Powershop launches interactive kids book, featuring a climate vulnerable frog, via White Grey
A green and golden bell frog named Goldie is the lead character of Powershop’s book for kids, Pond Story. The interactive storybook, conceived and developed by WPP creative agency White Grey, aims to educate families on sustainable energy use.
Kids and their parents help Goldie prepare for her pond party, inviting her friends, catching party food, decorating, and making music, all while learning about the impact of climate change on species and ecosystems.
But when they return to the story, the book has used household smart meter data to decide whether the family has been more sustainable with its energy usage. If they have improved, the book’s scenes and outcome does too. If not, the book “becomes a bit less fun”, says White Grey.
Anyone can access and use the book, but Powershop customers can access the “energy connected” story.
The book feeds into the company’s ‘Power you can be proud of’ brand platform, launched by White Grey last year.
“Pond Party is a fun way for families to talk about climate change and the steps they can take to lessen their impact on the environment,” said Powershop’s marketing manager, Michelle Grigg.
“Whilst we’re dealing with the ongoing effects of the bushfires and now COVID-19, a digital book specifically designed to be read at home, is an educational and entertaining tool for both customers and non-customers alike.”
White Grey was responsible for the concept, strategy, CX, UX, technical development, and supporting communications. The digital campaign to launch the book includes display, social, influencer activity, and PR.
“I’m proud that we have been able to create a digital experience that will help change behaviour,” said Juan Garcia, national head of technology at White Grey.
“Using modern tech and an interactive approach to the narrative, we feel that we’ve built something that is as engaging as it is smart. By working together with Powershop’s team to develop a service layer that allows account usage and attributes to be extracted and interpreted for external use, it opens new ground for an energy provider to make meaningful use of its data.”
Co ECDs Joe Hill and Garret Fitzgerald added: “By combining live data and storytelling, Pond Party connects households to the challenges of climate change in a constructive, inspiring way – empowering families to take climate action by making small changes to their daily lives.”
Powershop is the country’s only electricity and gas provider to be certified as 100% carbon neutral by the Australian government, and dubs itself “Australia’s greenest power company”.
Credits:
Client: The Powershop Team
Agency: whiteGREY
Senior Digital Producer – Neville Gotla
Digital Producer – Mylene Czorny
Lead Front-end Developer – Luke Olyslagers
Lead Back-end Developer – Nick Thomson
Front-end Developer – Frantanius Sinulingga
Back-end Developer – Blasius Cosa
UX – Gardenia Gonzales
Designer – Gemma Lodi
Creative team – Ben Mann & Nic Molyneux
Head of Strategy – Nathan Rogers
Group Account Director – Alice Tschuchnigg
Senior Account Director – Kate Donnelly
CEO – Lee Simpson
National Managing Director – Katie Firth
National Head of Technology – Juan Garcia
ECDs – Joe Hill & Garret Fitzgerald
Production and media
Sound – Bang Bang Studios
Illustration – All illustrations by Mel Matthews, represented by the Jacky Winter Group.
Media – Media 33
Linkedin