Crossing the Finish Line/
How Mercom took over a doomed launch event and made it an international success
Introduction
Highview Power is an innovative long-duration energy storage company that solves solar and wind intermittency by using liquid air to power entire cities for hours or weeks. Since the company was based in London, it was already working with a UK-based PR agency and had recently engaged Mercom to educate US stakeholders about its technology.
The company was in the process of developing a critical plant that would define the company’s future but was increasingly concerned about the ability of its UK firm to execute a seamless event due to an ongoing series of unresolved issues.
Client Challenge
As the plant launch event approached the point of no return, Highview Power’s leadership team faced a difficult decision: continue with the current agency and hope for the best, or switch horses and bring in a new PR agency to finish the task.
Highview Power contacted Mercom to share the launch challenges and gain insight into how Mercom would approach the project. Ultimately, Highview Power felt more confident with Mercom’s approach and asked the agency to take over the project management.
Approach
In coordination with Highview Power’s marketing team, Mercom identified issues with the project launch plan, made revisions, and immediately worked on resolving outstanding issues to get the launch event back on track.
Mercom also leveraged its clean energy expertise and internal network of media contacts to secure their participation, drive attendance and generate coverage with high-profile media outlets such as the BBC and Forbes.
To supplement post-event outreach and promotion, Mercom coordinated on-site video and photography to visually document the plant opening event.
Results
Mercom’s experience and our “get it done” approach resulted in a successful launch event that celebrated the business partners and government officials who attended while also generating international media coverage.
Additionally, Mercom was asked to serve as Highview Power’s official agency of record and take over their global communications.
