“Alexa… open preschool brand content”
Voice and audio platforms such as Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa offer an opportunity for younger audiences to consume interactive content in a way that doesn’t rely on their still-developing fine motor control and dexterity. Parents love the idea of having something that is interactive and also reduces screen time.
So this is a really exciting space to work in with huge opportunities to satisfy a dual audience of children and their parents.
This article details everything I’ve learned so far about putting branded content for preschoolers onto interactive audio platforms.
Preschoolers are a generation growing up in a world of on demand content, the ability to pause and resume as default and no idea why they need a TV schedule to bring their favourites around. If they have to wait, you’ve lost them.
Whilst it’s tempting to “reinvent radio for kids”, without any visuals, our audience must focus hard on processing audio only and so can only concentrate for short bursts of time. Lengthy exposition or scene setting where the audience is not actively engaged are to be avoided. So the main considerations in this space are:
- interactivity
- regular feedback/ reward
- signposting
- replayability
Interactivity — this audience expects to be involved early and often. Interactivity takes multiple forms: a child could be answering questions, helping characters decide on a course of action or even joining in with movement (“dance with us”, “pretend to be a tiger”).
Think about creating ‘a gap’ that the child’s interaction could fill, make the child the centre of the experience wherever possible… For example, they could be helping a character that can’t quite remember an already established correct sequence like a dance move: “Is it forward, back, left, left… oh no, I can’t remember what comes next, can you help”?
I’d advise against relying on a disguised play/pause mechanic such as stopping the story and making the child say something like a brand catchphrase in order to trigger a resume. Make each interaction count so the child feels empowered.
Regular Feedback/ Reward — every interaction needs to be followed by feedback that lets the child know their input has been registered and ideally lets them feel the effect of their input. Never ask for an interaction that then appears to be ignored.
It’s a good idea to repeat the same SFX for pieces of the same feedback (eg bell for correct and ‘trombone fail’ for incorrect) so children learn the ‘language’ of the experience faster (see also ‘signposting’ section).
Where there is a correct or other response that keeps things on the happy path, use VO from characters to talk directly to the child and let them know how crucial their contribution was to advancing the experience.
Where there is an incorrect response, make the feedback SFX and VO fun to listen to so even a fail is enjoyable.
Signposting — as well as tying the experience to the brand, music, VO and SFX can be used to let the user know where they are and what is the expected behaviour.
For example, when setting up a repeated action e.g. asking a quiz question or entering a repeated sequence e.g. ‘Choose a door to start/ continue the adventure…” — use the same music bed/ SFX every time. This helps a child learn what’s expected when and reduces confusion.
Voice interaction also works best if only one character speaks directly to the child. This way they know who to respond to and, again, this reduces confusion. You can have multiple voices, just make sure it’s clear who is talking to the child.
Replayability — build in ways that the experience can be different on each playthrough. This isn’t about infinite possibilities but more about providing small variants so it feels different on any replay.
For example, if a child is asked 3 quiz questions in an experience, prepare a bank of as many questions as your budget can support so 3 can be randomly selected each time and a child will get the chance to hear different questions on replay.
Consider providing variants on the VO of any feedback: “good guess”, “nice try!”, “ooh.. almost!” that are interchangeable and could be randomly selected and played out at the appropriate point in the script.
In addition to the high level core concepts above, make sure you have thought about the following structural considerations:
Introduction — this needs to do two things, establish the universe through SFX, VO and music and describe what the child can do there. You should think about how you make the child the centre of this universe. Do the characters have a problem they need help with? What is the gap that can only be filled by a child’s interaction?
It’s also a good idea to include some low jeopardy interaction early on so the child understands they need to speak to interact and to establish a connection with the character. For example, a character could ask “can you help me?”, “what’s your name?”, “are you ready?”
Help! Include a generic message to be played if a user’s response is not understood by the technology. This does not need variants but should be reassuring and should not make the child feel they have ‘done it wrong’. For example, “excuse me, I didn’t catch what you said. Could you say it again please?”
Phrase any questions so they can be repeated in isolation e.g no carry over of SFX, or music bed from the previous scene. These can then be repeated as a prompt when a child does not respond or the tech doesn’t register any response.
Outro/Conclusion — Your outro should provide a satisfying conclusion to the activity (see also: feedback/ reward section) e.g “Thanks for your help, we couldn’t have done it without you, you really saved the day!” or in the case of a quiz a compelling results reveal
After the outro provide the opportunity to replay the experience. You’ll need to identify and design a re-entry point earlier in the experience so your audience don’t have to hear the introduction/ instructions over again.
This is just a snapshot of all I know about putting content on to these emerging platforms. In a year’s time, it could all look different, but that’s what’s exciting about being right here, right now.
This article is based on conversations with, and notes from, the talented people around me. I couldn’t have written this without them. Looking at you Jonny Addy and you Lizi Pearce
Let me know what you think, I’m interested in how you’re making content for this audience on these platforms
About me: I’ve been making digital content for kids for nearly 15 years. I’ve led teams making websites, apps, games, collaborative stories and social networks as well as running innovation programs and managing content portfolios . Along the way I’ve had a share in 3 BAFTA awards. What gets me out of bed is the challenge of figuring out formats and story worlds that work for young audiences on the platforms they care about. Right now, I’m working on interactive audio content with the BBC. You can read more about what I’ve been doing and get in touch directly on LinkedIn
