SquareOne and Thinkerbell Aotearoa’s cautionary tales encourage kids to be money smart

SquareOne’s latest work with Thinkerbell Aotearoa delves into what happens when kids don’t learn to manage their money.

Built on the insight that developing financial capability at an early age is the key to future success, the series of social and BVOD ads act as cautionary tales, scenarios where a mum is still supporting her adult child.

“Teaching the next generation of Kiwi’s to be money-smart is the whole purpose of SquareOne. As a nation, we have horrendous financial habits and we need it to change. SquareOne is such a game changer for families on that journey,” says Jody Cruttenden, Marketing and Growth Lead at SquareOne.

The financial capability app kickstarts your kid’s journey to financial wellbeing and teaches them how money works in the real world. It’s an account, app and debit card for kids, that ‘puts the tools in your hands and the knowledge in theirs so that kids get the financial head start we wish we had.’

Honesty key to campaign

“We’re so proud of the work we’ve done with Thinkerbell bringing that message to life. This campaign hits every beat that was critical to us in getting the message heard. It’s funny, it’s relatable, it’s heartwarming, it’s thought-provoking, but most importantly, it’s honest,” says Cruttenden.

“You know you’ve hit a winning partner when every initial concept was on the money (pun intended). The hardest part was deciding which of the amazing threads we wanted to follow. I had complete faith that the team at Thinkerbell could bring this to life and couldn’t be happier with the end result,.”

Regan Grafton, Chief Creative Tinker at Thinkerbell, says, “We wanted to strike a balance between entertainment and an important message: teaching kids about money now saves everyone a lot of pain later.

“I was already a regular user of SquareOne before working with them. I was using it with my kids every night and soon the rest of the Thinkerbell parents picked it up with their kids. That’s actually how the relationship kicked off!”

“We loved working with the SquareOne team, with their passion for creativity, bravery and love of humour. The whole process from start to finish was such a great experience, with everything falling perfectly into place.”