Dubit is down with the kids

DUBIT is helping to shape the evolution of how youngsters learn and interact. Ian Briggs reports.

“We’re focused on creating stories. The big buzz now is dramatic storytelling, says Ian Douthwaite, managing director of Dubit.

The Leeds-based company is a leader in working with brands to help them engage effectively with children and families online.

Dubit is taking advantage as organisations grapple with the changing ways that people become familiar with brands, especially given the growing prominence of digital.

Dubit’s early story is well-known. It was founded in 1999 by a group of 13 and 14 year olds who were keen to revolutionise children’s media and take advantage of the interactivity that the emerging web presented. 

Having first established the company under the Young Enterprise scheme, the young people themselves set about creating the first ever 3D virtual world which quickly attracted more than 500,000 users who could chat, add their own content, and play games with each other online.

Nominated for a BAFTA in 2001, Dubit Chat began to attract the attention of advertisers and researchers, leading to the development of dedicated marketing and youth research departments within the company.

The company attracted significant investment in 2003, which enabled the expansion of its digital team.

One of the major elements that Dubit’s staff discovered over the course of their research was that children wanted to play together in interactive adventures. However, this was an area that traditional media was finding hard to address online. 

Spotting a potential advantage, Dubit launched Dubit Platform in 2006, a virtual world and social gaming technology that allows stories to be scripted quickly and easily into engaging worlds and games.
 
Since the platform technology’s launch, Dubit has been commissioned to create worlds and games for brands such as Diesel Jeans, Motorola, the BBC, Monty Python and the new 3D film, Dorothy of Oz. 

Part of this evolution has included the focusing of the research team around children’s digital media.

Mr Douthwaite (pictured right) said: “We’ve been waiting a long time for this revolution to happen. We’re finding that’s because the business model is there and it’s proven and companies are realising this is what kids want. Kids want to be following all the adventures.

“Our analysis shows that kids just aren’t going out anymore. They’re taking on adventures online and it’s about creating these adventures to allow them to take part with friends. We want to create memories for kids in a safe environment.”

Mr Douthwaite describes Dubit’s approach to its clients as being able to “de-risk” the development of products because it is able to iron out any issues because of its collaboration with youngsters before games are launched.

An example for the £3.2m turnover company is Sand Dollar City, an interactive game produced on behalf of a US bank to give eight to 11 year olds a better understanding of the value of money.

“These things have got to be fun to start with, and entertaining and educational,” says Mr Douthwaite.

In turn, Dubit is helping the companies themselves to analyse the markets they serve, thus enabling greater levels of profitability to be achieved.

He believes that although traditional marketing methods for books, games and toys, such as through shops and TV adverts, will remain important, the online world is here to stay and if companies don’t embrace it they will lose out.

Dubit has grown its annual turnover from exports to £1.5m and is enjoying success across the globe and in particular in the US and Mexican markets.

“One potential for us going forward is creating our own intellectual property in markets not yet catered for,” said Mr Douthwaite.

“Previously, the line was that online can help you. Now people are saying it is co-production with kids. The kids are the co-producers of intellectual property.

“If you can give kids the ability to control what they do and do it at their own pace, that’s beneficial.”