Preview: Digital Storytelling

Brands are using digital technology to help parents to enhance the co-reading experience in an age when the power of the written word is struggling against new forms of richly interactive media.

Preserving the power of the printed word is the aim of Campfire, a new bedtime story app that aims to give the analogue co-reading experience an Internet of Things makeover. Capable of being used with any book, the app synchronises with wi-fi-enabled lighting and Bluetooth speakers to respond to the parent’s tone of voice and to adapt the visual ambience and background sounds accordingly.

‘Many parents feel pressure to be a great storyteller, and many parents – newer ones in particular – just aren’t great at telling stories that captivate a child’s attention, especially when a child has spent the day engaging with screens,’ Campfire co-founder Kyle Kesterson tells LS:N Global.