Money mission

Canberra – Commonwealth Bank of Australia is taking children on an intergalactic quest to help them make better financial decisions.

• Children use the Teleporter Adventures kit, which comprises a virtual reality (VR) storybook and cardboard viewer, to access the experience
• The bank collaborated with children’s author Ursula Dubosarsky to create the story of Sammy the Space Koala

The bank produced 80,000 kits in collaboration with M&C Saatchi and distributed them to schools across Australia as part of its Start Smart initiative, which is designed to foster financial literacy in children. The headset comprises a flat-pack cardboard viewer that converts any smartphone into a VR device.

The story, which follows Sammy the Space Koala as she journeys to find a unique present for her grandmother, features cautionary lessons about being careful with money, making the right financial decisions and how to distinguish between a ‘need’ and a ‘want’.

‘The Teleporter Adventures is a hybrid of a classic storybook and a VR world,’ says Michael Canning, executive creative director of M&C Saatchi Sydney. ‘As a new platform for immersive storytelling, we hope to reach more kids and communities around Australia with a fun way to learn about money, building on the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s proud heritage of financial education.’