It was my second month of joining wizkids as content strategist. I was getting acclimated to the role and the new work environment. This was a completely different work set up compared to my previous HR & Marketing roles. The excitement of working in the kids sector ( a long cherished dream) along with the unique concept of Wizkids made me thrilled and apprehensive at the same time. The routine was to have daily sessions with the founder and my boss Mansi to chalk out different current and future strategies.
It was during one of these sessions that the conversation veered towards the founders intent of starting a newspaper for the kids. I was asked to bring some ideas to the table regarding the same. Thus began my preliminary research of surfing through the existing newspapers for our target audience – kids aged from 3-15 yrs.
A study of these various publications gave us the content that was being meted out to kids. It ranged from informative to entertaining. While we were happy to bring out such an edition, a need was felt to cater to the primary mentors and support system of the kids – the parents. I embarked on the journey of designing a newspaper with my thoughts and inputs from Mansi. We were very much aware that a long process of tweaking and iterations would follow till the end product was in sight. Yet, this was a start in the right direction.
The first major deliberation was about naming the newspaper. We proposed and refused quite a few choices like wizkids news, wizkids for you, wizkids carnival monthly et al.. It was like something was missing in all of them. During one such deliberation session we had the “EUREKA” moment. “The kids Carnival” and it got unanimous approval.
With one step finalized, we moved on to the next steps of choosing sections and deciding contents. We wanted the newspaper to not only give information to the kids but act as a reading source for parents and enable the showcasing of superb creations of kids participating in diverse contest formats on our digital format. After a few rounds of back and forth, the structure too was finalized.
With the skeleton in place now began the process of adding panache to it in the form of visual representation. Many designs were drawn and discarded. Some did not seem a fit while others came across as dense. This carried on for two months. After working on more than a dozen designs, the newspaper look was finalized.
Yet, this was just a pit stop not the finish line. By February 2022, things were moving steadily towards fructification of the vision envisaged in December 21. The road to the finish line could be seen on the outlines, and the march towards it continued.
By the next fortnight a detailed discussion began on the theme and overall look of the newspaper. Plans were chalked out on the drawing board, discussed, modified and finalized. The target was set to bring out the first edition on the anniversary of Wizkidscarnival on 23 Apr 22.
Time just flew by and so many things yet needed to be done. Panic started to set in about meeting the target. With so many external variables, things looked gloomy at a point. Plans were not being met, hurdles were faced in getting the expert views, formats compatibility posed issues. It almost looked as if the deadline was going to be missed. The founders provided emotional support and guidance so much so that they were involved in every minute details of the paper. Bit by bit things fell in place. With the content & structure in place, the deliberations with the tech team began . Now the finish line seemed within reach. From hereon things moved with small glitches that were ironed out and “The kids Carnival”’s first edition was live on 23 Apr 2022.
What started as a mere idea in the morning hours of a December call was now complete with perfect execution. As we are coming out with the anniversary edition of the newspaper, nostalgia struck me. I wanted to pen down this journey that was exhilarating and stressful at times but full of hope.
Over the months, we tried our best to come up with innovative themes and content for the kids as well as insightful articles for parents. We tried our best to showcase the diverse talent of kids who associated with us in the form of the creative showcase section. From time to time the founders too shared their vision with articles.
As we embark on a new phase there are many things in the pipeline. New themes, new sections and varied experts to satisfy the readers’ thirst for knowledge , fun and learning.
I would like to thank all our readers who have supported “The kids Carnival”’s endeavor thus far. Rest assured, we shall keep innovating and broadening the horizons to make “The kids Carnival” your go to destination.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)