Multi-Faceted Pitching Campaign Garners Six Industry Exclusives and $14.4 Million in Ad Value Equivalent for ZeroAvia

THE COMPANY

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation solutions to address various markets, initially targeting a 500-mile range in up to 19 seat aircraft used for commercial passenger transport, cargo, agriculture, and more. Since its founding in 2017, ZeroAvia has grown into a powerhouse poised to revolutionize the aviation industry. Based in the UK and USA, ZeroAvia has secured experimental certificates for two prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA, passed significant flight test milestones, and is on track for commercial operations in 2024. ZeroAvia completed the UK’s first-ever commercial-scale battery-electric flight in June 2020 and the first flight of the largest commercial hydrogen-electric aircraft in September 2020. The company’s expanding UK operations are supported by grants from UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, and ZeroAvia is part of the UK Prime Minister’s Jet Zero Council.

THE CHALLENGE

In the fall of 2020, the company’s mission to transition the world to zero-emission hydrogen-electric flight picked up a significant tailwind. The startup prepared to announce its $21.4 million in new funding in a Series A round, UK government funding through the ATI Programme for an additional $16.3 million, and a partnership with British Airways. As preparations began for that, two other significant announcements came to light. As December approached, it was clear that targeted strategy and detailed execution were required to ensure each item of news resonated with the market at the level it deserved, and the announcements collectively impacted the market to carry the company into stardom.

THE STRATEGY

Due to the massive amount of pre-approval and communications required between high-profile investors (Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon Climate Pledge Fund) brought all PR stakeholders to the table early in the process and worked with the UK PR firm Madano to cover European press. 

In addition, Technica planned to highlight the household names of Jeff Bezos (Amazon Climate Pledge Fund) and Bill Gates (Breakthrough Energy Ventures) to help generate more reporter interest and coverage, especially from mainstream outlets who had not covered ZeroAvia in the past. And lastly, since many other companies in zero-emission aviation were not showing real-world results, Technica highlighted ZeroAvia’s concrete achievements as the first steps to the near-term transition to zero-emission aviation. 

Six weeks before the news announcement, Technica kicked off a series of introductory planning calls with each key investor to gain the necessary messaging and strategy. In addition, Technica worked closely with Madano to coordinate the Series A and grant announcements, whose content and timing were continually fluid. To prepare, Technica developed three different press release drafts if any announcement timeline changed. It also created a flowchart to navigate the approvals needed to publish one (or more) announcements. As the December holidays approached and the window of announcement opportunity closed, Technica facilitated a vast amount of stakeholder approvals, fact-checking, and editing to ensure accuracy. Once the funding closed and investors approved the final press release, Technica secured exclusive coverage commitments in six crucial industry verticals to ensure a series of influential articles would hit the public on the day the release was posted.

THE RESULTS

Technica secured and hosted 11 interviews with various journalists and ZeroAvia CEO Val Miftakhov. Included in this were exclusive interviews with Reuters, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Flying Magazine, and Greentech Media (now Canary Media). Meanwhile, Technica coordinated with Madano to place the story with the Daily Telegraph. 

Securing a Reuters exclusive paid dividends as facilitated pick-up from other top-tier press. While this strategy is more complex to execute, the results spoke volumes. The 39 original articles out of 324 pick-ups resulted in $14.4 Million in advertising value equivalent and 1,557,613,890 total potential ad reach.

Post-release, ZeroAvia has been accepted to speak at over 20 conferences worldwide, including Bank of America’s H2 Conference, Reuters Hydrogen 2021, Revolution Aero Global, and the Energy Tech Summit. ZeroAvia was also selected from hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Technology Pioneers” and was named a Finalist in the Transportation Category of Fast Company’s 2021 World-Changing Ideas Awards.