Searchby Ellen Creane
“Our advertising sales staff finds Kid Scoop a product that is fun to sell,” says Bill Sullivan, associate publisher at Gold Country Media, publishers of six local papers in the towns near where gold was first discovered in California in 1848.
Gold Country Media contracted with Kid Scoop just last June, and already has acquired “kid-themed” advertisers to sponsor the weekly full-color page. Advertisers include a candy store (offering a coupon for kids), preschools, and even a foreign exchange student organization seeking host families. The organization reported that they quickly received phone calls from families wanting to host students from abroad after the banner ad ran at the bottom of the Kid Scoop page.
“We wanted to bring in younger eyes to our community newspapers,” Sullivan said. He reflected that many print newspapers skew towards an elderly population, so expanding the reading demographic is important.
“A young population is very positive for our business. The children are engaged in reading the newspaper instead of always on a cellphone. They are getting the newspaper habit through material that appeals to their age. Also we’re finding that moms really like the page because it keeps their kids busy with quality material while making dinner.”
Kid Scoop transmits the page as a PDF. “It’s very easy for our creative department just to add the banner ad, and then the page goes directly into the system,” Sullivan explained, and Kid Scoop is very affordable—it’s the least expensive content we can get our hands on. Advertising sponsors pay for it, and our labor involvement is minimal.”
Sullivan initially heard about Kid Scoop from staff at Brehm Communications, Inc., the parent company of Gold Country Media. Kid Scoop is being published in some of Brehm’s 40 publications in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
Sullivan was impressed with the quality of Kid Scoop content. “I myself tried some of the puzzles, and they are challenging,” he said. He added that feedback from senior citizens, a large group in the Gold Country Media demographic, also love the puzzles.
“So the Kid Scoop page is appealing for preschoolers through seniors. Our community loves it.”
