Here, children were free to explore, play, and do anything they wanted. To answer the children’s wishes, we created a beautifully immersive world called ‘The Deep Dark Wood’. Most of all, we learned that even young children could be pretty autonomous, and capable of occupying themselves for ten minutes or more, absorbed in stimulating activity. Interestingly, we found children to be much more capable playing on digital devices than even their parents knew. We discovered that given the right stimulus, they could lose themselves in a fantasy world. So we put ourselves in front of the primary target audience – 3 to 8 year-olds – and sat back and learned, and learned, and learned.

This was to turn to the children and learn what they wanted from a new Gruffalo website. So while Pan Macmillan’s challenge was clear – in recognising the existing website was lagging behind every other aspect of merchandise, from toys to TV to pop-up events –the solution was equally clear to Distinction. Addressing the core audienceīut the truth is, more than anything, that the Gruffalo belongs to its readers, the children whose imaginations continue to be fired and who remain enduringly attracted to the enchanting woodland beast. Then there’s the books’ publishers – Pan Macmillan – the people who approached Distinction with a simple goal: to provide an engaging global online presence for the Gruffalo ahead of the book’s 15th anniversary.

Then there’s the books’ illustrator, Axel Scheffler, who has brought a captivating cast of characters to magical life. First and foremost, there’s its visionary creator, author Julia Donaldson. Happily lost in the deep dark woodsĪ global brand like ‘The Gruffalo’ and its series of books has many owners.

Improving the CX didn’t just delight the site visitors, it also produced brilliant results too, including an increase of over 35,000 average monthly visitors, with 70% of new visits from over 160 countries. Creating a new dynamic and immersive website which would delight both children and adults alike took a voyage of discovery on how 3 to 8 year-olds engage with stories, games, even technology itself.

The gruffalo online