When schools closed abruptly in March, and parents found themselves supervising the education of their children at their kitchen tables, Kid Scoop circulation dramatically increased its subscribing publications, now over 300 papers.
“We had our best months ever with sales of Kid Scoop in March and April,” reported Vicki Whiting, creator of the full-color kids page, available for in-paper and online.
Three of those new subscribers told us about the need for Kid Scoop in their local communities.
“We felt Kid Scoop offered the educational value, not just activities,” said Amy Henderson, editor of the Cullman Times that serves a city of 15,000 in northern Alabama. “The parents in our community are very much in tune with their children. They want the best for their children,” she explained.
“We knew we needed to help parents at home with their children. It was important that the quality of the page equaled the quality of our newspaper.”
Henderson had learned of Kid Scoop from Dan “Patio” Dalton, representative for Kid Scoop. She shared copies of Kid Scoop with her staff.
“As a staff we decided Kid Scoop should be included in the Cullman Times,” she said. The full-page color feature began in March and appears every Wednesday, even though the pandemic’s economic impact forced the paper to reduce publishing from five to four days a week.
In Taylor, Texas, Jason Hennington, publisher of the Taylor Press, was concerned about the children not being in school. “We wanted to keep them interested in the newspaper, keep their minds stimulated, and hopefully make Kid Scoop an opportunity for revenue,” he said. He started running Kid Scoop in late April and was quickly up to nine sponsors.
“Our ad rep is awesome!” he said. “And the feedback is all positive. The parents are so happy we added Kid Scoop.”
The Taylor Press is publishing on Sunday, reduced from two days a week due to national economics. It is part of the Granite Publications family of community newspapers.
Hennington was aware of Kid Scoop since a sister paper had been running the feature. He saw it as appealing to adults as well as children, and was effusive about the content.
“Kid Scoop makes the children think. The Writing Corner gives them an opportunity to be creative. It’s not just activities, it’s information. I really liked the page on how to understand money. I love the graphics and the Word Searches myself,” he said.
Jay Gillispie has many titles at two newspapers in Texas: the Lufkin Daily News in Lufkin and the Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches, both part of Southern Newspapers, Inc. He’s director of circulation sales and business development (9,500 on Sunday, and daily 7,500) and has had a long career in the newspaper business. He arrived at the two papers last October and was already a Kid Scoop fan.
“I’ve always pushed for Kid Scoop at other papers. I prefer Kid Scoop because Kid Scoop is so much more interactive for children than other features. The Kid Scoop activities in the newspaper lead kids into reading other parts of the complete newspaper. It’s both educational and fun. And it has so many activities for parents to do at home with their kids,” he said.
“When the coronavirus pandemic hit, it created so much change. Our Sentinel print delivery had to be reduced from five days to two (by mail) and the home delivery in Lufkin from seven days to three days. We felt an immediate need for extra value, and the Kid Scoop color just jumps out!” Gillispie said.
Gillispie also purchased the Kid Scoop premium online content for the Lufkin Daily News. “But I don’t believe in being totally online. With print, children get impatient for the next issue. And that develops future lifelong readers.”
Ellen Creane is a freelance reporter for newspapers, an ESL college instructor, a former NIE manager at three newspapers, and a marketing communications professional.
To learn more about Kid Scoop, contact Dan “Patio” Dalton at (909) 793-9890.
