E-bike maker, Velotric, originally approached us to help generate press for the launch of their first bike, Discover 1. From there, the mandate evolved over two years and encompassed PR for 5 more bikes in the lineup, along with media relations support for a funding round. We also were tasked with driving affiliate-type media coverage aimed at direct sales.

E-bikes are a crowded category, one that’s very much still in Wild West mode. When we started this mandate, e-bikes fell into two camps: ultra premium priced offerings for a small segment of the population, and cheaper (but still pricey) bikes that performed poorly. Our main challenges were figuring out clear differentiation and establishing credibility.

Our initial work led us to position the company as the Honda of e-bikes and the Discover 1 model as the Honda Civic of e-bikes. This somewhat counterintuitive move was driven by cold hard facts and a realization that media in the category were tired with hyperbole.

Our media targeting spanned a range of categories from tech, to mainstream, to commerce/shopping and, of course, e-mobility. In the e-bike category, some of the most influential reporters write for relatively small outlets, so we paid attention to smaller media in addition to the usual large-audience targets. While we did solicit coverage quickly, our work was really about building longer-term relationships with outlets. We used a variety of tactics to accomplish this – including small-group conference calls to introduce new products and product lines.

The mandate with Velotric has been, without a doubt, one of our most successful to date.

Impressions number in the billions and Ad Value Equivalency (a metric that puts a dollar value on PR placements based on ad costs) has exceeded over $10 million USD since we began working with the company.

There have been over 100 media placements in outlets as diverse as CNET, Forbes, Elektrek, CNN, Rolling Stone, Bicycling, Fortune, and Inside EVs.

Qualitatively, the media placements have helped build a brand. Forbes named Velotric’s Thunder 1 the best overall e-bike for 2023.

Writing on the Velotric Nomad e-bike, Review Geek’s Cory Gunter wrote, “I review e-bikes for a living. Here is my favorite one so far.”

The Wall Street Journal said the Discover 1 was a “great lower-priced e-bike for commutes.”

Micah Toll, of Elektrek – probably the most influential e-bike journalist in the world – said that “Velotric nailed it with the Thunder 1 series.”

Business-wise the impact of PR has been immense. Velotric sold for over $15M USD in the final 8 months of 2022. They also raised over $12.5M from venture capitalists during a time when VCs were incredibly tight with investment. The company is now regularly mentioned in Best Of lists and generates significant organic earned media coverage. Velotric has gone from a zero to well-known brand that’s perfect for first-time e-bike buyers and those seeking a great value-for-money bike.