Education in India was becoming less instructional and more experimental. Classrooms are now smart classes and digital boards are replacing blackboards. Science is being taught as much in classes and labs as in the field and zoos. We realized that in a changing environment, a media brand too had to evolve to engage better. Children would have to learn about newspapers through experience.

WE DECIDED TO CREATE A NEWSPAPER BY CROWDSOURCING THE IMAGINATION OF THE YOUNG READER

INVITATION TO CREATE THE NEWSPAPER OF TOMORROW

Students were given a 4 page blank newspaper. They had to collect news, analyze and craft it in journalistic style.

TRAINING THEM TO HELP US

Students were educated about the process of newspaper creation through workshops. Special video and e-book tutorials on www.jagranyuvasampadak.com.

A UNIQUE VR video was created which students could download via an app and learn how to create the newspaper

ACTIVATION TO PUBLISH THE NEWSPAPER OF THE FUTURE

They were asked to create a newspaper by collecting news and crafting it in journalistic style for reporting. The aim was to give them ownership to create their version of the newspaper. We selected top 3 winners in every city, trained them and turned them into ‘guest editors’ for a special edition of Dainik Jagran on 14th November – Children’s Day.

- 1,27,715 manually created newspapers were submitted by young readers from 32 cities

- These newspapers gave us insights into the minds of the young reader, which filtered down into our editorial product making it more relevant for them.

- 311 Press Visits and 700 workshops organized

- 96 winners trained in Dainik Jagran Newsrooms

Impact on Brand

• Dainik Jagran was the No.1 newspaper in the age group 12-19 years with 19.4 mn readers.

• Strong Brand Parameters : Dainik Jagran had the highest

• Top of Mind Awareness

• Brand Likeability

• Brand Preference

• Brand Imagery Improvement : Brand Score over comparable period last year:

- “ I look forward to getting this newspaper” : +9%

- “This newspaper is unique” : +5%

• Circulation growth : Compared to same period last year, we increased circulation by 93423 copies

Source : Brand Track, Dec 2017, IRS 2017

Young Readers are a challenge for newspapers worldwide. To get their attention and get them back to newspapers, a direct dialogue was imperative. We created a device by which they had to get personally involved in the newspaper. We relinquished control to learn directly from the young reader.This direct approach allowed our audience to get involved and re-imagine the newspaper from their perspective. It gave us insights into the minds of our future readers allowing us to recalibrate our newspaper for these audiences.

THE TWO PRONGED ISSUE

Discussions with young readers directed us to two issues that pushed them away from newspapers – ‘irrelevance of content’ and ‘immobility of the medium’. Contrast this with Screens that were Relevant & Interactive

WHAT HELD US BACK TOOK US FORWARD ? ‘THE NEWSPAPER’

We addressed the issue of ‘relevance’ by asking them to interpret the newspaper as per their imagination and the issue of ‘interactivity’ by involving them in the process of newspaper creation. Thereby, changing our equation with them forever. The idea was to initiate the shift from “Not for me” to “For me & By me”

This was YUVA SAMPADAK (Be the Young Editor)

Dainik Jagran created a platform, to stimulate young readers to get involved, re-imagine and create the newspaper of tomorrow. Because we needed to learn what interests them, and what would get them to be with us in future.

SCREEN INVASION AND YOUNG READERS

For the new generation being brought up on handheld devices, holding a newspaper was an almost alien experience. Social Media was seen as a superior and convenient source of news. Young Indians continued to drift away from a medium they considered “passive”. They had little time for newspapers. Habituated to a medium designed to share and amplify opinions rather than creating them, an entire generation stands to lose its grounding. Getting children interested in newspapers is critical for society and nation. The challenge for Dainik Jagran was to secure its future readers.