This utilities explainer video for WaterOne walks Johnson County, Kansas residents through registering for NotifyJoCo, a community alert system covering water main breaks, school closures, and severe weather, using a friendly personified water glass as host. Created in 2021, as public education for the utility’s emergency communication program.
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About This Emergency Alert Explainer Video
The Challenge: Registering for a community alert system is a low-priority task for most residents until an emergency happens, and by then it’s too late to sign up.
The Solution: We used a personified water glass mascot to keep a dry registration topic approachable, then showed the real-world value of the system through scenarios like water main breaks and severe weather.
The Result: A video that motivates residents to register before an emergency, rather than after one, by making the value concrete and the registration process simple.
Key Features That Make This Alert System Video Work
- Engaging mascot host: a personified glass of water makes a dry utility topic approachable and memorable.
- Clear value proposition: real-world scenarios like water main breaks and school closures show the system’s practical utility.
- Actionable walkthrough: the registration process is demystified with a real look at the web portal and customization options.
- Ongoing engagement: the video reminds residents to keep their profile updated, not just sign up once.
Technical Details
Year: 2021
Format: Cartoon and motion graphics 2D animation
Style: Informative, friendly, urgent where appropriate
Purpose: Emergency alert system registration
Runtime: 1 minute, 39 seconds
Target Audience: Residents and workers of Johnson County, Kansas
Deliverables: YouTube and public safety outreach
Why Utilities Explainer Video Works for Emergency Alerts
Emergency preparedness content faces a real motivation problem, since residents rarely feel urgency about a system they don’t yet need.
A friendly, low-stakes explainer video gets ahead of that by making the sign-up process feel simple and worthwhile before an emergency creates pressure to act.
That proactive framing tends to drive higher enrollment than reactive messaging sent out during an actual crisis, when residents are already overwhelmed.
Related Water Utility Explainer Work
See how we’ve created utilities explainer video work for other water districts:
- WaterOne Backflow Prevention Explainer
- WaterOne Water Emergency Preparedness Explainer
- Browse the full TADApix portfolio
Need Utilities Video Production?
If a safety program needs residents to sign up before an emergency, not during one, a friendly animated explainer can drive that early action.
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