traditional reading experience needs to be rewritten so that it can be enjoyed in a new way which reflects this.fragmentation of our time and attention. Research has shown that this is not only causing our attention spans to dwindle but changing the way we digest content and the type of content we choose to engage with.
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Solution
Help bring reading back into pop culture by remixing the traditional reading experience and placing the reader in control, creating a more interactive experience and promoting open discussion, with readers, authors and content creators. By delivering stories in small snippets and in a variety of different formats the content becomes more accessible, the episodic nature driving suspense, discussion and interest.
Engagement
By placing the reader in control of their reading experience through interactive polls and flexible story lines, as well as breaking content up into manageable and digestible snippets, ‘On the Same Page’ aims to make reading a more engaging experience. Through the community feature and live Q&A sessions, readers will be able to interact with their favourite authors and content creators, sharing their thoughts to see if they are ‘on the same page’.
Discussion
The community feature within the app enables users to share their thoughts on their latest reads, subscribe to forums for their favourite authors and books, connect, chat, and maybe even fangirl over your latest book crush. As the user engages with the content the can express their thoughts and feelings through the discussion feature, allowing for honest and in the moment discussion.
Suspense
The gradual release of new book snippets each week much like your favourite tv shows, helps to build anticipation and engagement momentum between readers, promoting discussion, and online interaction. This engagement with the content will help the reader to maintain interest and reduce distraction.
Sharing
Digital natives love to share what they enjoy with friends and followers and there is nothing better than a new book suggestion from those who you love. ‘On the same page’ is designed to be shared on social
media platforms, encouraging users to create their own content relating to their reads.
media platforms, encouraging users to create their own content relating to their reads.
The application
Every user journey with the 'On the Same Page' app is unique, with suggestions tailored to their interests and reading patterns, as well as a personalised library, encouraging user retention and engagement. Users can easily switch between reading and listening to their snippets, allowing for a fluid and accessible reading experience. Text size, colour and background can also be changed for accessibility.
As a part of Penguins interactive originals, users get to play a key role in the development of the story, voting in poles at the end of the snippet based on how they want the story line to go. This vote can be shared after the release of the next snippet to see who was ‘On the Same Page’ promoting online discussion and debate. Users can also share appreciation for the latest snippet.
The community feature enables users to discuss the snippets and books they have read, engage with authors and influencers, join reading groups and explore content, promoting engagement.
Social Media
Over on social media, we will run weekly discussions and polls about books which are hot right now, inviting authors to takeover with Q&As, polls, and even special events. The social media campaign will mainly be targeted on TikTok and Instagram in a cross-platform approach as both of these platforms already have a strong existing book community, helping to engage both traditional readers and those who read occasionally.
