An impossible deadline threatening a beloved brand.
Reading Rainbow had secured $3M in startup funding to transform the 12-time Emmy-winning television show into an early-literacy EdTech platform for the app generation. The vision was clear: create a digital library of interactive books that would maintain the brand's educational integrity while delivering an engaging digital experience.
The execution, however, had stalled completely. After a full year of effort, the existing team had not completed a single interactive book well enough to gain publisher approval. They couldn't figure out how to transform publishers' PDFs into the interactive digital experiences they envisioned. With only three months until the planned launch and a library of 150 interactive books required as the minimum viable product, the entire $3M investment was at risk.
Reading Rainbow thought they were hiring Ryan Modjeski and his team to provide creative leadership given their background in digital publishing. What they actually needed was operational transformation and a complete reimagining of the production process.
Building a factory for digital innovation.
Initially engaged as a consultant through Honeybee Labs, now part of The Delacorte Group, Ryan Modjeski and his team developed a strategic approach to digital content production that would become the industry standard.
We didn't just meet an impossible deadline. We created a new distribution model for digital picture books that the entire industry would go on to adopt.
Industry leadership and sustained success.
The digital transformation initiative delivered extraordinary results that exceeded all expectations.
Rapid Execution
Completed 150 publisher-approved interactive books within the three-month timeline, saving the $3M investment and enabling the planned launch. Turned the impossible into a reproducible system.
Market Leadership
The app held a top-10 ranking as a paid education app on Apple for three consecutive years, showing sustained quality that resonated with parents and educators alike.
Industry Innovation
Pioneered a new digital distribution model for picture books that has since been widely adopted across children's publishing, establishing the template others would follow.
Team Success
The success of the digital strategy led to a team-wide acqui-hire, with Ryan joining Reading Rainbow's leadership as Director of Product to keep building on the platform's momentum.
Long-term impact
- Bridged Reading Rainbow from television to digital, keeping the educational mission intact while engaging a new generation of readers.
- Created a production methodology that balanced artistry with industrial efficiency, enabling consistent quality at scale.
- Established collaborative publisher relationships that became the model for digital rights negotiations in children's publishing.
- Proved that impossible deadlines can be met through strategic process redesign and focused team building.
- Built a platform that became the 3rd most-backed Kickstarter project ever at the time, a strong signal of market validation.
- Showed that beloved legacy brands can transform for digital generations without compromising their core values.
Explore More Transformations
See how we've helped other mission-driven organizations achieve breakthrough results.