Nova creates branded podcast for Aus Gov domestic violence campaign
Nova Entertainment has been tapped to create a new podcast series as part of the Australian Government’s ‘Stop It At The Start’ domestic violence campaign.
The podcast, titled Project ARI, is a storytelling series written for children, and created to encourage meaningful conversations between parents and kids around respectful behaviour.
Project ARI follows the story of a ten-year-old Artificial Intelligence Prototype (ARI), who lives with an everyday family, and must learn how to be human.
During the series, he is exposed to a number of everyday circumstances where disrespectful behaviours are normalised, and the story encourages parents to engage with kids about such situations.
Nova Entertainment head of podcasting and digital, Rachel Corbett, content told Mumbrella that it is a privilege to be trusted to create such important content.
“This is an incredibly important message, so to be trusted to create a product that’s entertaining and engaging for kids but that also teaches important lessons about how to interact with others and treat people with respect is a real privilege.
“Making content for kids is so incredibly rewarding but to know this content also might make a difference is amazing.”
Project ARI features Nova talent as voice actors including, Kate Ritchie and Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli, Smoothfm’s Cameron Daddo and Byron Webb, and professional footballer Kyah Simon. It has been was written by acclaimed Australian author and screenwriter Nat Amoore.
Corbett said the process of casting was “huge” to get down to the final cast.”Our managing producer, Elle Beattie, cast the net wide reaching out to a number of acting and voice-over agencies.
“We received over 100 audio auditions which were whittled down to a series of callbacks. Then we cast the show based on the talent of the young actors but also on the need for the voices of each of the characters to sound different so they weren’t mistaken for each other.
“Then, when it came to casting the adult characters, we have so many incredible in-house voices at Nova and we really wanted them to be a part of the project so it was really about working out which voices fit best with each of the characters.”
Nova Entertainment head of podcasting and digital, Rachel Corbett
The podcast is the latest aspect of Nova Entertainment’s partnership with the government for the ‘Stop It At The Start’ campaign, which has included key announcers from Nova and Smoothfm voicing a series of national commercials and ‘Ask the Expert’ live reads.
Nova Entertainment digital commercial director, Kane Reiken, said: “We are proud to partner with the Australian Government to bring this incredible story to life, supporting a number of important societal issues.
“Project ARI showcases the potency and versatility of podcasting to entertain and educate audiences simultaneously. It’s a great example of how an artfully crafted story can deliver a serious and compelling message of change in an engaging and age-appropriate way that resonates with a young audience.”
Minister for Women’s Safety, Anne Ruston, added: “The ‘Stop it at the Start’ campaign aims to provide Australians with the resources and the confidence they need to positively influence young people around respectful relationships.
“I am delighted Nova Entertainment has made a commitment to such an innovative campaign because if we are going to end violence against women and their children, we must all work together – governments, businesses and individuals.”
Episodes of Project ARI will be available every Monday from 14 June.
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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topics
Australian Government
domestic violence
Kane Reiken
Kate Ritchie
Michael Wipfli
NEPN
Nova Entertainment
Nova Entertainment Podcast Network
Project ARI
Rachel Corbett
Stop It At The Start
