Digital Media Buzz > Sports Illustrated Gets Schooled in Digital Media

Sports Illustrated Gets Schooled in Digital Media

By Mary Awosika

Savvy kids coupled with the ever-changing platform of digital media makes managing the 10-year-old Sports Illustrated Kids website a daunting task. Even so, SIKids.com managing editor Bob Der believes he and his staff have a firm hold on their target audience by understanding the needs and expectations of their consumers. Der has noticed the challenges the Internet has posed for print and how the digital era impacts web-based content. “Kids expect very high level products,” Der says, discussing the way people consume information. “We have to deliver things in a way that’s unique to them. It’s been interesting to see what new spaces develop and to see what people expect out of the Internet as it relates to a business model.”

The key for SIKids.com is to constantly examine its consumer business model and to guarantee the effectiveness of its brand of products. Currently the Sports Illustrated Kids print magazine reaches a monthly audience of nine million kids, age range 8-10, which drive consumers to the website.

“The trick is figuring out, while being an active vital part of the industry, the steps in between that we will need to take to have a unique role in the future,” Der says. “Right now we are only seeing snapshots of the evolution that is on-going. These are intermediate steps for something greater.”

What is the general concept of SIKids.com?
The things we introduce on the website are for “user engagement.” Kids need a variety of targets, such as games and fantasy sports. The overarching concept is to create content and products for them. They’re deserving of the same interest and engagement of detail that any other audience would expect. They’re not passive about their interests. Everything we produce has to have an aspect that capitalizes on that natural curiosity and spirit that kids have.

How does the market of children compare with adults?
You want to be able to make the process fun and engaging. Not always serious. You want things to be intuitive and easy to understand; something attractive and enticing. Kids get to the heart of matters really quickly. When you’re younger, you’re passionate for things that you enjoy. You might not be the best athlete, yet most kids play sports. They participate and do something about it.

What are you developing to better target kids?
We try to reward kids for participation. Create things that are fun for an adult or kid to do, like photo gallery, games and earning points for engaging in these things. The points are kept in an account for a mascot debt. With the account, kids can use the money earned from playing games on the site and use the earnings to decorate that space (like a mascot home).

We reward users for being an active participant, but always expose them to different forms of content on the site. We install that mechanism to add more layers of community, different forms of content and take the consumer further along.

How is your product more kid-friendly? What are you doing differently than some other sites?
We have seven kid sports reporters writing blogs, submitting weekly video segments, all produced by kids. We send them to various assignments like the NBA draft or the All-star game. We take their advice, and tips for improvement; giving them real consumer-level empowerment. We pride ourselves in being that kind of vehicle. It [SIKids.com] is their brand, their property and they expect us to treat them with that respect.

What’s the hardest thing about targeting kids?
The fact that there’s so much direct and indirect competition and so many things vying for their attention, on and off the Internet. There’s so much freedom to make choices. Our attention is further splintered and fractured. It’s almost too much. And you need to sort of allow the user to really experience something in a meaningful way so it ends up being a unique experience. The Mascot Den has been very powerful and the most engaging aspect of our site recently. We’re trying to capitalize on that platform and make it more engaging.

The trick is figuring out, while being an active vital part of the industry, the steps in between that we will need to take to have a unique role in the future. Right now we are only seeing snapshots of the evolution that is ongoing. These are intermediate steps for something greater.