The publishing industry is constantly subject to change – much like the technology that surrounds us – but by studying different brands, it is obvious that in some cases publishers will adapt faster, while others refuse to (Clark and Phillips, 2014). Most of the time publishers will be rigid when it comes to changing business models, unless it’s a necessity (for example, I talked in detail about Company in a previous post). But the digital is an important aspect of publishing, and has become increasingly more popular.
It is interesting to note, however, that a lot of digital innovations happen in the children’s publishing category. It comes as no surprise, even without looking at fancy statistics. During a class discussion, a lot of my classmates admitted that they have young relatives that are a lot more technology-savvy than our generation was at their age.
However, to make it official, Nielsen’s report on understanding children as book consumers shows that technology use starts at a very early age, with tablets and smartphones. Personal computer usage usually kicks off with children between the ages of 5 and 7 and then continues to get increasingly popular, almost at the same rate as gaming itself. Another interesting fact is that YouTube is a website that is popular with children between the ages 0 and 17, so it is likely that they will be acquainted with different online characters that have proven to be popular in this medium – such as Angry Birds or The Annoying Orange (Nielsen, 2014).
So where do publishers come in? Well, the children’s books market is a very competitive field to be in, especially since publishers feel threatened by apps and television and pretty much all other media that children have access to (Clark and Phillips, 2014). But Egmont has adopted a very interesting strategy, which was taking content that was popular online and turning it into books. And it’s proved to be successful!
The publishing website has a link to their catalogue which displays all of their titles by categories, and these books can be found in Digital Worlds.
Minecraft is a very good example. It has grown in popularity and it is played by people of all ages – but it was definitely a hit with children. Its popularity and the fact that is so addictive has brought it to the parents’ attention as well, but despite the fact that some worried parents will pain it in a negative light, Minecraft is not unlike a Lego game. Children love it, and the fact that the books published by Egmont have content on building the best houses or getting to know celebrities from the community are reason enough for these to be quite successful. The books brought a revenue of £6.6m by the end of August, dominating the non-fiction category in children’s books (Dredge, 2014).
And they have their own display in Waterstones!
When the digital is involved, children’s publishing can dare to be very up-to-date and creative, and it works! I believe that publishers, especially in this category, shouldn’t rely only on lovable but old characters, but really look into what attracts their audience and make it work to their advantage.
Word count: 529
Bibliography
Clark, G. and Phillips, A., 2014. Inside Book Publishing. 5th edn. London: Routledge. [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Dredge, S., 2014. YouTube, Minecraft and David Walliams: children's books in 2014. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/26/minecraft-david-walliams-youtube-childrens-books [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Eyre, C. and Lewis, J., 2014. Minecraft helps to build sales of kids' non-fiction in Q1. The Bookseller. [online] Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/minecraft-helps-build-sales-kids-non-fiction-q1 [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Matyszczyk, C., 2014. Kids play with gadgets more than toys, study says. CNET. [online] Available at: http://www.cnet.com/news/kids-play-with-gadgets-more-than-toys-study-says/ [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Popper, B., 2014. Why parents are raising their kids on Minecraft. The Verge. [online] Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/15/6152085/why-parents-love-minecraft [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
The Egmont Group, 2014. Egmont Catalogue. [online] Available at: http://www.egmont.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/samples/catalogue/2014/ [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
The Nielsen Company, 2014. Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer. [pdf] Available through the Oxford Brookes University Moodle for U65025: Publishing in the Digital Age [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
It is interesting to note, however, that a lot of digital innovations happen in the children’s publishing category. It comes as no surprise, even without looking at fancy statistics. During a class discussion, a lot of my classmates admitted that they have young relatives that are a lot more technology-savvy than our generation was at their age.
However, to make it official, Nielsen’s report on understanding children as book consumers shows that technology use starts at a very early age, with tablets and smartphones. Personal computer usage usually kicks off with children between the ages of 5 and 7 and then continues to get increasingly popular, almost at the same rate as gaming itself. Another interesting fact is that YouTube is a website that is popular with children between the ages 0 and 17, so it is likely that they will be acquainted with different online characters that have proven to be popular in this medium – such as Angry Birds or The Annoying Orange (Nielsen, 2014).
So where do publishers come in? Well, the children’s books market is a very competitive field to be in, especially since publishers feel threatened by apps and television and pretty much all other media that children have access to (Clark and Phillips, 2014). But Egmont has adopted a very interesting strategy, which was taking content that was popular online and turning it into books. And it’s proved to be successful!
The publishing website has a link to their catalogue which displays all of their titles by categories, and these books can be found in Digital Worlds.
Minecraft is a very good example. It has grown in popularity and it is played by people of all ages – but it was definitely a hit with children. Its popularity and the fact that is so addictive has brought it to the parents’ attention as well, but despite the fact that some worried parents will pain it in a negative light, Minecraft is not unlike a Lego game. Children love it, and the fact that the books published by Egmont have content on building the best houses or getting to know celebrities from the community are reason enough for these to be quite successful. The books brought a revenue of £6.6m by the end of August, dominating the non-fiction category in children’s books (Dredge, 2014).
And they have their own display in Waterstones!
When the digital is involved, children’s publishing can dare to be very up-to-date and creative, and it works! I believe that publishers, especially in this category, shouldn’t rely only on lovable but old characters, but really look into what attracts their audience and make it work to their advantage.
Word count: 529
Bibliography
Clark, G. and Phillips, A., 2014. Inside Book Publishing. 5th edn. London: Routledge. [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Dredge, S., 2014. YouTube, Minecraft and David Walliams: children's books in 2014. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/26/minecraft-david-walliams-youtube-childrens-books [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Eyre, C. and Lewis, J., 2014. Minecraft helps to build sales of kids' non-fiction in Q1. The Bookseller. [online] Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/minecraft-helps-build-sales-kids-non-fiction-q1 [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Matyszczyk, C., 2014. Kids play with gadgets more than toys, study says. CNET. [online] Available at: http://www.cnet.com/news/kids-play-with-gadgets-more-than-toys-study-says/ [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
Popper, B., 2014. Why parents are raising their kids on Minecraft. The Verge. [online] Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/15/6152085/why-parents-love-minecraft [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
The Egmont Group, 2014. Egmont Catalogue. [online] Available at: http://www.egmont.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/samples/catalogue/2014/ [Accessed: 26 November 2014]
The Nielsen Company, 2014. Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer. [pdf] Available through the Oxford Brookes University Moodle for U65025: Publishing in the Digital Age [Accessed: 26 November 2014]