Background
BLUE began working with Ardmore Shipping in 2010, shortly after Ardmore was founded with the goal of building a world-leading tanker company in the midsize product and chemical tanker sector. BLUE fulfils a wide communications brief that includes public relations, media relations and crisis management.
Objectives
Founded by a team of highly experienced tanker industry professionals and based in Cork, Ireland, Ardmore Shipping set out with the objective of building a truly world-class tanker company that would fulfil the highest professional standards in all respects, technical, operational and commercial.
With a unique ethos based around the ‘Ardmore Standard’, BLUE was tasked with helping Ardmore Shipping – a newly founded company – to introduce itself to the sector, to build a public profile that reflected Ardmore’s values and strengths, and, in a crowded market, to help Ardmore stand apart from the competition.
Approach
BLUE’s work with Ardmore is founded upon on our deep understanding of its values, its standards and its offer to the market. We worked closely with them to develop a set of key messages that encapsulated Ardmore’s strengths and a communications programme that would target their chosen audiences, including prospective charterers and investors. Through carefully selected media opportunities with such leading industry titles as TradeWinds, Lloyd’s List and Fairplay, BLUE then helped Ardmore to tell their story to the shipping world.
As Ardmore’s fleet has grown through acquisitions and its newbuild programme, we have continued to support Ardmore through the ongoing evolution of its message to the market. Most recently, this has centred on Ardmore’s complete eco-efficiency solution, combining the best of eco-design, eco-modification and eco-operations to deliver optimal fuel efficiency and commercial performance.
As well as providing strategic counsel and guidance on all PR matters, BLUE is an integral part of Ardmore’s crisis communications team. Since its public listing in 2013, BLUE has also worked closely with Ardmore and its investor relations advisors to ensure that Ardmore’s communications activities meet the regulatory requirements and commercial needs of a public company.
Results
Ardmore Shipping has grown into a mid-sized tanker company with a fleet of 20+ vessels and a burgeoning reputation for commercial and operational excellence that has seen it work with such renowned charterers as Vitol, Cargill and Itochu. This reputation also stood Ardmore Shipping in good stead during its successful flotation on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013, where it is now publicly listed.
