How a global children’s publisher saw what the platform’s own data would not show it.
A global children’s publisher needed to understand how young audiences read, listen and watch. The channel that mattered most to its audience was also the one where it had the least visibility.
A blind spot in the most important channel
Three questions sat open. How do preschoolers feel about reading and audiobooks, and which devices can they actually get to? What do kids watch on the largest video platform, and which creators do they engage with? And was an emerging category worth entering at all?
The middle question was the hardest. Platform analytics report what happened on the platform: views, watch time, retention. They cannot tell a publisher which creators a seven-year-old trusts, or what that child would have chosen to do instead.
Ask children directly, independent of any platform
A dedicated report analysed what kids watch on the video platform, how much time they spend there and which creators they engage with, built from children’s own answers rather than platform reporting. Because the data exists independently, it covers ground the platform does not publish.
Alongside it, a presentation on preschoolers examined attitudes to reading and audiobooks and the devices available to them, and a separate piece explored an emerging category before any commitment was made to it.
The channel view that was not otherwise available
The video platform report gave the publisher insight unavailable through the platform’s own data, making it the key source for understanding that channel.
The preschool work shaped format decisions where they matter most, at the age when reading habits and device access are still being set. And the category exploration meant a judgement made on evidence rather than on how visible the trend happened to be.
Platform analytics tell you what happened on the platform. They cannot tell you what a child would have chosen instead. For anyone making content, that is the whole question.
Your audience, independently measured
Understand the channel without relying on the channel.
Tell us where your audience spends its time, and we’ll show you what sits behind the numbers.