Overview
This campaign has been selected as a finalist for the 2023 SABRE North America awards. Learn more.
In 2022, electric vehicle (EV) adoption reached a tipping point. Several of the world’s largest fleets, including Amazon, FedEx, IKEA and UPS, invested in medium- and heavy-duty EVs to execute their shared vision for climate action. This trend was bolstered by state and federal action, including California’s rule requiring 100 percent of new light- and medium-duty vehicles sold in the state to be zero emission vehicles (VEZs) by 2035 and the Inflation Reduction Act that further incentivized the transition to electric transportation. However, the lack of sufficient EV charging infrastructure to support these large electric fleets continues to be a problem. Enter Electreon: a first-of-its-kind, in-road wireless charging technology that powers EVs as they drive along roadways or while they’re temporarily stopped to drop off and pick up passengers or packages.
To date, most EV charging momentum and investments have been in traditional EV charging stations, so it takes strong voices and research to communicate a better path forward. With competition in the wireless EV charging market heating up, Electreon enlisted Antenna to enhance its product marketing and market research, grow brand awareness and power a strong entrance into the North American market.
Situation
Israel-based Electreon had been at the forefront of implementing its wireless charging technology on public roads in multiple countries, but was about to make its debut in the U.S. where brand awareness was low. Recognizing that an effective North America launch would require educating audiences on a first-of-its-kind technology and proving the technology investment was worthwhile for U.S. cities, the Electreon team tapped Antenna Group for launch, website, branding and media support, with an ultimate goal of building out the company’s North America pipeline.
Approach
The Antenna team took a two-pronged approach to provide Electreon with launch support. First, we conducted a messaging audit, stakeholder interviews, and a thorough competitive analysis to tailor the brand and product messaging for a North American audience and build accompanying foundational brand assets.
Second, we built a new website that included an updated logo and overall visual rebrand that reflected Electreon’s “new look.” The goal was to present Electreon as an innovative, global company with a mature business that has been deployed successfully in numerous countries – which was executed through strategically placed content throughout the site.
With the new messaging and website as our foundation, Antenna launched a media relations campaign to educate the market on Electreon’s entrance in the U.S. market and amplify the company’s leadership position in the EV industry. There was substantial community engagement involved to generate local support for the project.
Results
The Antenna team successfully generated qualified leads for Electreon in North America, effectively helping the team build their North America pipeline. Our work also generated interest in wireless charging technology from federal government leaders, mayors and state DOTs to generate interest in additional projects, prompting 12 letters and quotes from mayors and state DOTs seeking more flexibility to spend federal funding on innovative solutions like wireless charging.
Our media relations and thought leadership efforts yielded great success, positioning Electreon as an emerging advanced transportation market leader in North America. We received widespread coverage, including features in CNN, Forbes, Business Insider, US News, CBS News (7.2K views on YouTube), Axios, Canary, Fast Company and much more. Over the course of the campaign, our team secured 32 media interviews, 26 TV/Radio & podcast hits, 1,240 media placements, and earned over 1.872B media impressions surrounding the news.
We also secured interest from NBC to send a film crew to an Electreon project in Sweden which generated 30K views and counting with comments still rolling in 7 months later on YouTube. Our media coverage caught the attention of influencer Sam Bently (421K followers at the time) whose reel about Electreon’s technology and the Detroit project secured 1.3M views and over 109K likes.
As one of the first and only companies able to demonstrate in-motion wireless charging on public roads, Electreon’s wireless charging technology was identified as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Best Inventions of 2021. Electreon’s Electrified Roadway was also named a finalist for Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards.
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