This needs to be an “A-HA” moment for the publishing world!

Problem: Printed newspaper readership in decline, loss of advertising revenue

Solution: Using an Augmented Reality APP, the content which is aimed at adults is “translated” into content aimed at KIDS! It’s a newspaper within a newspaper – AND – opens up a whole new revenue stream for kid friendly ads!

The thing I love about this concept is that it opens up a myriad of possibilities to TRANSFORM printed content to reach a new target. Usually, we see technology applied to ENHANCE the content. Imagine if Newsweek had thought of this, or at least tried it before they stopped printing. Obviously not all content is kid-friendly in a pub like that, but think of it like the modern day “School House Rock!”  Those were advanced concepts – how a bill becomes a law, what is a conjunction, a noun is a person, place or thing – all aired during cartoons!

This concept has LEGS, and not just with publications! Who knows, maybe we’ll starting learning other languages from birthday cards or subway posters! 

Tokyo Shimbun Teaches Kids to Enjoy the Newspaper

In an attempt to engage more with kids, Tokyo Newspaper, also known as Tokyo Shimbun, and Dentsu Tokyo created an augmented reality smartphone app that translates stories from the newspaper into a child-friendly format. It includes cartoon character commentary on stories, pop up headlines and child-friendly script to make the issues easier for kids to digest.

The move provided opportunities for advertisers as well, as several companies, including yogurt maker Meiji, also placed their own interactive ads in the paper targeting children as well as their parents.

Tapping kids early on is a move wed seen previously in another Japanese campaign out of Party, for Toyota, which invited kids to drive the family car alongside their parents, with the Toytoyota app. Check it out on Creativity-Online.com, and follow @creativitymag on Twitter for more great work.

via Tokyo Shimbun Teaches Kids to Enjoy the Newspaper | Creativity Pick of the Day – Advertising Age.