Using a pandemic to instill lessons of sustainable energy use in Australia

With millions of Australians confined at home due to the pandemic, the country has seen an inevitable surge in energy use. But, Powershop and WhiteGrey want to try to push consumers to be more mindful of the power they use, during this challenging time and at all times. 

Rather than hammer home the message of sustainability, Ad Nut likes how they have gone about this: by linking energy use to the fate of Ad Nut's friends in the woodlands, whose future in many cases unfortunately hangs by a thread.

Powershop—which calls itself Australia’s greenest power company—has launched a kids book, where the interactive story responds to energy consumption in the child's home based on data from a smart energy meter. The more sustainable a household’s energy use is, the better the story becomes.

Conceived and developed by WhiteGrey, the book asks kids and parents to help a character called Goldie (a climate-vulnerable green and golden bell frog) prepare for her 'Pond Party'. By helping Goldie invite her friends, catch party food, decorate, and make party music, kids learn about the impact of climate on species and ecosystems and receive valuable tips on home energy usage. When readers return to the story the next day, the book uses their household’s smart meter data to determine whether or not they have been more sustainable with their energy use. 

Parents reading along will also get the message, which is good because in Ad Nut's experience, it's not the youngsters who fail to understand the importance of individual action. With our home (planet) becoming increasingly warm, it's high time we all pay more attention to sustainable energy use. 

CREDITS 

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
ECD’s: Joe Hill & Garret Fitzgerald
Production & Media
Sound: Bang Bang Studios
Illustration: All illustrations by Mel Matthews, represented by the Jacky Winter Group.
Media: Media 33

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