Andrewlewis multilib-phase2-report3-rbwm-2006-10-11

Multi-Lib Phase 2

Report 3:

Pilot 1 Marketing the Reading Voyage

July – August 2005:

• Using computer games to deliver cartoon trailers

• Automated capturing of user-behaviour

information using game data

Andrew Lewis

October 2006

Library and

Information Services

The Royal Borough of

Windsor and Maidenhead

Supported by a Research and Development grant from MLA South East.

Reading Voyage July – August 2005:

Executive Summary

In this pilot a combination of animated films and interactive computer games were used

under controlled conditions to market reading to children, to demonstrate these media’s

usefulness in automated data collection of user behaviour, and to investigate the efficiency

of such methods.

The pilot was successful in achieving its objectives.

A measurable impact of getting children onto the annual Summer Reading Scheme using

these media was demonstrated. The level of impact per unit staff resources was

comparable in scale to other traditional promotional methods, and results indicate that a

proposed model of distributing content to large audiences could make these methods an

efficient marketing tool as the size of the target audience increases.

The pilot also successfully demonstrated the use of computer games to affect users

physical behaviour in a library, and their use to record data about children’s behaviour in

an automated way without using staff intervention.

The results demonstrate simple but clear practical illustrations of how game technology

multimedia can be used as a serious tool in libraries for marketing to children, as a means

of measuring user behaviour in a non-intrusive way and as an efficient method of providing

data about customers and services for planning development.

Contents

Scope ......................................................................................................................4 Background .............................................................................................................4 Objectives................................................................................................................4 Resources used.......................................................................................................5 Method ....................................................................................................................6

Method used for cartoon trailer 6 Method used for computer games passwords 9

Results ..................................................................................................................12 Results for cartoon trailer 12 Analysis of results for cartoon trailer 14 Results for computer games passwords 19 Analysis of results for computer game passwords 20

Conclusions ...........................................................................................................21 Success against objectives 21 Overall conclusions 21

Appendix A – Reading Voyage Vocal recording scripts for voiceovers .................23 References ............................................................................................................24

Library and Information Services The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

MultiLib Phase 2. Report number 3 Pilot 1: Marketing reading using computer games

Page 3

Scope The report is not presented as a detailed case study, but as practitioner research is offered

to the professional library community for use when considering the use of multimedia

within libraries.

Background The use of cartoon-type advertisements had previously been used during the 2004

summer reading scheme (Reading Rollercoaster) to promote reading, and to test the use

of multimedia as a means to record user activity in an automated way.

This pilot builds upon the limitations of these earlier investigations by adding a more

focussed level of data recorded, and comparing impact for use of resources with other

staff work on the scheme.

This work is described in more detail in works detailed under references.

Objectives Animated films and interactive computer games were used under controlled conditions

with the intention of:

• Marketing the summer Reading Voyage scheme to children across Borough libraries

• Demonstrating the use of automatically collected data as an indication of predescribed

user behaviour in this marketing campaign

• Comparing the level of resources required by this method with other marketing

methods used in this campaign.



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Resources used The pilot was delivered using the library’s popular children’s computer games service,

which are provided to develop children’s ICT basic skills and confidence. These games

are available on all library public computers.

The games, aimed at a target audience of 5-11, are very popular, and average about 5000

downloads each month. Because of this existing popularity, they offered an ideal vehicle

for attracting children in the target group for the Summer Reading Challenge.

The main resources produced were an animated trailer that played before the games were

loaded, and a new game provided specifically for the pilot, and only available during the

Reading Challenge, which required special codes to unlock extra content. Supporting

printed marketing material was produced with special codes on, that were needed to

access the content.

The standard reading scheme registration cards provided by the Reading Agency were

adjusted to allow children to more specifically indicate where they found out about the

promotion.

In addition, a diary was kept throughout the pilot, of the time spent for creating the media

and for making it available as required. For comparison, the time librarians spent

physically promoting the service by traditional means was obtained from their separate

documentation.



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Method The pilot lasted for two calendar months, from 1st July 2005, about 2 weeks before the

Challenge started, until 31st August 2006, about a week before the Challenge ended, and

consisted of two main methods, one using cartoon trailers the other using games

passwords.

Method used for cartoon trailer

The first part of this pilot exposed children to an advertisement trailer to raise awareness

of the Reading Challenge. The success of this

was measured by the number of people who

indicated that they had found out about the

scheme from a library computer. This was

measured by adjusting the standard Reading

Challenge registration card. In Fig. 1, the area in

the box was added.

Figure 1 Adjusted feedback section on TRA Reading Challenge registration card

When they launched the games children normally saw the standard interface listing what

games are available.

Figure 2 The standard games interface on public computers in 2005



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For the duration of the pilot, an animated promotional cartoon trailer, lasting about 30

seconds was displayed every time a child accessed the games.

Key to the pilot was the fact that every child accessing the games was exposed to this

trailer before they could see the interface.

The trailer animated marketing combined images from the Reading challenge, with

additional specially created material and vocal recordings. The design was full screen

colour with bold graphics, stark headline facts and key messages delivered in a comic and

striking way. The storyboard is below.

For a full transcritption of this trailer see Appendix A.



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Figure 3 Outline storyboard for the Reading Voyage

The Reading Voyage, starts, etc

Escape with a book to… Then you need the Reading Voyage you’re in the mood for… luuurrveBOOOM!.. Or maybe…

ADVENTURE! Do you need some… BOR – ING!! Do you find the summer holidays..

not only that, but prizes too… adventure… romance…

Libr

ary and Information Services The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead


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Figure 5 Music game with restricted content showing how to get the extra content

The game itself was a simple music making game, which allowed the player to turn on

sound effects by pressing keys on the keyboard. Each letter key when pressed would

start a repeating sound effect. By pressing different combinations, the user could make

their own music play using the sequenced effects.

The number of accesses of the main interface was recorded which gave the total number

of time the trailer was seen in the pilot.

After the trailer had played, an amended version of the games interface was visible with an

optional extra game, available only for the duration of the pilot

Method used for computer games passwords

Figure 4 Games Interface in 2005 with new game option displayed



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Although the game was playable with the top row of letter keys (Q,W,E,R,T,Y,U,I,O,P) the

other sound effects controlled by other keys were only accessible by entering a special

code.

The game told children to ask staff in their library for a password if they wished to access

the extra content. (see fig. 5)

Each library was issued a set of tickets to give out to any child who reacted to this

incentive. A fixed number of tickets were issued at each different library, and these tickets

had a unique code identifying that library. (see fig 6.)

Figure 5 Marketing leaflet (front and back views) showing marketing messages and password

Staff were issued with instructions about how to issue the tickets. These told them to

issue a separate ticket for every child who asked, and to count the total number they gave

over the period of the whole pilot.

A separate ticket was issued every time. This was strictly enforced to measure exactly

how many times the incentive caused a child to react, and ask for marketing material.

Once a child had entered the code from the ticket into the game, they were able to play

the full game. This made available sound effects for all keys, and also displayed stick

figures that danced in time with the music, the children created. Different steps were

linked to different sound effects.



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Figure 6 Music game shoing full version unlocked by passwords

Although the extra content made available looked the same in each library, a separate file

was downloaded for each separate library, corresponding to the code for that library. The

number of downloads for each file was recorded. This indicated how many times the

distinct codes had been entered corresponding to that library, and this was compared to

the number of tickets given out.


MultiLib Phase 2. Report number 3 Pilot 1: Pilot 1: Marketing reading using computer games

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Results

Results for cartoon trailer

Timings

Event Date

Date media went live: 1st July 2006

Date media was removed: 31st August 2006

Reading Challenge started: 16th July 2006

Reading Challenge ended 5th September 2005

Resource inputs recorded to promote the Reading Voyage

Task Input

Time spent designing and creating the promotional trailer: 17 hours

Time spent by librarians promoting Reading Challenge in traditional activities: 254 hours

Time spent by volunteers promoting Reading Challenge in traditional activities: 104 hours

Total spent promoting Reading Challenge in traditional activities: 358 hours

Time spent on Reading Voyage that is independent of scale of operation (admin, etc) 232 hours



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Time spent on Reading Voyage that is dependent of scale of operation (events etc.) 126 hours

Reading Voyage Material Resources spent £1,176

Equivalent hourly rate used to compare material costs with staff time costs (RBWM 2005 scale 6): £11.31

Equivalent staff resource used based upon materials spent (£1176/£11.31) 104

Number of schools visited: 8

Impact of promotions as indicated by children on Reading Voyage registration cards

Means of promotion: Numbers joining

School: 352

Library: 72

Library (staff): 310

Library (computer): 6

Cartoon trailer file downloads (how many times the trailer was viewed)

month number

Jul-05 1259

Aug-05 1536

Total 2795

Analysis of results for cartoon trailer

The amount of staff time it took to create the cartoon trailer promotion was 17 hours, which

was designing, recording and delivering the media content. The results show that the trailer

did have a measurable impact on uptake of the reading scheme with 6 children who

undertook the scheme directly attributing this to finding out about it from the computers on

their registration cards. However given that the overall uptake was 1047, this represents just

0.6% of people who took part did so because of this method of promoting it.

Traditional methods of promotion included administering the scheme, managing school

visits to 8 schools, organising 35 events in libraries, and distributing posters and materials to

libraries. It is however difficult to be sure about how far these methods can be exactly

attributed to the feedback options available to children on their registration cards. There is

no way of telling exactly whether a child who indicated they found out from “staff “ meant

extra promotional staffing or operational staffing (not counted). In addition the cost of

materials is an extra resource on top of the staff costs.

To compare return on investment between the two methods, some adjustments were made

to the raw data for traditional methods. Firstly the cost of traditional promotional materials

was converted to an equivalent cost in staff terms. Then three separate figures were

created as benchmarks: unweighted impact, weighted impact upper limit, and weighted

impact lower limit

Unweighted impact assumed that all impact except the option “computer” was attributed

purely from the traditional promotional staffing input (non-operational) involved. The

limitation on this was that potentially significant factors such as word of mouth, having done

it last year, and operational staff alerting children are discounted. No allowance for cost of

materials was included.

Weighted impact lower limit assumed that all impact was attributed to traditional activity

except that from the options “computer”, “staff” and “posters”. This was on the assumption

that “staff” meant operational staff. “library” was included as being for promotions in the



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library. Posters were put up by operational staff. In addition an equivalent staff resource

weighting was added for the cost of materials.

Weighted impact upper limit made the same assumptions as weighted impact lower limit but

it was also assumed “from staff” meant promotional staff rather than operational staff.

As well as creating three possible figures for comparison, a separate factor to be compared

was the extent of which the input resource was dependent upon the scale of operation. For

the cartoons the work to create and distribute the content was a single task that was the

same no matter how many times the resource was used. For traditional methods, this was

true for administration, but for running events, and providing materials, the resource input

increases as the size of promotion increases



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The following table is a comparison of the cartoon promotion against the traditional methods based upon the overall findings in this study with

a scaling factor to indicate the effect of scale of promotion on return on investment

method impact return on investment

independent

input

dependent

input

total

input % independent

games 0.35 17 0 17 100.00%

traditional

unweighted impact2.91 232 126 358 64.80%

traditional

weighted impact upper limit1.8 232 230 462 50.22%

traditional

weighted impact lower limit1.13 232 230 462 50.22%

This table shows the effect of economy of scale as the scale of promotion increases

promotion size

(multiples of sample) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

games 0.35 0.71 1.06 1.41 1.76 2.12 2.47 2.82 3.18 3.53 3.88 4.24 4.59 4.94 5.29 5.65 6.00 6.35 6.71 7.06 7.41 7.76 8.12 8.47 8.82

traditional (unadjusted) 2.91 4.30 5.12 5.66 6.04 6.32 6.54 6.72 6.86 6.98 7.08 7.16 7.24 7.30 7.36 7.41 7.45 7.50 7.53 7.57 7.60 7.62 7.65 7.67 7.70

traditional (adjusted

higher) 1.80 2.41 2.71 2.89 3.01 3.10 3.17 3.22 3.26 3.29 3.32 3.34 3.36 3.38 3.39 3.41 3.42 3.43 3.44 3.45 3.46 3.46 3.47 3.48 3.48

traditional (adjusted

lower) 1.13 1.51 1.70 1.82 1.89 1.95 1.99 2.02 2.04 2.07 2.08 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.15 2.16 2.16 2.17 2.17 2.18 2.18 2.19



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Impact return on investment relation to audience size

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

10.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

audience sample scaling factor

Ret

urn

on in

vest

men

t (im

pact

per

uni

t inp

ut)

games

traditional (unadjusted)

traditional (adjusted higher)

traditional (adjusted low er)

This analysis shows that for the scale independent model of a single piece of work distributed to as wide an audience as possible the return on investment (cartoon method) overtakes that of models where input is dependent on extra work (traditional methods).



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Using figures in this in this study increasing the promotion size by between 5 and 9 times would indicate that the cartoon method would be as efficient as traditional methods. Even with no weighting the efficiency will still be overtaken at a scaling of around 22.

Assumptions made about attribution of impact of promotional methods to input

Method indicated Assumption

School A proportion of staff time could be directly attributable to staff time indicated as 8 school visits were

conducted – could range from 0 to 352. Library (not attributed) Not attributed as most likely to be operational staff or posters put up by them.

Library (staff) Not attributed to project staff time as this likely to mean told by operational staff

Library (computer) Directly attributed to cartoon trailer production input, as no other promotion of the scheme appeared on the

computers Library (poster) Not attributed to project staff input as provided by separate operational staffing

Assumptions made about relation of input to scale of audience Method indicated Assumption

Reading Voyage

traditional staff resource

Administration, co-ordinating ordering of packs, receipting are assumed to be independent of scale of

operation.

Materials, and staff resources needed for running events are assumed to be dependent of scale of operation

In this analysis, promotional activity subsumed within general operational staff time is not included.

Cartoon trailer resource Creation of media content is a one off piece of work and independent of scale of operation



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Results for computer games passwords

total accesses of music

game

total accesses

extra content

% who accessed

extra content

ascot cookham container datchet dedworth eton etonwick maidenhead old windsor sunninghill windsor

Jul-05 289 45 15.6 10

2 1 9 1 1 1 7 1 2 10

Aug-05 281 46 16.4 0 9 1 11 2 0 12 6 0 2 3

Total 570 91 16.0 10 11 2 20 3 1 13 13 1 4 13

tickets handed out 3 7 0 3 1 0 9 11 1 4 0

Indicated joined scheme 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0

The total number of tickets handed out over the 2-month pilot was 39.

Assumptions about methods used in computer password pilot

Method Assumption/limitation

Handing out tickets That each ticket was issued to a separate child (this cannot be guaranteed, as staff work shifts, but where

known staff indicated this was the case)

games downloads That the number of downloads is not necessarily the same as the number of users (this cannot be known)

Analysis of results for computer game passwords

It was clear that the incentive of obtaining extra content did measurably cause children in

libraries to act in the predicted way, by asking for the marketing material that was created

for the promotion. Over the 2-month period, the game was accessed 570 times in total,

and in 16% of these accesses, the player also accessed the extra content, which required

the password from the marketing ticket.

The actual number of children who asked for the tickets was 39, and they accessed the

content 91 times in total, and average of 2.33 times per child. Because as far as was

reported by staff, each ticket was issued to an individual child, this meant that the child

was keeping hold of the ticket between accesses.

It is not possible to say if this meant that they took the ticket away with them, as they may

just have played twice on the same visit, but it was possible that they took the ticket home

and brought it back in next time. This raises the intriguing possibility that the incentive

could be used to cause children to distribute the marketing material outside of the library,

for example by passing onto their friends or a family member

There were some anomalies in the results in that some libraries reported that no tickets

were handed out, yet the game download data showed that the passwords had been

used. This was never explained, although it was possible that staff had given out the

passwords without handing out the tickets.



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Conclusions

Success against objectives

Marketing the summer Reading Voyage scheme to children

The cross-promotion of the reading scheme using cartoon trailers was successful in

demonstrating a measurable impact upon uptake of the scheme. Although the modest,

there was conclusive evidence from children’s direct feedback on their registration cards

that this was how they found out about the Reading Voyage.

Comparison of resources involved in marketing methods

Although the impact in absolute numbers appears very small relative to the traditional

event based marketing methods used, by comparing impact per unit of staff input the

difference was much less, at about a quarter as effective as the event based promotions.

In addition the data collected indicated that by scaling up the audience size of the

promotion by a factor of between 5 and 8, the efficiency of this method could be predicted

to match that of traditional methods.

This is a positive concept requiring further investigation, but some caution may be

advisable in these results, as the effectiveness of this scheme relied on a pre-existing

computer game service already well used on library computers by children customers of

the library. They were easy to identify and target, and this is likely to have been a factor in

the success of this pilot.

Automatic data as an indication of predrescribed user behaviour

The data derived from the password-controlled game showed that customer behaviour

that had been predicted in advance had successfully been demonstrated to have

occurred, and in a significant number of children.

The incentives to gain extra content in the promotional game had caused approximately

16% of all children who played the game to approach staff and ask for marketing material.

In addition the data indicated that there was repeat use, and that this may have meant that

the marketing material had been further distributed outside the libraries.

Overall conclusions

Computer games are a complex and powerful medium. Although the scale and scope of

this pilot is modest, various aspects of the medium’s significant potential have been



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demonstrated. These include their ability to deliver movie-like content, the use of game

incentives to influence behaviour, and the use of game data to record activity in unobtrusive

ways.

The creation of multimedia content can be labour intensive, but once produced the content

can be most effectively used by distributing to as many customers as possible. This model

offers a scalable efficient vehicle for promotion.



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Appendix A – Reading Voyage Vocal recording scripts for voiceovers

Character Script Vocal notes on screen imagery

Narrator Do you find the Summer Holidays… Prim, and formal text

Child BORE-RING! Loud obnoxious text

Narrator Do you need some… Prim, and formal text

Voiceover ADVENTURE! IMPACT, Hollywood style text

Narrator Or perhaps some.. Prim, and formal text

Voiceover DANGER! IMPACT, Hollywood style bomb

SFX Loud explosion noise Immediately after previous explosion flash

Narrator Or maybe you are in the mood for.. Prim, and formal text

Voiceover LUUURVE! IMPACT, Hollywood style Heart + text

Narrator Then you need some… Formal blank

Voiceover Books! IMPACT, Hollywood style books

Narrator Go on a Voyage this summer and leave boredom behind

with…

Purring, smoooooth Boat sails through

fading bookpile

Voiceover The Reading Voyage Hollywood style - warm logo

Libr

Mult

Narrator The Reading Voyage.

Escape with a book to adventure fun, or wherever you like

to go.

Not only do we have thousands of great reads, we’ll give

you prizes too including, including fridge magnets, stickers

and more.

Starts July 16th at your local library…ask staff for details

Efficient, Official,

professional

Fade to image of boat

with waving flag

ary and Information Services The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

iLib Phase 2. Report number 3 Pilot 1: Marketing reading using computer games

Page 24

LEWIS, ANDREW. Marketing Library Computers To Young Children Using Multimedia. In:

New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship. vol 11(1) Routledge, April 2005.

LEWIS, ANDREW. Review of Multi-Lib Phase One. Maidenhead: Library and Information

Services, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, 2005.

References

Documents

Andrewlewis multilib-phase2-report3-rbwm-2006-10-11