Challenge

As the Swedish e-scooter pioneer Voi Technology’s retained agency we were asked to position the company as the leading micromobility company in Europe and to implement a cost-effective solution to support consistent comms in multiple markets. We have been supporting Voi throughout its journey from an early stage tech startup to a tech unicorn, raising the company’s profile with investors and key policy and transport decision makers including convincing politicians to legislate to open up markets.

Action

In a competitive sector, with a nascent technology, we needed to establish Voi’s brand quickly and differentiate it from peers. Leaning heavily on Voi’s Swedish DNA and European approach to building a tech company, we began by positioning the company as collaborative and willing to work within regulation, in contrast to other operators. We set up a fast-paced press office, creating several stories per week that were both reactive and proactive, as well as tailored, nuanced content to fit different markets. We targeted specialist media, as well as consumer and business titles, in multiple regions. Since the company was in its early days, we acted as a comms hub creating the company narrative and strategy, and providing content that could be translated and adapted by partner agencies across Europe. As the regulatory landscape changed quickly, we were agile and responsive in our approach, which also involved crisis preparedness and crisis response to limit and negate bad publicity.

Result

Over several years, our work helped Voi become recognised as the leading European operator of shared e-scooters and a partner to cities; as the most collaborative and responsible e-scooter operator globally; and as a brand that cares about the environment. Voi is number one in Europe for market share across both regulated and unregulated markets. Building on the early work, we have continued to position Voi as a visionary business with a mission to provide a new type of public transport and pioneering concepts such as the 15-Minute City.

Voi’s executives are regularly asked to contribute to the debate on how cities need to change, public and private transport and the impact of cars in cities and are sought-after speakers at key industry events including Web Summit, Collision and Slush.

Voi’s growth has involved several successful funding rounds, making Voi one of the best-funded and well-used operators in the sector, and it has to date won over 60% of the UK’s e-scooter tenders in 2020 and 2021. We continue to support Voi’s corporate and UK communications strategy, helping Voi lead the conversation around micromobility, sustainability and transport innovation in Europe.