Creative studio Kindred didn’t hesitate when the tariff-hit penguins of Heard Island came knocking with an idea.
When you think of Donald Trump, penguins aren’t top of mind (unless perhaps the macaroni species with their orange quiffs).
But in April that all changed, as news of the US president’s tariffs – imposed everywhere, including Heard Island, inhabited only by penguins – hit headlines all over the world.
Heard Island, located 1,700km from Antartica in the Southern Ocean, is among the remotest places on Earth. It’s home to… not much, really.
But this didn’t stop the volcanic island from being hit with a 10% tariff on April 3.
While the Australian territory is uninhabited by humans, it has a large population of penguins, including gentoo, macaroni, king and eastern rockhopper.
Trump’s trade tax caused chaos and stress across the globe.
But for these birds, it was a wake-up call: they had been “sleeping on profits”, says Kindred Studio’s content lead Milla Novak.
So they reached out to the agency for help building their new export business: selling pebbles.
Lightbulb moment
Novak is joking, of course. It was friend Lennie Galloway, based in Australia, who had the lightbulb moment. She got in touch with the Kindred team, who were on board immediately.
“We thought it would be great to do something good with all the negativity,” says Novak.
They spent the evening brainstorming and researching before letting the concept sit overnight to percolate.
The next morning, Novak and Kindred design lead Janelle Mais got to work, knowing that for this initiative to hold relevance within the news cycle they had to be quick.
The need for speed left no room to second guess their decision making, says Novak. But given both run Kindred while working remotely, making live edits in programmes like Figma Design and collaborating over calls is second nature.
Mais started on the branding, while Novak went to a client meeting before cracking into the website build. Mais used AI to help create the assets at pace, finishing them off in Adobe Illustrator.
The result is Heard Island Pebbles, a fundraising campaign, run by a team of three penguins – George, Mac and Gloria – aka chief pebble collector, head of quality control and head of penguin resources.
“The site had to feel polished and credible to build trust, especially as we weren’t directly affiliated with the charity,” explains Novak.
“Giving the penguins human traits helped them connect with people, adding humour and joy to the campaign.”
Novak and Mais checked in with each other every couple of hours, keeping meetings short and sharp so they didn’t break momentum.
Snacks and breaks were essential – including a beach walk for Novak and Pockets the studio dog (and project supervisor). By 7pm, the wine had been opened and by 9pm, 24 hours since the idea had first sparked, they hit publish.
Penguin lore
Thanks to the internet, it’s become well known that gentoo penguins gift pebbles to their partner. According to BBC Earth, this is an acknowledgement of their relationship and helps to grow the nest for their budding family.
Through Heard Island Pebbles, people everywhere can experience the joy a pebble can bring. Customers can choose between a digital pebble for $10 to post on social media or a $50 physical pebble, which gets mailed out – tied up with a note from one of the penguins and a letter from Heard Island.
(To avoid disturbing the penguins’ natural habitat, the real-life pebbles are sourced and exported from mainland Australia.)
All proceeds go towards Heard Island penguin conservation via the business’ unaffiliated charity, WWF Australia. The fundraising goal is $20,000.
Kindred Studio also set up accounts on TikTok and Instagram. They enlisted the help of “penguin influencers” to create content that’s both promotional and educational.
Posts include a quick and easy guide to speaking Penguinese, a pebble export report, how the enterprise supports wildlife conservation as well as tips for using your physical pebble.
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Penguins for president
They had no idea how Heard Island Pebbles would be received. But it wasn’t long before people took to the enterprise like, well, a penguin to water. By May 21, they’d raised $16,240 with almost 100 physical pebbles sent out, and more than 1,000 digital.
“It’s been really positive, and we’ve been amazed at how many people responded,” Novak says.
The idea added levity to the tariffs story, adds Mais. Most buyers have been from the US, followed by Australia.
“We’ve had customers from 45 out of 50 states – people are responding from everywhere,” says Mais.
One person who received her pebble in the mail announced on social media she was engaged to a penguin, says Mais.
“When you order a pebble, you can leave a note for the penguins. People have been writing funny messages like: ‘Penguins for president!’”
Raising nearly $20,000 in two months to support the penguins and conservation of Heard Island, all while having a laugh, is all in 24 hours’ work for the creatives at Kindred Studio.
As Novak and Mais say, just like a pebble, you don’t have to be big to make ripples of change.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 83, Jun-Aug 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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