GoKawiilData center industry turns to children's books and school outreach to counter local opposition
Trade group 7x24 Exchange International is promoting a children's story, 'What is a Data Center?,' featuring a honey badger character touring a facility to learn why data centers matter. The effort is part of a broader push by data center companies and industry groups—including job programs, tax-break lobbying, and local chapter outreach like the Potomac chapter of the Association for Computer Operations Management—to build goodwill with communities and young people as opposition to large data center construction grows.
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A University of Colorado Boulder researcher, Alex Molnar, says industries facing public image problems—from tobacco to oil and gas—have historically used school outreach as a form of corporate storytelling rather than direct product promotion, suggesting the data center sector may be following a similar playbook to shape public perception amid backlash over energy use and land development. This could indicate the industry views community and educational messaging as a longer-term strategy to offset resistance that lobbying and tax incentives alone haven't resolved.
- 7x24 Exchange International is distributing a children's story about data centers aimed at young readers.
- The tactic mirrors historical PR strategies used by industries like tobacco and fast food to reach communities through schools, according to a researcher.
- The push comes amid growing local pushback against data center expansion tied to energy and resource concerns.
Source: wired.com — Caroline Haskins, 2026-10-18
Published there as: “Data Centers Have a New PR Plan: Your Kid’s Field Trip”
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