Over a decade of international research and development preceded OceanBased Perpetual Energy’s ultimate decision to put scientific findings to the test and demonstrate the theory that ocean currents alone could generate electricity on a perpetual basis.
To gain investors, OceanBased, a multinational consortium of award-winning aerospace and defense engineers, had to show the world that research could not only be translated into a clean power generation source, but developed into a commercially viable commodity that could ultimately be connected to the U.S. power grid or stored for third-party use.
Their target proving ground for the demonstration was the Florida Gulf Stream, where they sought to harness the powerful phenomena of its rapid perpetual current running through a narrow portion of the ocean just miles offshore.
Just months before the planned demonstration, OceanBased came to Pierson Grant to enlist our assistance with publicizing it. We spent extensive time with their executives that included reviewing research and the various turbine technology being tested, editing pitch books and other narratives, and strategizing on public policy aspects of the endeavor, including environmental, regulatory and legislative, and providing training on handling interviews in both the print and broadcast media. We created informative, interesting website copy, an online research library and coordinated professional executive biographies and accompanying photos.
We also recruited and coordinated a top underwater videographer to travel with the crew and document the demonstration, which was slated to last several days in open water amid the Gulf Stream.
To introduce OceanBased most effectively, we worked to establish a branded, cohesive and digital presence for the company designed to impart the monumental and groundbreaking nature of their mission. This entailed creating a new, more search-friendly website, solidifying their logo and marketing collateral, and creating branded social media properties on which we posted pertinent information several times a week, that included clean energy and ocean economy-related news interspersed with updates about the company activities and progress toward their demonstration day.
Crucially, Pierson Grant was undaunted in executing our plan for the OceanBased demonstration, despite two major historic news events breaking almost at the exact pivotal points in our timeline: The outbreak of COVID just days before the OceanBased industrial research vessel was set to load in and launch, and months later, when the Black Lives Matter riots broke out just as we had distributed news of the demonstration’s ultimate success.
Pierson Grant was able to respond quickly to both events, leveraging our superior media relationships to ensure the news of OceanBased’s triumph received its proper attention and later even handling layers of major media risk management requirements to pave the way for a nationally known broadcast journalist to join the group on a follow-up mission.
News of OceanBased appeared in major media and trade publications and was syndicated worldwide, gaining substantial leverage for the company to present its work to substantial investors.
In the time that followed, Pierson Grant maintained a constant presence for OceanBased’s website blog and social media channels, ensuring lively, engaging and pertinent content to continue capitalizing on its momentum as the company pursued its business development plans.