4-page Case Study - Posted 6/18/2008
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Publishing Firm Builds an Interactive Web Site to Encourage Teens to Read
Teenagers rarely visit bookshops or libraries. This created a dilemma for Penguin Books, a publisher of many titles for young adults. How could teens be persuaded to read books when they prefer to get most of their information from the Internet? How could they be encouraged to talk about books when they would rather watch videos or chat online? After researching teens’ reading habits, Penguin teamed up with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 developers Content and Code to produce a Web site using social networking, videos, and blogging to encourage teens to talk about reading, a pastime not usually associated with the online activities of teenagers. The resulting Web site, Spinebreakers.com, was immediately popular with its target audience. Over 20,000 users logged on during the first two months after launch.
Situation
In 1935, when British publisher Allan Lane founded Penguin, he wanted to make books available to all readers, so he sold them for the same price as a packet of cigarettes. In a groundbreaking marketing move, he sold paperbacks at tobacco shops, sweet shops, and train stations. Now, Penguin is part of one of the largest publishing empires in the world—Pearson Publishing. Accessibility to all readers continues to be a priority because the publisher markets all types of books to all demographics. This is especially challenging in the most fickle market of all, teenagers.
Penguin commissioned some research and surveyed teen reading habits. The results confirmed that:
- Three out of four teenagers get their information about books online.
- Seventy-five per cent wish there were more information available for them on the Internet.
- Almost half of the teens surveyed hardly ever visit a chain bookshop.
- Seventy per cent of participants never visit an independent bookshop.
- Seventy per cent of participants think they’ll be doing even more reading online in the future.
According to the survey, many teens still like reading, but don’t think they have enough information about books. Anna Rafferty, Digital Marketing Director at Penguin U.K., says: “We wanted to make books as culturally relevant to teenagers as other forms of entertainment such as film, music, and gaming. All of those forms of entertainment have numerous online Web sites, forums, and social networking sites but books don’t.”
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We wanted to make books as culturally relevant to teenagers as other forms of entertainment such as film, music, and gaming. |
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Anna Rafferty
Online Marketing Manager
Penguin U.K. |
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Digital media is now more relevant to teens than traditional marketing strategies. Instead of talking to teachers, visiting schools and libraries, and advertising in print media, Penguin needed to incorporate conversation, communication, and word-of-mouth into an online environment, where teens are most comfortable. Rafferty says: “We would be very foolish to ignore what teens do and where they spend most of their time. They spend it online.”
Solution
In May 2007, Penguin embarked on a project to get teens discussing books online. The publishing company hired Livity, a company that specialises in youth activism and mentoring, to undertake a survey of focus groups from across the United Kingdom. The survey asked teens what they wanted from a Web site about reading and books, how it should work, what interested them, and what didn’t. The teen focus groups chose the way the Web site should look and its name, Spinebreakers.com.
After reviewing a series of proposals, Penguin hired Microsoft Gold Certified Partner—Content and Code—who developed the site for the Fifteen Restaurant founded by celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver. The first step the development company took was to conduct requirements assessments. This included a series of workshops, and the presentation of scenarios and concepts that corresponded to the target audience.
The next step was to hire a team of editors. Penguin contacted government, educational, youth mentoring, and volunteer organisations to find teenagers who were interested in books. Candidates were asked to submit a piece of creative content and explain why they wanted to be an editor for Spinebreakers. Ten editors between the ages of 13 and 18 were chosen based on written articles, podcasts, illustrations, and videos.
When it came to selecting the core technology for the site, including the content management system, one thing was at the top of Rafferty’s mind. “Many teenagers are familiar with the concept of uploading and downloading content—be it music, words, or video. Any solution had to be as intuitive and as versatile as the technology they use to socialise, share music, and communicate with their peers.”
Working with Content and Code, Rafferty and her team selected Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 as the core Web infrastructure. Paul Marsh, Client Services Director at Content and Code, says: “Office SharePoint Server 2007 is ideal for this type of application. The teen editors completely control the site, updating and adding content daily.”
As well as blogging about their favourite books, the editors work with a wider network of contributors to upload content, including video review and audio clips. The site has polls and forums encouraging visitors to contribute through a variety of channels and media. To ensure that the site remained aligned with its target audience at every step of the development, the focus groups tested prototype designs and functionality providing Content and Code with useful feedback.
The teen editors served an internship during their summer holidays when they met with editors, journalists, and designers. They attended the Underage Festival, met a variety of authors and interviewed them on video. After one day of training on Office SharePoint Server 2007, they were able to edit and manage Web content. Dynamic conversion of video file formats to flash allows teens to upload any type of file to the site without special training. The site automatically recognises the format and uploads it at the press of a button.
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The site design, accessibility, and overall appearance really show Office SharePoint Server 2007 as a dynamic, versatile content management environment. It helped us build a site to the precise needs of our audience. |
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Tim Wallis
Chief Executive Officer
Content and Code |
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Rafferty reiterates the importance of the Office SharePoint Server 2007 content management interface. “With a large number of contributors and a constant stream of editors, ease of use is extremely important. In addition to the 10 core editors, any teen can submit content for inclusion. Part of our active recruitment process is contacting the young people who send us the most content to ask them if they want to become editors. The nature of being a teenager is that you get to a certain age, and suddenly other things become more important, so we expect quite a high turnover,” says Rafferty.
Tim Wallis, Chief Executive Officer of Content and Code, adds: “The site design, accessibility, and overall appearance really show Office SharePoint Server 2007 as a dynamic, versatile content management environment. It helped us build a site to the precise needs of our audience. Spinebreakers incorporates all of the functions that teenagers expect, and the look and feel is appropriate for the audience. When you look at it you don’t think of the technology, you just think it’s a good looking site with great functionality and content.”
Benefits
Spinebreakers.com was immediately embraced by teenage readers. During the first month, 20,000 users visited the Web site, many of them submitted content. Books featured on the launch sold well, and authors welcomed the chance to interact with their readers. Encouraging users to actively engage with each other to discuss reading nurtured an interest in books among a group of people who may not have considered themselves to be readers.
Twenty Thousand Visitors within First Month of Launch
“The Web site exceeded expectation when 20,000 unique visitors, aged 13 to 18, logged on to Spinebreakers.com within the first month of the site launch”, says Rafferty. Contributions incorporated all types of Web-based media including video blogs—called vidlogs—blogs, short stories, alternative book jackets, soundtracks, and reviews. “This is an active, engaged community,” says Rafferty.
Sales of Featured Books Increased
Generating enthusiasm for reading has translated into sales. The launch of Spinebreakers.com coincided with the release of Nick Hornby’s first novel for teenagers, Slam. The book became a top ten bestseller in the UK. Other books featured on the launch were also well received. “The benefit of this extends beyond immediate book sales,” says Rafferty. “We’re encouraging our teens to develop a life-long reading habit.”
Authors Interact with Readers
Spinebreakers.com has opened up communication between authors and their audience. Authors answer questions online, participate in video interviews, and give writing tips, inspiring teens to read more and to write their own stories. “The authors love it,” says Rafferty. “I’m surprised by how quickly they’ve bought in to the Web site and how enthusiastically they respond to questions and requests for interviews.”
A Site for Teens, by Teens, Encourages Participation
“We realised early on, that we were the wrong people to be deciding on the concept of a Web site for teenagers,” says Rafferty. Spinebreakers.com is so easy to use that teen editors are able to take complete control over the content. After minimal training on how to use the technology, they were able to start writing blogs and uploading files almost immediately. The ease of use also encourages enthusiastic participation from readers.
Flexibility Ensures Social Relevance
Penguin and Content and Code are already planning the next phase of Spinebreakers.com, to make the site even easier to navigate and to edit, and to incorporate different aspects of social networking. “The Internet doesn’t stay still. And nor do the habits of our readers,” says Rafferty. “Just as our editors grow up and move on to other things, so will our readers. We want to make sure we are socially relevant for each group of new teens that comes along.”
The careful development of Spinebreakers.com produced a mature and usable product that has opened doors to a new key area of business for Content and Code. “We always receive a great response whenever we are invited to demonstrate the site,” says Wallis. After the launch of Spinebreakers.com, Content and Code has added several high-profile publishing companies to their list of clients.
Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
For more information about the Microsoft server product portfolio, go to:
www.microsoft.com/servers/default.mspx
Software and Services
- Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
For More Information
For further information about Microsoft products and services, please visit
www.microsoft.com/uk
or call 0870 60 10 100*
For hearing impaired customers with a Minicom, contact: 0870 50 30 400*
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For more information about Content and Code products and services, call 0207 101 0930 or visit the Web site at: http://www.contentandcode.com/
For more information about Penguin Books products and services, call 0207 010 4814 or visit the Web site at: www.penguin.co.uk/
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
