When the data is right but the story is wrong, nobody shows up.
Nobody came for the science. They needed to feel it first.
Central Coast Council’s environmental science team had done the work. The research was thorough, the data was real, and the intent was clear: bring the community into the conversation around climate planning. The plan was town halls and presentations — then COVID changed what was possible.
The opportunity was to find a new way to reach people where they were. Climate data is complex by nature. The challenge — for any organisation, on any issue this size — is bridging the gap between what the science says and what a community can act on. That was the brief we stepped into.
Translate the science. Tell the human story.
We pitched an alternative: an animated explainer that took the council’s research and reframed it around the lives of the 350,000 people it affected. We worked closely with the environmental science team through every draft — making sure the story was both scientifically sound and genuinely accessible. Then we worked with our animation partner to bring the story to life.
The process was collaborative and careful. Every line earned its place — holding up to the council’s rigour while landing with someone encountering this issue for the first time. The goal was a piece of work both audiences could trust.
"The hardest thing in community communication isn’t having the right information. It’s finding the form that makes people feel it. Get the form right, and the data does the rest."
— Shanks, Wonder Creative350,000 residents. One story they could actually feel.
The animated video gave the council a community engagement tool that worked beyond the constraints of the moment — something people could watch, share, and understand without a science degree. It supported participation in the council’s climate planning process and gave the team a way to communicate their work that felt as considered as the work itself.
Data becomes policy. Policy becomes action. But only when the people it’s meant for can actually see themselves in it.
Central Coast Council turned climate data into community story. What’s yours?
Two minutes. A tailored creative direction written specifically for your brief — formats, timeline, and investment range included.
A family-owned equipment business that needed a brand to match the quality of their work.
Deploy brief-builder-v3.html to Netlify, then replace with:
https://wondercreative.com.au/brief-builder/