Client

Electricity Authority | Te Mana Hiko

Work

Brand Extension, Illustration, Content Creation, Social Media, Brand Guidelines, Social Media Toolkit

Brief

The Electricity Authority | Te Mana Hiko engaged Wonderlab to develop a consumer-facing brand that would connect with a broad range of electricity users, from small businesses to everyday households. The new brand needed to align with the Authority’s existing identity while extending beyond industry audiences to engage consumers on a more human level. Wonderlab designed, delivered, and applied this brand extension across a range of communication materials and channels.

Infographic showing the breakdown of an average household power bill: 38.5% generation, 24.5% distribution, 11% retail, 8% transmission, 13% GST, and 5% other costs. Electricity Authority logo at the top right.
Two simple cartoon blobs, one blue and one yellow, with expressive faces and thin, black arms. The blue blob has its arm around the yellow blob, while the yellow blob waves cheerfully.
A graphic with text: "Medically dependent? Here are 5 key things you should know." Two cartoon characters stand on the right; one is blue and tall, the other is yellow and round with a flower.
A person holds a smartphone displaying an energy provider’s app. The screen reads, “Make the most of your pūtea. Is your power plan working for you?” with two cartoon figures and navigation icons at the bottom.
Three flyers are displayed, with the top one showing a nurse talking to an older woman in a hospital bed. The headline reads, "Do you need power for medical reasons?" with information and tips about electricity and medical needs.
Two brochures titled "Your rights as a power customer" sit on a green surface. The cover shows a smiling woman in a kitchen and two illustrated characters, with the Electricity Authority logo at the bottom.
Colorful, abstract cartoon shapes with faces interact: a yellow figure helps a green figure in a wheelchair, blue and yellow high-five, green peeks from behind a wall, and others read, hug, and pose. All have simple, playful features.
A laptop displays a website about Consumer Care Obligations, featuring a header image of a woman and child making toast, colorful cartoon characters, and sections with photos and helpful information for consumers.
A brochure titled “Prepay power plans: Are they right for you?” from the Electricity Authority, featuring a cartoon power plug, and a photo of two people using a laptop at a table.
A 3x3 grid of illustrated social media posts about electricity plans, featuring diverse people and cartoon birds. Each post has bold text with tips or questions about power plans, medical needs, and saving money.
The objectives

To humanise a corporate brand to be people-focused and flexible.

The goal

Develop a flexible, future-proof brand extension that can be applied across a wide range of formats — from information forms and social media tiles to animation — with a clear focus on engaging consumers rather than industry audiences.

The process

We approach brand extensions with care. Adding to an established identity requires respect as well as refinement. To support informed decision-making, we present three options: the minor, the mid-point, and the meaty. This framework allows clients to clearly see how far their existing brand can be evolved.

The deliverables

The Electricity Authority selected the meaty, resulting in the delivery of:

  • A set of adaptable, animatable characters to represent consumers.
  • A complementary suite of natural elements and icons for use where characters were not appropriate.
  • An extended, less formal secondary colour palette.
  • A refreshed portfolio of people-centred photography to complement the existing corporate imagery.
  • A defined approach to a more natural, accessible writing style.

The result has been extremely well received.

Outcome

Consumer engagement up with humanly accessible communication.

Simple but comprehensive

Brand extensions can appear deceptively simple. In this case, shifting a brand rooted in industry, regulation, and business towards a consumer-focused expression was a significant change.

Working closely with the Electricity Authority, we carefully balanced continuity with evolution — maintaining the core brand voice while softening and humanising it in an authentic way. The result still fits the Electricity Authority seamlessly, while enabling meaningful connection with a new audience.

Flexibility with constraints

Effective brand extension requires a deep understanding of identity — knowing where to evolve and where to hold firm.

We worked deliberately within existing brand boundaries, adding clarity rather than contradiction. This ensured the new expression remained unmistakably “them”, while clearly defining where the brand should not stray. Using our brand-story process, we reverse-engineered the unspoken boundaries of self-expression into a clear, practical ruleset for this extension.

Fun, real and credibly human.

Both the visuals and the language were designed to be accessible, engaging, and distinctly human.

While “fun” and “human” can feel counterintuitive in a corporate context, they are essential to genuine communication. At its core, every organisation speaks to people — regardless of sector. When brands meet audiences at a human level and focus on shared concerns, trust is built and engagement follows.