Dear friends and family of Bramble,
Season’s Greetings!
We hope that this year’s final newsletter instalment finds you well! 😊 The last 2 months of this year have been a time of rest, reflection, and preparation. Our team is reunited in Singapore again after taking a few weeks off to travel and relax, and we’re looking ahead to the next few months with renewed hope and fresh ideas.
New topic: Sibling conflicts
In November, we added a new conversation topic to our library — one of our most hotly requested topics yet — sibling conflicts! Our guided conversation aimed to…
Allow kids to express their feelings about their siblings in an honest but non-violent way
Help kids pinpoint the specific reason being their frustration or sadness
Encourage parents to show empathy without having to problem-solve on behalf of their kids
Empower kids to express their needs and propose their own solutions to their sibling conflict
For this topic, we did not conduct a formal Beta test with paid users. Instead, we reached out to our network of parents (especially those who had requested this topic before) and asked them to try it with their kids. These were our findings…
Most kids wanted to find a solution during their conversation; they didn’t just stop at telling their side of the story
Some ideas written by children may have echoed solutions they were already taught by their parents, but writing it themselves gave them more of a sense of ownership
However, even having written their own solutions, most of the children said they would be more satisfied if their parents intervened in the situation
This is not a “one and done” topic — children are faced with challenges in dealing with their siblings on a daily basis
What’s in store for 2022
In 2021, we fine-tuned our “First Session Value Experience”. This refers to the benefit that parents and children gain from their very first Bramble conversation, which would hopefully incentivise them to return for more. We wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of “the Bramble way” of speaking.
Recently, we’ve started noticing families who do use Bramble repeatedly or regularly after their first use. From some of them, we received feedback that the conversations began to feel repetitive after some time, or that there was no novelty to keep their kids engaged after a few sessions.
At the same time, other parents repeatedly returned to topics like “Feeling Upset” and “Screen Time”, because they found the subject matter always relevant and felt that the range of options offered to them within the conversation allowed for constant personalisation.
With all these considerations and observations in mind, we decided that our product is ready to shift focus from just the first session to all subsequent sessions ahead. The following are some features that we will be developing and experimenting with from December to January!
“Infinitely Repeatable” Conversations
The idea behind the “infinitely repeatable” conversations is to create a solution that always fits, for a problem that constantly reoccurs.
For example: for issues like tantrums and sibling arguments, the root of each outburst or fight is slightly different each time. We want to build a guided conversation that is sensitive to the nuanced differences and smart enough to give users a tailored experience every time, though the subject matter broadly falls under the same category.
Yuan and Pin Xiu are taking the lead on this development, and are aiming to launch the first “Infinitely Repeatable” conversation at the end of January 2022.
Conversation Sets
Unlike “Infinitely Repeatable” conversations, which allow users to select the same topic but have a different experience each time, Conversation Sets refer to a series of conversations that cover the same topic with progression from session to session.
To start with, we’ll develop a Set about Screen Time. In our discussions, we brainstormed a conversation series that could look something like this:
What’s fun about gadgets
Writing a schedule for screen time
Reviewing our schedule
Gaming during exams
What is addiction?
This is just an example of what the Screen Time Set could look like. Bern will be taking the lead on this feature, with the goal of releasing the first Set by the end of January 2022 as well.
Global History
Since we’ve set ourselves the goal of achieving repeat usage from families, our app needs to keep pace: remembering input and selection history, adapting to user preferences, and so on.
“Global History” will not be a standalone feature; it refers to the overarching infrastructure that allows Bramble to retain information about users’ past behaviour in the app, then create an experience that is responsive to that data.
The best way to imagine “Global History” is to liken Bramble to a trusted friend or confidante: someone who remembers what you told them when you last spoke, who would not repeat questions they should know the answers to, and who would respond to new things you say with prior knowledge of your situation and opinions.
Workshop wrap-up & next steps
Last but not least, we’re pleased to share that we will be continuing our partnership with the Youth Mental Well-being Network in 2022! This year, in collaboration with YMWB, we were able to reach over 1300 parents through our workshops, spreading the word about positive communication and introducing them to Bramble along the way.
Next year, we will continue to run free workshops to primary schools across Singapore, with the first series planned for the first quarter of 2022.
On top of running workshops with YMWB, we will also be conducting private sessions for individual primary schools upon their request – the first of which is taking place in January. These customisable programme offerings are one source of revenue for us, and they also allow us to form deeper partnerships with individual PSGs and Principals.
And that’s a wrap for 2021! This has been a year of tremendous growth and wonderful new experiences for us, and we are so grateful to have had your support along the way. Thank you for being a part of our Bramble community ❤️ We are looking forward to sharing more exciting things with you in the year to come!
Wishing everyone Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Cheers to 2022!
Yours sincerely,
The Bramble Team