EMotive
Absolute PR were instrumental in the phenomenal success of our Crowdcube fundraising campaign at EMotive. Their diligent and committed approach to achieving both volume and quality of media coverage resulted in investors from over 30 countries and enquiries from all corners of the globe for our all-terrain electric commercial vehicle platform. Ultimately, this provided an excellent return on investment for us in terms of marketing spend.
EMotive
Dan Regan, Managing Director
The Process
What
Campaign to launch the world’s first zero-emission, all-terrain electric vehicle to investors, in a bid to raise £180,000 via a Crowdcube funding campaign
How
Media relations
Where
National, international, regional and industry sector media
When
Jan-Feb 2022
The Challenge
To raise the profile of EMotive’s new Scarab 6-wheel, all terrain, electric, off-highway vehicle with investors, to raise £180,000 via Crowdcube.
Investors had to be convinced of the diversity of the Scarab platform across multiple markets, and applications, so that funds could be raised to take the vehicle to the next stage of its development, ready for demonstration and mass production under licence.
A secondary challenge was to build awareness of the EMotive Scarab’s capabilities among manufacturers, which are target markets for the production of the Scarab under licence.
Our Solution
Although a world-first, EMotive and the prototype Scarab had no profile or credibility. To address this, we took the bold move of positioning the EMotive Scarab as an electric vehicle (EV) challenger to the market-leading internal combustion engine (ICE) Mercedes Unimog.
In doing so, the target audience immediately understood the multi-platform nature of the Scarab, enabling it to be used in applications ranging from fire rescue all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to farm, forestry and adventure tourism trucks.
Credibility in place, Absolute worked with EMotive to identify the global value of its target sector – worth over USD 5.48* billion. Absolute also identified that the government plans to end the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles weighing from 3.5 to 26 tonnes by 2035, creating a tangible need for a solution in this space.
Bringing these facts together built a compelling investor case for the EMotive Scarab proving its diversity, establishing the legislative driving forces that will drive demand and sales, and establishing its first-mover advantage in the market.
Combined with a campaign that evidenced the pedigree, experience and ingenuity of the EMotive design team – spanning Supacat, F1, McLaren, Catepillar and Lotus – Absolute was able to build a powerful and compelling story both for investors and the media.
Supported by striking imagery, a slick pitch-film, and key messaging on the advantages of EMotive’s technology over ICE vehicle alternatives, Absolute created a launch story that reverberated around the world.
What We Achieved
By developing versions of the Crowdcube funding launch announcement for all of EMotive Scarab’s target markets, Absolute secured broad, relevant and targeted coverage both domestically and internationally.
As a direct result, EMotive secured full funding within just four days. This triggered a second press release on the success of the funding round, generating further global coverage as well as pieces on BBC Spotlight, ITV Westcountry, on BBC Radio Devon’s news, and a 20-minute BBC piece on EMotive and its technology.
On a shoestring budget of under £3,000 Absolute, secured over 70 pieces of coverage, including pieces in international titles in Russia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Italy, India and Australia. Headlines included ‘EMotive to go head-to-head with the Unimog’.
The combined result was a Crowdcube fundraise of £1/4 million, far exceeding the £180,000 target. Vitally, the campaign generated direct manufacturer enquiries from around the world, which even led to site visits from businesses in Saudi Arabia and Australia, despite the world pandemic.