Challenging a boring segment with a new product this summer
Our response: Playbook
Late August last year, I visited Vilnius to plan the year and projects ahead, followed by a great night out with the team. So great that the only thought I had the next day was to chill. Since it was also my travel day back to Stockholm, I was craving something “fun” for my brain to do.
I found myself standing in the magazine and bookshop at Vilnius airport, looking through all the puzzle magazines available. Sudoku felt like a good one for my flight. Yet all of those publications looked so old school and dull, I thought. Most of them were in red and yellow colours, with old school fonts, and some even had the game makers’ “head” on the cover. The video I took at the time looked like this:
It was also one of those magical moments when things just clicked. I knew we can do something about this.
The thing is, at that time, we had published three magazine issues, released caps, created our collaboration notebooks, and added some games to the magazine to bring in more play. Yet I had a strong feeling, and a strategy, that in the new year ahead I wanted to expand our efforts by publishing another title.
Publishing for the sake of publishing is worth nothing, I believe. It’s a waste. So I was really looking for, and thinking through, different angles and ideas: who we are as a publisher, what we want to do, and what defines a Playground product. Until something clicked. This was it.
Standing there, in the airport, I knew this was what we would do. I don’t know if I texted the team there and then with my excitement, or if it followed a few days or weeks later, but the idea was met with exact same feeling. I have to say absolute kudos to the team, especially Emilija, who is a true player in life and took on the task of creating all the games for Playbook. We have three types of puzzles in the first issue: sudokus, compass & nonograms, and I am now obsessed with all!
From that point on, everything felt so organic. I went to the printing house in November and immediately found the print solution I loved. A simple stitched brochure with a plastic cover to protect it, creating a cool product, we think, while also reminding us of school notebooks.
I had some travel in between, from Germany to the UK, and continued my explorations of the market. Everything there looked also quite the same:
Then came contacting the designer we wanted to work with, kudos to Davy Denduyver, putting a timeline together, and here we go. Loads of work from the team, loads of game-proofing in April, and then we sent it to print.
On one hand, it was truly one of those magical moments when everything aligned, and I want to believe it was because we truly had a reason for why we were doing this (to create a product in the market we wanted to see) + what we were trying to do (to bring more play to people’s lives) = and the brief was crystal clear. On the other hand, it was a lot of work to make a second publication in parallel to making the new magazine issue, alongside loads of client work, while also trying to hit the price tag we wanted, 16 to 17€.
And not to even mention, we’re just starting.
Distribution, and getting into the right places, shops and hands, is a massive task on its own, and one we’re undertaking slowly.
I hope you find us around, yet in the meantime, we ship this beauty more or less around the world from our office. Get it here for your summertime.
Here is Playbook, our puzzle magazine designed to encourage you to make more time for play.
The weirdest comment I heard was, “I’ll give this to my kids.” This is not for kids! Yet they might enjoy it too. This is for everyone who likes to think a little, and wants to play a little more.
We published it with a purpose just before summer, so you can take it wherever you have time: to the park, the beach, on a road trip or a flight. It’s the ultimate travel companion, and we hope it will bring you many great emotions ahead. The other comment we’ve already had is that it’s addictive. I agree. Once you start, it’s hard to stop.
The beauty of creativity is that you can always challenge a market if you have a twist on it.
Estrid did it, challenging the razor market. Oatly did it by taking the lead in the oat milk market. Liquid Death did it in the water category. I love how unglamorous these categories are, and how much fun each of these brands seem to be having.
Finding a gap in the market is the ultimate goal, I believe. Sometimes that gap is so clear to you, I felt so with Playbook. Other times, you have to create a market for yourself, like with Playground, a magazine with which we are trying to create and grow the market. They are different strategies, yet both can work.
The reason to start the publishing brand, the doing part of the studio business, was to get closer to the market.
As a strategy and creative studio, we help clients reach their audience, but truly, I always want us to be in the know-how. My response was to create a brand of our own, to learn all the ins and outs ourselves. Now, when a client talks about how they work on product, we know it. And I really think that sets us apart in the market.
We know what it takes to make a product, to market a product, to sell a product, and we’re continually learning and innovating as we go.
We are never forgetting play though. And neither should you.
Housekeeping
If you like how we think and you’re a brand, consider working with us. We’ve just added fresh cases at studioplayground.cc!
If you like what we do, the biggest support is picking up our print magazine, Playbook or merch – it keeps the Playground alive.
A small gesture goes a long way. If you liked what you read, share it with a friend, subscribe to our newsletter, drop us a reply, join the comments – or simply give it a like. Every feedback keeps us moving.
Thanks for reading,
Auste & Playground team
this is cool. I like this.
Do you have any stockists or is it only available online?