Find out what MNers have to say about Banjo Robinsons’ personalised letters to 4-7 year olds - Non-tester? Get 15% off your subscription

[EllieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users who tested the personalised pen pal experience from Banjo Robinson the travelling cat, who helps boost creativity, reading and writing skills for their child/children.

Non-Tester? 90% of Mumsnet Tester's children wrote Banjo a reply and Banjo Robinson has now officially launched! They are offering 15% off full subscription charges with the code BanjoLovesMumsnet. This code is valid until 31/10/18.

Here’s what testers received:

• An initial introduction pack which includes: a personalised letter introducing Banjo and his travels, a world map, stickers to track Banjo’s progress, personalised stickers to use creatively, a doodle sheet to colour, a reply page to draw and write their response, a reply envelope with postage stamp stickers.
• A follow up letter from Banjo Robinson detailing his next stop in his travels including more goodies.

Here’s what Tree Climber Publishing have to say: “Banjo Robinson the cat is in India at the moment, checking out the Taj Mahal. He was at the pyramids last Tuesday, and next week he's off to the Great Wall of China. And while he’s away on his amazing travels, Banjo sends real, personalised letters to your child full of exciting tales all year round. Your child will get a world map and stickers to track Banjo’s progress and two personalised letters asking them to reply with pictures and messages.

Letters from Banjo Robinson encourage them to craft a reply, improving their writing skills and creativity. Parents can spend quality time with their children, away from tablets and TV, reading Banjo's letters, widening the child’s vocabulary, learning about different countries, and building communication skills."

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
• What did you like most about the letters?
• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription was £7.90/month, however as a result of your feedback, Tree Climber has decided to price this offering at £5.35. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

All testers who leave the required feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

[Amummyatlast]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

Like others, I feel the letter was not targeted to DD's age range, so it didn't really work.

What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

She was not convinced by the magic cat and only wrote back once. She forgot about it quite quickly

What did you like most about the letters?

The stickers/map.

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

The letter was too long winded with lots of language she wouldn't understand. This meant she was not very engaged with the activity. The letter didn't seem to have any useful information on the countries visited.

-Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

No

A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?

Only if the letter improved.

[Reastie]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

I was happy. Dd thought it was the most amazing thing ever when banjo mentioned the name of her cat and colour of her sofa. It was like she really believed the letters were for her. I liked how they looked like airmail letters.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

Dd loved them. She wrote straight back and it was all very secretive, I wasn’t allowed to see what she wrote!

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I liked that they were educational but tbh I mainly liked that it encourages her to write and make believe in the whole story. There were times I wasn’t sure what to say when she was asking me questions (the banjo info said to say I met a cat, banjo, and he would write to dd) eg she’d ask what colour the cat was and whether he spoke human or cat. Because I didn’t know much about the banjo brand I didn’t know how to answer.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

It would be great to have the option to add your own sentences into reply letters which could be added as a ps. For example dd wrote questions to the cat (see picture eg ‘how old are you?’) And he would never personally respond to those questions. She’d get upset by this and question the whole thing if it went on for a while and he never answered her questions.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes, it’s great fun and not like anything I’ve ever heard about before.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

Ah hah, so you’ve already addressed my one improvement! Brilliant! I think it’s a fair price but we probably wouldn’t do it as for us it’s a lot for what you get (it’s fair, it’s just it’s not the kind of thing we’d pay that much for but I can imagine it being that much iykwim). We already do letters from the fairies in the garden which we do ourselves but I understand that people might not have the time or inclination to do that themselves, and I think it’s so lovely for children to have such make believe conversations.

[lyndseyh78]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

We loved getting the letters from Banjo, when we got the first one my daughter had just got back from 2 weeks holiday so she completely believed that I had been out for lunch with Banjo and talked about her, our cat and what we liked to do!

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

My daughter loved the letters we read them together and she wrote back to the and left the letters under the sofa for our cat to return to Banjo when she was in bed!

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I thought the letters were well written and we giggled as we read them as they were really funny! Banjo was the type of cat that we’d like as a pet 😂

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

No we loved it

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes I think my daughters age of 6 is a good age for this as she still believe in all things magically and believes that it is possible if not normal for a cat to be able to travel the world and write letters! And of course for me to go out for lunch with a world travelling cat

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product
  

I think it’s a fair price for what you get and The joy that my little one had when she got the letter it was worth it

[TartanTrousers]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

My child loved receiving his own letters through the post but after the initial excitement of opening the letters and examining the goods (map and stickers), I couldn’t hold his attention when actually reading the letter. We helped him to ‘write’ back but unfortunately it quickly lost his interest.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

Yes, he ‘wrote’ (4 year old!) back to the first letter but as mentioned above, I struggled to keep his attention.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

The storyline was good and the Geography / country discussions we had were beneficial and helped us broach new subjects with him.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Perhaps a more bespoke service dependent on the child’s age e.g. for younger children, a shorter letter with more activities.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes but as is, I’d only recommend to older children (7+)

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I think that price is a little steep for what you get. For an older child, I’d be happy to pay up to £5 for 2 letters p/month but I wouldn’t pay more than that.

[Bec0mum]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

The letters were ok. I loved how excited my child got but couldn't help thinking I could write my own letters.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

My 7 year old son loved the letters and wrote back instantly to both. He then checked several times in the night to see if his letters had been collected!

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I liked how much they inspired my son to want to write letters.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

The only complaints would be solved by it not being a trial subscriptions. The letters were not personalised enough and took too long to arrive but a full subscription would solve those.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes, if the price was lower. I wouldn't pay more than £5 a month.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

No, I would expect more letters a month or extra little gifts for that money.

[Salmonpinkcords]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
Both my children loved this whole concept and completely bought into it - they loved receiving the letters and spent some time speculating about Banjo and his adventures. It formed part of some of their imaginative play.
I liked the reference to other countries and the world map. We spent some time looking at the map and discussing where we had been etc

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

Loved! My children loved the letters, the older child read to the younger.
My child wrote back on both occasions.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

The references to other countries/cultures. I liked the stickers which linked the world map.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Could Banjo ask some more pointed questions to the chip in order to help them when writing back.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product
  

Yes I do

[Signoritawhocansway]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

We were very satisfied with the letters, but left underwhelmed by the service. There was a delay in receiving the second letter which was described as a teething error. But also, there was a huge delay from initially signing up for the product test until the actual test.

What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?

My son enjoyed receiving the letters as a concept, especially the stickers for the map, and he also voluntarily wrote back - given that he's five, this was no mean feat!

What did you like most about the letters?

The stickers for the map

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?

The writing style of the letter was too old for him. He's five, and a fluent reader, but the content seemed to be for older children - and then contrast that with activities - colouring in and stickers - I'm not sure the producers are up to speed with their target market.

Also, the imagination thing - great for younger children, but older ones may need convincing!

Also, I would need to be reassured that the teething glitches resulting in the delayed letters were sorted.

Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?

No, sorry - see below

‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?


No, I don't - especially if you're asking parents to write the last paragraph themselves! It would be easier and cheaper for me to do it all myself. I presume 'writing stationery' means the paper to write back to Banjo and the envelope to post it in - so that's £3.95 per letter from Banjo for a few sheets of paper and some stickers? Sorry - not interested. Thank you for letting us take part though; if the price was lower I may consider it - but it would need to be less than £5 a month.

[toomuchhappyland]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

I liked the concept and thought the product was high quality but it didn’t really hold my child’s interest.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

The vocal and style of the letters is pitched to high for the age of the children - my 7 year old struggled to read the letters by himself. They’re written in language more appropriate to 9-10 year olds, who aren’t going to believe in a cat that collects letters under the sofa! He did write back but only as I asked him to, not off his own back.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

My son liked the map and the stickers.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

See above comment about the level of the language. Also, photos of the places - it’s too much text really.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

No, not in its current form.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

No. You’re charging basically £4 per letter for a few stickers, a small colouring sheet and a letter I have to write myself?! No, sorry. Far too expensive.

[Lollyice]

Dd6 loves getting post and was so excited to get a letter from Banjo. I had told her a couple of days before that I talk to a cat, she was astonished when she read her letter. The pack of letter, map and stickers are lovely quality.

My DD was so excited, she wrote back straight away both times. She is looking forward to the next letter.

The letters have interesting facts my DD has remembered, like Portuguese is spoken in Brazil. The product is really nice.

The product is perfect for my 6 year old.

I would definitely recommend Banjo Robinson letters to others. Thank you

[Lollyice]

£7.90 sounds expensive but I am willing to pay as my DD is so taken with the product.

[tackyprincess]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

I thought they looked good and my son was initially excited but the letters were a bit log and boring so he lost interest quite quickly

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

He thought they were quite boring. He wrote back to Banjo after the first letter but wasn’t interested by the 2nd

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

To me they looked fun at first

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

I know they are meant to be educational but the letters were far too long and boring for my 6 year old. I’m pretty sure he didn’t learn anything about Brazil from them

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

No

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

No not really. I expect many people that sign up will cancel quite quickly. My son has a Toucan Box subscription and he gets far more enjoyment out of it

[mshell1231]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

My son enjoyed the letters. He loves finding out about other countries, but the letters didn't hold his interest for long.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

My son liked the personalised aspects to the letters, and the personalised stickers. He also liked the poster. He wrote back to the first letter, but not the second.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

They were fun and could be personalised to include our own cat.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

As my son is 8 years old I think the letters were a bit too young for him. It would be better if there was a different letter and activity for older children.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Yes- but for younger children who may believe a cat is travelling the world.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

No, I would consider the subscription for my 3 year old, but at around £5 a month.

[RuthCart]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
Pretty satisfied. The letters were well written and engaging.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

They like receiving post, and were excited to start off with. They didn't write back.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

The look of them, with the stamps and postage marks.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

I don't think you get much for the price.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

No.

• ‘A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

No, you didn't get enough to warrant the price.

[emiloony]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

I thought the service overall was good. My son liked getting a letter addressed to him. He is 4 and perhaps a little bit young to understand all the content in the letter about the different countries.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

He loved getting a letter, and the fact that it said his name on it, and on one of the stickers. He was less interested in the content of the letter. As he's only 4 he drew a picture for Banjo rather than writing. He loved the mini envelope and the toy stamps. He was more interested in the big map and finding the country and putting the sticker in the right place than in the letter itself.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I liked the way they were personalised, including our cat's name and the colour of our sofa.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Some children are not that bothered about colouring in, so it would be fun to have a page with more puzzles and activities as well.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Generally I would, but not at the selling price. I think it's too much money for me for something I could basically do myself if I put the effort in, though the personalised stickers and things were a really nice touch.

[Chrisinthemorning]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
Quite satisfied. The letters were sent too far apart. The map, stickers etc were nice quality.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters?
  

He quite liked it, he liked the travel aspect and the mention of our cat.
Did they write back?
Yes, the first time but he hasn’t wanted to the second time.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

Personalised aspects

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Better back story. DS didn’t really believe I had met a cat who could talk and write.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Maybe, depending on cost.

[Chrisinthemorning]

A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
No it’s too expensive. I would expect to pay under £5.

[Summergarden]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

Quite satisfied. DD enjoyed the novelty aspect of receiving personalised letters in the post.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

DD is only 6 and although a good reader she struggled to understand some of the long-winded language. I think it could be simplified for younger children. She did write back but a little more direction on exactly what Banjo would have liked to read would have been useful- kids like to know what their audience is looking for in a piece of writing.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

She liked having her name and personal details in them and the stickers and map.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved? Maybe make the letters a little shorter for younger kids and use simpler language, plus more specific ideas on what to include in the reply..
  

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family? Definitely I think some of James friends would love it

[hanliying]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service? Very satisfied
  
• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back? He absolutely loves it. It took some time to write back but he did it both times
  
• What did you like most about the letters? That they are funny, feels personal
  
• Is there anything that you feel could be improved? Maybe a little souvenir from each country, it will be great even with increase in subscription price
  
• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family? Yes
  
• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product? Yes

[Bumpbeanpickle]

My 6 year old daughter loved receiving letters and writing replies to Banjo Robinson however I do think £7.90 is rather expensive to continue the subscription for 2 letters a month but it is a lovely idea and my daughter and I have loved being a part of it

[Coocoocachoo2017]

My 5 nearly 6 year old daughter really enjoyed the whole Banjo experience. It captivated her imagination and was great to get something personal to her to push the make believe element. In an age of lots of screentime and digital entertainment I found it very child friendly and wholesome! It was very sweet and someone has put a lot of thought into this product. Very satisfied with all aspects. Pricing good. Would recommend to friends.

[leccybill]

• Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
  

Quite satisfied. It's a cute idea, executed badly by people who clearly don't spend time around children.
Service was dreadful and I'm not sure I have faith in the company.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

DD age 8 (but fully into make believe still, we've been writing to various fairies, mice and elves for years!) liked receiving the letters very much, she was super excited. She started reading excitedly then trailed off and asked me to finish reading them.
She wrote back immediately but didn't reference the letter really, just chatted on. She loved the map, the stickers to collect and the little envelope. She wasn't interested in colouring.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

I liked the style of the reply letter, the stickers and mini envelope.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

The letters were far too long, and far too verbose. Some of the language was not relevant.
The font is unsuitable, typewriter fonts mean nothing to children. A cursive font would be better. The colouring sheet was a bit of a waste of time and looked like something you'd get (free) to colour in in a cheap pub.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Not at the current price. Maybe for £5.

A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
No, it's too expensive. £5-6 and I would consider it.

[chibsortig]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
I was quite satisfied, i'm glad we didnt have to pay for it though.

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

They liked receiving a letter its a novel idea for a 5 year old. He liked the letter as it read like a short story. He drew a picture back as hes not so good at letter writing. he thought it was awesome when he got the reply and the colour of our sofa was mentioned.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

i liked the educational aspect and that they were humourous too.

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

Maybe make it more personal as letters get exchanged more so banjo could mention things they said in their replies.

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

At this point its unlikely.

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

I think its very expensive we could buy two childrens magazines a month for that price with more activities and free gifts plus a billion stickers. It seems a lot for the cost of postage and printing of some letters.

[greathat]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?

the letters themselves were good. My 5 year old was very excited to get some post of his own and was surprisingly accepting of me meeting a talking cat. There was too long a time between the letters so the excitement had faded a bit by the time the second letter arrived and it had lost momentum a bit

• What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back?
  

Very excited by the letters we read them together and then had to go and look the countries up. He was very keen to write back to the first letter, but had lost enthusiasm after the long wait for the second one.

• What did you like most about the letters?
  

Finding out about the countries. He was keen to try and read them as much as possible on his own. It actually got him to write and hes usually very reluctant to do so

• Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
  

A bit more personalisation as this is what he got excited about

• Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
  

Not sure - maybe if I got it on special offers

• ‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
  

It is quite expensive but I suppose the costs are quite high... I'm not sure I'd want to pay that, I think they need to find some way to bring the costs down. If it was £5 butstill decent quality I think they'd get a lot more sales!

[frecklemcspeckles]

@elliemumsnet is it possible for Mumsnet to also feedback that as a product test it was a bit tricky for parents.

We got our kids really bought into the concept of this cat that writes to them and engaged to write back and actually he's stopped now, despite the second letter saying he's headed to China and will write soon. That's a bit hard to now explain either a) I lied or b) he's no longer travelling /writing to you.

Would it be possible as a one off for those of us who have engaged kids to get a third letter about China (if the want to tweak according to feedback even better and I'll happily review again) with a sign off that eg that's enough travel for now, if I ever go on more adventures I'll write again, or similar??? Would feel nicer to me than this abrupt end and my 6 year old eagerly awaiting a letter all about China.

Many thanks again for the test opportunity !

[Sierra259]

Overall how satisfied were you with your child’s letters from Banjo Robinson and the service?
Very satisfied

What did your child think of Banjo Robinson’s letters? Did they write back? My daughter (5) loved the letters. She wasn't sure about the story of me meeting him for lunch but loved the idea of a travelling cat, as well as the map and stickers. She wrote back on the same day both times, no encouragement needed and wanted to do it independently. She even gave very specific instructions to our cat about what to do with the letter!

What did you like most about the letters?
The personalisation details about our cat's name and colouring blew her mind, as well as the colour of our sofa. The quality of the map, stickers and writing materials was very good. They were a good starting point for talking more about the countries mentioned in the letter and looking at more info online/in the library. It was a great way of making writing practice fun for her, and not feel like work.

Is there anything that you feel could be improved?
The letters were a bit long and some of the humour was a bit advanced for her age. Some more pictures/photos would have been good to break up the wall of text. A bit more clarity over the target age range would be good (letters were far too old for the age of children who might buy the travelling cat story!), or the option to get a slightly different package for different age ranges. Also maybe some different activities rather than colouring? I agree with a pp who said that the return letter paper was a bit small for children who are still practicing their writing.

Would you recommend the personalised letters to your friends and/or family?
I probably would, and to friends who are primary school teachers to perhaps do as a class.

‘Banjo Robinson sends personalised letters, personalised stickers, colouring-in activities and writing stationary from two new countries per month. Once subscribed, parents will be able to log on to their account and compose the closing paragraph of the next letter their child receives from Banjo, enabling them to address questions their child has asked, and creating an authentic back-and-forth correspondence between child and ‘cat’.’ A Banjo Robinson subscription is £7.90/month. Do you think this is a fair price for the product?
I'm torn about this. The letters and things are very nice quality and as there's 24 countries to visit, with 2 letters a month, I guess it's kind of self-limiting after a year. So it's not something you would be paying out for over a long period, and would be a lovely idea for a birthday/Christmas present subscription. The idea of parents being able to personalise the letters themselves is good, if a bit of a hassle. However, there really isn't much included for 3.95 a letter, considering you can get any number of character magazines in the shops with free gifts, four times the number of stickers and multiple stories/activities. I think in it's current form, 6GBP a month is more reasonable. I would be happy to pay 7.90 if a couple of extras were added - the idea upthread of an online platform with a Where's Banjo? feature and more pictures/info about the countries visited was great and would definitely be worth a higher price. We may well subscribe, just because it has really captured DD's imagination, but I think with a few tweaks, it could be really be fantastic. Thank you very much for letting us test this product - we've enjoyed it a lot!