View Larger ImageScholastic Book Clubs Co-Creates with Parents and Teachers 
By Scholastic and Communispace
In August 2008, Scholastic Book Clubs wanted to make its iconic “flyer” even better, and decided to ask parents and teachers for help.
The colorful Scholastic Book Clubs “flyer” has been a trusted place for generations of parents, teachers, and kids to buy quality, affordable books. The company wanted to do better; it wanted to find an improved way to match the right child to the right books at the right time.
Making changes to this important sales channel for Scholastic Book Clubs, especially when it wasn’t broken, was an initiative that went straight to the heart of their brand. They knew they had to get it right or they could potentially risk losing what makes Book Clubs unique and special. Together with a private online community of 200 teachers and 100 moms, created with their partner Communispace, Scholastic went through each step of the product development process in 10 weeks. They developed not only a new flyer, but a new opportunity for Scholastic Book Clubs to connect with parents, kids, and teachers.
Through a four step process of exploration, ideation, prototype development and testing, and finally production, Scholastic Book Clubs’ editors and designers worked alongside the community to deliver an improved product in record time.
The initial test phase of the new flyer resulted in a 3% lift in sales, which, if borne out in the national rollout, will mean millions in new revenue for Scholastic Book Clubs. This result is especially impressive given the tough economic climate that existed during the time of the new flyer test phase. Additionally, Scholastic Book Clubs met its goal of using testing and development dollars more efficiently by creating a product with the voice of the customer already embedded in it. Lastly, what they learned by working directly with parents and teachers through the development process will help inform their growing e-commerce business.
August 2008 to present
