Club Lees: Turning reading into a social experience, with a deadline

Club Lees wants to stimulate young people (15-30 years old) to read more by making reading a social, accessible and fun experience. Reading is not something individual, but a social and shared experience, integrated in the daily life of youngsters. Through the app, reading gets more attractive with interactive and social functions like online meet-ups and adding notes in the margins for others to find. This makes it easier to connect young readers in communities where they discover and discuss the different books, opinions and inspirations all together.  

Motivating young people to read

There are four ‘role models’ on the app, influencers that create a small club together where they promote the books. Each of these role models have been chosen by specific criteria that belong to their target groups: young, well-known creatives who love to read, while they each represent a different taste in books. They ‘come out’ as book lovers. Their credibility is increased because of their influence on social media where they connect the world of culture, music and books.  

Another important key factor of the app is reading with a deadline: the book is available for only 5 weeks in the app. This certain temporary access creates a positive pressure and involvement. The app provides 'small clubs' with monthly online meet-ups, making reading with Club Lees truly a shared activity. It promotes conversation, community development and participation. These online meet-ups are led by the influencers, who shape the conversation and discuss the notes in the margins of the pages. It is a time where everyone can share their reading experiences.

And to make reading on your phone as attractive as possible, VPRO collaborates with Immer (Immer makes book reading technology)  and Norday (Home | Norday). They implement the UX-design and functions like adjustable letter type, digital margins and social interactions, to make literature more accessible. 

Results of Club Lees 

With a total of 25.057 downloads, Club Lees is the number 1 of free apps in the Netherlands, with a huge success in reach and user experience. Young readers are reading more, are actively involved in the reading process and experience reading as more exciting and social than before. 

Through their process from startup to now, Club Lees has gained some important key insights:  

• Young readers will read more when it becomes a social and interactive process, it is more fun together.
• The four club members speak the same language as their own target group, which makes it more accessible for readers of all kinds.
• As long as the app functions well and the reading experience is exciting, young people will actually read on their smartphones.
• 44% of their target group has heard from Club Lees through TikTok or Instagram, showing that social media campaigns work if they are created in the daily life and the platforms of their target group.
• The art of more involvement lies in smaller groups. Participants are divided into small clubs where they are more positive and active than individual readers. Community and acknowledgement creates an increased reading experience.  

Conclusion 

Club Lees shows that reading is not outdated, but can take on a new form. By sharing stories through an app, influencers and social clubs, reading is more accessible, discussable and more fun. Young people discover that books can also live on their phones. This way, reading from a silent activity turns into a joint experience.  

Join Club Lees (in Dutch): https://www.vpro.nl/club-lees

Article written with the input of Helena Jensch (VPRO)