How This Canadian Publishing Company Made Bedtime Stories an Immersive Experience
How often do you read for fun these days?
Unfortunately, it’s more than likely that the younger the recipient of the question is, the lower the answer will be. With technology bleeding into our free time, and visual-driven media only becoming more prevalent, it’s a real challenge to get even the most seasoned readers to look away from the screen, when that’s what they’ve become accustomed to after all these years.
Consider the stats on this. A study from the OECD found that reading scores across the globe dropped critically by 10 points from 2018 to 2022, which equates to losing over half a year of learning. Meanwhile, a 2023 study in the US unveiled that only 14% of students affirm that they read for fun every day… which paints a pretty bleak picture for any literature lover out there.
To this end, publishing company Penguin Random House Canada and creative agency Rethink wanted to try and eliminate the problem at the root, specifically by targeting the people who simply need to be shown that storytime is sacred. After all, if one were to re-instil a love of reading - or in this case, being read to - in the next generation, it might encourage them to keep up the habit for years to come.
The result was a brand new app titled ‘Living Stories’, which brings bedtime stories to the next level. Encouraging parents and guardians to read specifically chosen works out loud, the app uses voice recognition technology to trigger lights of various colours, as well as sounds designed to punctuate certain moments, all with the hopes of making reading more immersive, and something that doesn’t become lost on the new generation.
To learn more about just what it took to bring this to life, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Rethink associate creative director Nicolas Labbé for a chat.
LBB> From the top, what was the brief, and what immediate ideas came to mind?
Nicolas> The brief was direct: in an era where kids are digital-first, how can we help them connect more with physical books? After reading that, our first thought was to find a way to compete with the popularity of screens and technology.
LBB> Obviously a key factor in the work are the statistics concerning child reading and literacy rates. As such, what was the research process like, and what were the key takeaways?
Nicolas> A statistic that stuck with us was from a 2019 Nielsen Book Research annual survey, which stated that most parents stop reading to their kids by age eight, and that literacy rates were drastically dropping.
One of the ways to help combat this was by preserving story time. So, we kept digging, and came back with a few questions and takeaways that helped to shape our execution:
- Reading stories aloud creates a powerful bond between parents and children. It helps them learn better and fosters a love for stories.
- The publishing industry is intrinsically linked to children's literacy. Any innovation or tools introduced by it have a strong chance of helping parents find ways to increase their child’s curiosity about books naturally.
- How can the publishing industry, parents, and institutions introduce new and bold ways to get kids more engaged with reading?
LBB> With that in mind, how did these takeaways factor into the creative approach you chose? And at what point did you even know it was feasible to make this app?
Nicolas> Before deciding to build an app, we did a lot of research and engaged with a special education teacher for extra insights. We asked her what types of things usually help students with learning disabilities, especially reading disabilities. Adding an interactive element was what was used the most – anything ranging from colours and sounds to physical objects that are easy to associate with words like ‘blue’, ‘balloons’, and ‘planes’.
What was interesting was there were always three things at play: a book or textbook, a tool of some sort, and someone reading aloud. These key elements became the foundation of what we needed to build on.
That’s when we knew we could probably build something linking people’s phones to lights and sounds. After a couple of months of research and development - trying different methods and building different prototypes - we finally developed ‘Living Stories’ as it is today.
LBB> Tell us more about the design process! What was research and development like?
Nicolas> We explored multiple ways to do it. For ‘Living Stories’ to function, it needed to communicate with smart home products to trigger light bulbs to change colours, and for speakers to play sounds.
While exploring an array of home automated systems, we found the Philips Developer Program. Essentially, Philips lets you use its Hue Program to develop apps and systems to help people connect their homes to amazing experiences built by others outside the company. A bit like an open-source program letting you build what you want.
LBB> Notably, you worked with several creatives to bring this to life, across several specific stories. What was the labour distribution like, and what made both these creators and the stories the right ones to feature?
Nicolas> For the first iteration of ‘Living Stories’, we knew we wanted it to be tailored to kids between the ages of three to nine, because these are critical years for laying down the foundation of a lifelong love of reading. Additionally, we wanted to make sure as many families as possible already owned at least one of the featured books. So, Penguin Random House Canada contacted its best selling authors and creatives to get them on board by showing them the potential of the ‘Living Stories’ experience.
We ended up working with six wonderful best-selling authors: Ben Clanton, Eija Sumner, colonel Chris Hadfield, Sharon Hampson, Lois Lilienstein and Bram Morrison with Randi Hampson.
We adapted five books for the app’s launch. Each story needed specific hue combinations and custom-made sound effects. The hues were inspired by the colours in each book and the sound effects were made to enhance each part of the story.
The five books we chose also gave us a wide range in both story style and reading level, with two books geared towards younger kids (‘Bubbles’ and ‘Blankie’), and two for older children (‘The Darkest Dark’ and ‘The Good Little Mermaid’s Guide to Bedtime’). We even got a book version of the famous Skinnamarink song.
LBB> One of the coolest parts of the app is its ability to provide sound effects in response to vocal prompts. Where did you source the sounds from, and as a whole, how does the technology behind this work?
Nicolas> Thank you! Every single sound was planned and custom-made with our partner, Circonflex. For each sound heard in the book, four to eight sounds were made until we could find the perfect fit. It was an amazing exercise to take words and illustrations and try to find the right sound that would enhance them.
In regards to functionality, when you start reading a book, you allow your phone to listen. A real-time voice recognition software begins at that moment and listens for strings of three to five words like ‘look at this beautiful bubble’ to transform into prompts that’ll communicate with your smart home hub.
Two options work for the sounds – you can have the sound play directly from the app on your phone, or you can connect your phone to a Bluetooth speaker in your house and feed the sound there.
Fun side note about the sound – we programmed the sound from your phone to play a little quieter than usual to help children fall asleep when parents read in bed. There are also secret trigger words to end your stories and help your kids fall asleep. If someone says ‘good night’ or ‘the end’ at the end of the story, the lights will dim and soothing white noise will begin.
LBB> Of course, the spot is also super heartfelt! How did you bring this to life?
Nicolas> We knew we wanted real people for the spot, and since everyone working on this project is a parent, a guardian or a dedicated aunt or uncle, we knew we wanted to showcase those real bonds for the launch video.
So, everyone you see in the spot is related to a person on the team. That was the only way for us to share how special this project was. Our partners at Nova Film helped us capture content in the most comfortable way possible for everyone.
LBB> Specifically, what was it like working with families to capture the intimate moments that come with bedtime stories?
Nicolas> Since everyone on the team was also part of the family, it was easier to capture moments. Everyone knew what we were doing… except for the kids. We kept the experience a surprise for them to get genuine reactions. To this day, I’m still grateful to the parents and guardians who let us film those precious moments and reactions.
LBB> Where did you shoot, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes from the experience?
Nicolas> We shot at my house. We transformed all the bedrooms into kid’s bedrooms using furniture and decorations from the kids’ houses that were featured in the shoot, so they would feel more comfortable.
I think the funniest thing I can remember now is how my son, one of the kids in the video, started asking every lamp in the house to change colour and talking to the speaker in the living room, asking it to play the alien sounds.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Nicolas> We had to work hard (as you can imagine) to get the tech to do what we envisioned. At first, everything was too slow to respond. The voice recognition software wasn’t working properly, and our web services didn’t get multiple requests all at once. But thankfully, we had an amazing digital team and interactive developer who were both top-tier. They can truly make anything come to life.
LBB> Since launch, how have people responded?
Nicolas> So far, parents and caregivers are very excited about ‘Living Stories’. The platform is receiving many requests and people trying the beta have already helped us improve it.
The reception among authors has also been amazing. Many have raised their hands to be part of ‘Living Stories’, and we are currently looking into adding more titles to the beta version in the hope that more families will try the app.
LBB> Finally, is there a specific story of the bunch that you’re particularly proud of the app’s performance for?
Nicolas> Truthfully, I’m really proud of all five stories. They each bring something new and different to the table. At this point, it’s a bit like asking which one of my kids is my favourite, and I don’t want to choose. I love them all equally!
