Client: e1 Marine
Generating business leads and commercial growth for a new brand
Background
Hydrogen technology pioneer e1 Marine was founded by Ardmore Shipping, an independent owner and operator of mid-size product and chemical tanker vessels; Maritime Partners, a tailored leasing solution provider to the maritime industry and Element 1, the leading methanol-to-hydrogen technology company.
e1 Marine has a vision to drive positive change through the development and delivery of innovative technology supporting the use of hydrogen as a fuel for the international maritime markets and was looking to build its brand and reputation among key stakeholders, and develop the corporate communications as the company develops commercially, particularly as it expands into Europe.
Objectives
e1 Marine was at the start of its journey to become an important player in developing and delivering low-carbon energy to international maritime markets, and it has the experience and financial backing to accelerate its development and growth on a global scale in line with demand.
BLUE was tasked with positioning e1 Marine as a pioneering company – with credible backing from all three partners that takes it beyond perception as a ‘start-up’ to a company that is playing a leading role in supporting shipping’s energy transition. In addition, BLUE focussed on building a strong brand, enterprise value and reputation for e1 Marine with its key stakeholders and develop a share of voice in the future fuels and maritime energy transition debate.
Approach
BLUE focussed on e1 Marine’s launch, developing brand awareness for key target stakeholders and in the global maritime media – through both a thought leadership content and corporate communications led approach, super-charged by social media and SEO support.
BLUE secured “merit-based” speaking opportunities for e1 Marine to discuss key industry issues in the same forums as other major low carbon fuels developments which highlighted its growth and experience by positioning the company as a truly global innovator.
Results
A year following e1 Marine’s brand launch, BLUE managed and moderated an event in Amsterdam titled “Getting Hydrogen to Work” which included three panels of maritime experts who discussed how to improve the emissions profile of shortsea shipping and the potential for green shore power. The event welcomed over 60 industry leaders from around the world to discuss industry challenges and opportunities for hydrogen fuel which generated new business leads for e1 Marine.
Using its wide-ranging media network, BLUE pitched and secured regular interviews and on the thought leadership topic of bringing reliable, cost-effective, and low emission power to ports, BLUE has demonstrated to the market that the e1 Marine is a respected brand and expert in its growing field.
Client: GoodFuels
Supporting a future marine fuel supplier from start-up to scale-up
Background
BLUE was appointed by sustainable marine biofuels supplier GoodFuels from when they were founded in September 2015. Our relationship kicked off when BLUE supported a consortium of likeminded companies, including GoodFuels, with the announcement to the market that they were working to pioneer biofuels as a low carbon fuel solution in shipping. Our consistent, retained remit spanning seven years has seen us support GoodFuels to communicate the successful and rapidly mounting uptake of biofuel as a sustainable fuel solution, positioning the company right at the heart of the decarbonisation debate in shipping.
Objectives
In a sometimes-conservative industry, there is a high burden of proof required to make sure owners, operators and charterers feel confident in making an investment in speculative and novel solutions. GoodFuels had a similar challenge with its biofuel, particularly at launch – some four or five years ahead of the curve with respect to the marine future fuel transition. To that effect, communications objectives have centred on holistic brand-building for not only the company, but also for biofuel as a fuel solution; genuinely trying to ‘move the dial’ and build confidence in the low carbon fuel as a solution for today, not just tomorrow.
Approach
Our long-term retained relationship with GoodFuels has predominantly centred on high impact media opportunities and ‘squeezing the asset’ as GoodFuels have been able to trial their fuel with major brand shipowners, operators, and charterers. BLUE has placed particular focus on impactful thought leadership designed to clearly lay out out biofuels’ position in the marine fuel mix, today and in the future. Collectively with GoodFuels, our messaging has not been shy about challenging the industry to trial and adopt the fuel at scale.
Results
Today, GoodFuels is an extremely well-developed future fuels supplier with a recognised market leading brand in the biofuels space. Their established brand and proactive style of communication, propelled by BLUE’s strategic counsel and tactical execution, has directly contributed to not only the company’s success, but also the continued awareness of sustainable marine biofuel as a key decarbonisation tool at shipping’s disposal.
Client: Proman Stena Bulk
Helping a joint venture between one of world’s largest methanol producers and a major shipowner to build the profile of methanol as a marine fuel
Background
BLUE was appointed by Proman Stena Bulk – a joint venture between methanol producer Proman and tanker shipping company Stena Bulk – at the beginning of 2022. Building on our existing relationship with Stena Bulk, BLUE has carved out a new, retained remit for the joint venture that is aimed at communicating their corporate successes and building the profile of methanol as a marine fuel via thought leadership and constant market engagement.
Objectives
In the opening phases of the maritime energy transition, producers of each potential low or zero carbon fuel are aiming to communicate the benefits of, and market confidence in, their solution. Proman Stena Bulk’s vision is to advance the profile of methanol as a marine fuel (MMF) by proving that it is operationally viable in the near term.
Our objectives include communicating milestones related to the joint venture’s owned and operated methanol tanker fleet – and the fact that they are six of less than twenty vessels in the world that currently use methanol – as well as using thought leadership to talk about methanol’s role in maritime decarbonisation.
Approach
Our activity with Proman Stena Bulk is highly focused on detailed media engagement and relationship building, to build the credibility of the joint venture and to raise awareness of their activities. Our corporate news pipeline has been populated by regular updates on the status of Proman Stena Bulk’s growing fleet of methanol fuelled tankers, as well as the wider initiatives (including green funds & working groups) the joint venture is taking to ensure methanol can be scaled as a marine fuel. We have also placed a high focus on industry events and awards to create the platforms for high level communications.
Results
Today, Proman Stena Bulk is increasingly seen as a market leader on not only methanol as a marine fuel, but also its practical implementation and scaling journey. This strong start has set us up to now move into the next phase where we will position methanol as a staged journey to decarbonisation, and how the industry can ‘move through the gears’ of grey, blue and green methanol, supported by a burgeoning alternative fuels supply chain.
Client: XFuel
Synthetic diesel refinery technology
Background
XFuel produces unique synthetic biofuels for the maritime, road transport, and aviation sectors, utilising a unique refinery process. This process allows XFuel to create ‘drop in’ equivalents of VLSFO, HSFO, road diesel, and – in the near future – jet fuel.
XFuel’s refinery technologies mean that their fuels can be created at an equivalent cost to traditional fossil fuels, even at a small scale, while using globally abundant lignocellulosic waste from the manufacturing, building, agriculture, and forestry sectors.
Objectives
BLUE was tasked with raising the profile of XFuel and its technology, and highlighting that second-generation biofuels will play a critical role in accelerating decarbonisation across transportation and logistics.
This included increasing the profile of XFuel as a solution provider to ports, marine fuel suppliers and cargo owners, road fuels networks and hauliers, and airlines, air fuel providers and airports, as well as to potential investors.
Approach
BLUE developed a thought leadership campaign-focussed approach that complements XFuel’s business objectives and announcement timelines. By segmenting campaigns into quarterly thought leadership, BLUE has established XFuel as a leading voice on fuel market and decarbonisation issues, establishing a platform from which to make the case for a new, sustainable generation of biofuels and the role they have to play in the future decarbonisation mix.
This has entailed securing editorial and interview coverage in major shipping and green business publications, drafting and distributing press releases for relevant news, securing XFuel’s attendance at relevant events, and improving website search engine optimisation, and running paid social campaigns to directly target key stakeholders and follower growth.
Results
BLUE has secured 112 pieces of coverage for XFuel amongst publications with a total online readership of 21 million, equating to an estimated 72,000 coverage views. This includes 41 editorials, interviews, comments, and media mentions, all of which support XFuel’s long term brand-building efforts.
Where XFuel has only been a BLUE client for one quarter at the time of writing, this relationship is already facilitating and supporting discussions with potential partners, investors, and clients.
Looking at digital marketing results, BLUE has helped XFuel across the board with increasing its digital landscape metrics in the last quarter.
BLUE has implemented a strategy of both paid campaigns and organic social content for XFuel’s LinkedIn account. In the first quarter of working with XFuel, there was a 331.4% increase in page views, 134.5% increase in clicks to their website and a 254.6% increase in follower growth.
