Tech PR & Marketing Agency

Lightyear pushes boundaries

Lightyear, a Dutch start-up has a single mission: clean mobility for everyone. How do they aim to achieve this? By designing a car that relies on the most abundant, accessible energy source on Earth: sunlight.

Founded in 2016 by alumni of the Solar Team Eindhoven, a three-time winner of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (2013, 2015, and 2017), Lightyear was born from a series of successes that gave the team confidence to bring their cutting-edge technology to the public.

In late June, Lightyear introduced the rise of a new dawn at sunrise, unveiling the first prototype of their solar-powered car: the Lightyear One, which runs on solar energy generated through rooftop solar panels.

Strategy

The ambitious project was launched worldwide. This complex global challenge was an ideal fit for international communications agency TEAM LEWIS, whose expertise added significant value. Each country required a unique approach due to cultural differences, making TEAM LEWIS the perfect match for Lightyear’s needs.

Leading up to the official unveiling of the Lightyear One, TEAM LEWIS collaborated with Lightyear to craft content for the new website and various articles, invited European media to the launch, and set up numerous interviews both prior to and during the event.

In the week of the launch, the story was picked up by over 600 publications globally. At sunrise, 60 journalists from ten different countries traveled to Katwijk to witness the stunning reveal of the Lightyear One prototype.

Results

• Over 800 clippings worldwide (and counting)
• 60+ international journalists, all ready at 4:30 a.m.
• Coverage in 10 different countries

Ready to hit the road?

Cyclomedia is the world leader in digital visualization of outdoor environments. It develops, builds, and operates the world’s most advanced mobile mapping systems to capture densely populated urban areas. These valuable insights are shared with municipalities, governments, and businesses to help them create greener, more accessible, and safer environments.

Cyclomedia aimed to strengthen its position as an expert and boost brand awareness to establish new partnerships with governments across Europe and expand existing collaborations in the Netherlands. With traffic safety at the top of government agendas worldwide, as part of the goal to eliminate all traffic fatalities, TEAM LEWIS saw a great opportunity for Cyclomedia. Together, they launched an international data-driven PR campaign focused on urban traffic safety, positioning Cyclomedia as a leader in safe mobility solutions.

 

Strategy

To achieve this, TEAM LEWIS conducted a European study across 16 capital cities to assess road safety. The team surveyed road users on topics such as traffic safety, quality, and accessibility. The results were presented in the Urban Road Safety Index, providing governments with guidelines for improving urban road safety. The research also formed the foundation for a long-term, data-driven PR campaign developed by TEAM LEWIS. With a hyper-local approach, TEAM LEWIS and Cyclomedia delivered these valuable insights through press releases and media pitches. To maximize the campaign’s efficiency, it was further supported by content creation, media outreach, whitepaper development, and newsjacking.

Results

We successfully put Cyclomedia and The Urban Road Safety Index on the map, achieving impressive results. The campaign positioned Cyclomedia as a key expert in the field. A total of 65 articles were published, reaching over 10 million people. The campaign was also rolled out in Germany and will soon expand to the streets of the United States. Additionally, the Urban Road Safety Index will now be an annual feature.

TEAM LEWIS and Cyclomedia are on a solid path to promoting better road safety worldwide by raising global awareness!

 

Mobility in the Netherlands

Parkmobile, the number 1 parking app in the Netherlands, has over 2 million active users and access to a wealth of relevant data. This gives them valuable insights into how mobility in the Netherlands is evolving—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, they began mapping parking data for the largest and most tourist-heavy cities in the Netherlands. To increase visibility and strengthen their position, TEAM LEWIS has been supporting them with PR activities by sharing the parking barometer weekly with relevant trade media and news journalists.

PR campaign

The parking barometer quickly proved to be a successful move, resulting in 135 publications in the largest Dutch newspapers and on online platforms such as NU.nl, Telegraaf, RTL Nieuws, and NOS. Additionally, TEAM LEWIS frequently pitches interviews with Parkmobile’s Managing Director, Esther van der Meer, where she provides further insights into the parking data. The campaign also generated 50 radio segments, including appearances on BNR Nieuwsradio, Qmusic, and Radio538.