Apollo and the Treehouse, the latest book in an innovative children’s book series created for long-time client and global paper manufacturer Sylvamo, is printed on Sylvamo's Accent® Opaque paper and enhanced with augmented reality.

Trekk and longstanding client Sylvamo have been honored by the Summit Emerging Media Awards with the prestigious Visionary Award. This accolade was awarded for the latest book in their groundbreaking children’s book series and its accompanying launch campaign, both of which leveraged digital integrations and augmented reality to capture readers’ imaginations. Out of 1700 entries from around the world, less than 1% were honored with the Visionary distinction.

Summit Emerging Media Visionary Award
An Interactive Campaign for an Immersive Application Sample

Sylvamo's beloved children's book series features an astronomy-loving little girl named Andi and her rescue pup, Apollo. The books serve as an application sample for Sylvamo's premium paper line, Accent Opaque, while highlighting the storytelling potential of enhancing print with technology like augmented reality (AR).

Prior to the release of the latest book in the series, Sylvamo wanted to give readers the opportunity to choose Apollo’s next adventure. Trekk created an interactive postcard with an AR component that, when launched, gave readers the opportunity to choose between two different plot lines for the third book: Apollo and Andi explore a haunted house OR Apollo and Andi build a treehouse. An email and landing page encouraged contacts to request the direct mailer with the AR experience to cast their vote.

To help drive response rates, users who requested the print postcard also received an Accent Opaque-branded desktop lantern, a digital version of which featured heavily in the AR experience. When the votes were tallied, almost 60% of readers voted in favor of the treehouse adventure, and Apollo and the Treehouse was born.

Apollo and the Treehouse interactive children's book
Like the earlier books in the series, Apollo and the Treehouse showcases the vibrant artwork of illustrator Kyle Beckett. These illustrations are brought to life by Trekk's AR experiences, designed to give readers a front-row seat to 7-year-old Andi's imagination. Both the artwork and the narrative touch on themes of great importance to Sylvamo and its customers, including sustainable forestry, responsible paper manufacturing, and stewardship of our natural resources.

"Over the last several years, the character of Andi, with her inquisitive spirit and her wild imagination, has served as a guiding light for the technological innovation we do in our work with Sylvamo," said Shayne Terry, Director of Content Strategy at Trekk. "Sylvamo's marketing team consistently pushes the boundaries of communications while staying true to classic design principles. It's a pleasure to partner with Sylvamo, and we are delighted to see this interactive print project honored with a Visionary Summit Emerging Media Award."