OverviewWeber Shandwick’s Cleantech practice offers two things: a team of dedicated, passionate marketing communications professionals who know cleantech and an integrated approach to communication that fits the solution to the need. We offer integrated services for companies of all sizes and maturities. Our team is made up of marketing and PR veterans, ex-entrepreneurs, former journalists, technologists and Cleantech evangelists, with members in key markets around the world. We are committed to marketing your brand and achieving the greatest possible positive exposure. Formally created in 2005, the Cleantech practice brings experience and innovative strategies to help companies (for-profit and not-for-profit) be successful and lead in a quickly changing industry.
What is Cleantech?We define Cleantech as innovative products or services specifically designed to optimize the use of natural resources to achieve reduced environmental impact (and better financial results).
The Weber Shandwick Cleantech practice has experience in the following areas:
- Renewable energy
- Water
- Energy efficiency
- Green building
- Daily consumer products
- Waste
- Recycling
- Utilities/smart grid
- Advanced materials
- Transportation
- Green IT
- Carbon/emissions
- Power storage
- Alternative fuels
Areas of ExpertiseWe are an integrated Cleantech team that provides a holistic approach to marketing communications. We specialize in:
- Advocacy
- Reputation management
- Branding / ID
- Green marketing
- Social media & Digital asset creation
- B-to-B marketing
- Internal communications
- Media and analyst relations
- Financial communications
- Video production
- Issues management
- Public affairs
- Government relations
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, a start up fuel cell company, wanted to be seen as innovators in a space that has traditionally been stuck in the lab, unprofitable and devoid of market smarts. To address this challenge, Horizon developed a hydrogen powered toy car, the H-Racer, with the hopes of generating revenue and raising awareness about the company and their technology. Horizon turned to Weber Shandwick’s Cleantech practice to create and execute a PR campaign that raised investor and consumer awareness, positioned the company as cleantech innovators, and put hydrogen fuel cell powered H-Racer toys in the hands of everyday consumers.
The Cleantech team primed the market through gadget enthusiasts, tech-centric bloggers, and online publications to generate grassroots consumer enthusiasm, which quickly translated to mainstream media attention. Mainstream media such as the
Associated Press, Wired, Men’s Health, and
Scholastic News were sent demonstration H-Racers to see the technology in action. Stories began to appear validating hydrogen technology, heralding the H-Racer as the must have holiday toy, and the most exciting example of hydrogen technology to date. The results were immediate. Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies began selling H-Racer’s at a record pace, and the media turned to Horizon executives for expert advice and opinions regarding the future and potential of hydrogen energy. The H-Racer won numerous awards, including TIME Best Inventions of the Year, and continues to garner coverage.
SkyFuel Inc. is a leading designer of concentrating solar power systems for utility-scale electricity generation. The company has developed advancements in the rapidly growing concentrating solar power industry. Their latest product is the SkyTrough™ – the highest performance, and lowest cost utility-scale solar power system of any kind for generating electricity. SkyFuel turned to Weber Shandwick for the launch of the SkyTrough™ and ReflecTech™, the patented-glass free mirrored material that lowers the overall cost of the system by 35 percent. The agency developed a comprehensive plan to unveil the technologies at an event held at SkyFuel’s research and development facility in Arvada, Colorado.
In order to establish SkyFuel as the premier solar power company and a leader in innovative new technology, the team at Weber Shandwick developed relationships with key media influencers and created targeted messaging about the cost savings associated with SkyFuel’s new technology. We also developed a b-roll package to aid in broadcast coverage. As a result of our efforts, SkyFuel’s story ran on The New York Times and Fortune Web sites. Articles were also placed in leading cleantech and solar industry publications like CNET, Earth2Tech and Treehugger. All five local broadcast news outlets attended the launch event and the press release was posted 270 times.