Communicating About Wireless Power Transfer

3p is proud to partner with the Presidio Graduate School’s Managerial Marketing course on a blogging series about “sustainable marketing.” This post is part of that series. To follow along, please click here.

By Jonathan Gibson

There are important breakthroughs in transportation technology that you might not know about.  Electric Vehicles (EVs) are becoming more popular in mass transit applications because wireless power transfer technology such as those created at WAVE (Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification) keep improving.  And, EVs are green!  They are domestically powered and more efficient than traditional liquid-fuel vehicles. WAVE’s wireless power transfer enables your community to take advantage of this green transportation solution.  So why don’t you know about WAVE and wireless power transfer? This post will discuss the adoption process and how it can help the industry.

The wireless power transfer (WPT) market is now emerging in the U.S. and Europe.  As a young industry it has yet to reach high public awareness, which is the first step in the adoption process according to Marketing Management (Kotler, 2009).  Now let’s explore how to raise the awareness level of the WPT industry.

Obviously the messages in this WPT awareness campaign need to be tailored to the proper audience. Who would you announce WPT to?  WAVE Technologies is targeting the public transit arena, as mass transit could benefit from clean, green, wireless power to propel its busses, trains, and any other vehicles.  In the case of transit, a small audience of transportation managers is in charge of a large transportation network while the public greatly influences the acceptable options available to a given transit agency. Given these bifurcated targets, it makes sense to design an awareness campaign focused directly at the transit agencies as well as a broader campaign for the public.  We will focus on the public audience and how to reach them.

Step one is identifying a target region and campaigning in that region. These days cable offers focused advertising down to the zip code. Billboards also reach large audiences along key commuting arteries.  But both of these are expensive and of limited duration. Lasting public outreach can now be managed through social media such as websites, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and industry association partnerships.  Startups may be best-off hiring someone to manage their social media campaign.  A dedicated social media manager ensures responsiveness to trends and events and maximizes exposure to target audiences.  Outsourcing the online marketing usually offers the most ‘bang for the buck’ for startups.  Companies such as Pay Per Click Helpers and Marin Software can help your business manage its online presence for a reasonable cost.

Next the marketer must craft a message.  The product or industry should be identified with a clear name, such as wireless power transfer or a nice, short acronym such as WPT.   In the WPT case, the goal is to introduce a safe, convenient, efficient, and sustainable transportation power solution.  As mentioned earlier, WPT enables transit agencies to electrify its vehicles, which is known to be a more efficient, often times more reliable form of transportation.  WPT also offers transit agencies the convenience of rapid, no-touch charging of its fleet.  The message is simple; WPT is clean, safe, and convenient.

There is a bright future for WAVE and the WPT industry.  Here’s to raising awareness of the industry and promoting the adoption of this flexible, domestically powered, transportation solution.  WAVE is the green economy and you are invited to jump on the bus towards a better tomorrow. Look for a wireless bus near you.

To learn more about EVs check out Plug-In America.  To contact the author, please click here.

Reference:

Kotler, P and Keller, K. (2009). Marketing Management, 13th Ed. Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.