This paper tells how a much-loved children’s comic transformed itself from a dormant heritage brand into a contemporary entertainment brand for a whole new generation of digital-native kids.
Objective
To relaunch Beano to a whole new generation of kids and parents in a time of declining print sales and rising digital opportunity. Specifically, to spark a huge increase in the Beano’s online users from just X to X – the threshold for successful future monetisation.
Scale of the task
The rewards of traditional print publishing were declining, but the rewards of online success seemed very far out of reach. Beano’s sister paper, the Dandy, launched a paid online edition that went under after just six months. Meanwhile Beano’s own online presence had been underperforming for many years. Even the Walt Disney Corporation, with all its vast resources, was unable to achieve sustainable commercial success with Club Penguin.
(Please note: parts of this case study may have been redacted for confidentiality purposes.)
