A special purpose acquisition to supercharge commercial fleets

The Story

In 2020, Hyliion was the new kid on the block in commercial transportation, faced with the task of competing with more established industry players like Nikola and Tesla. Without the added benefit of building passenger vehicles for the consumer market like its competitors—and therefore the ability to cast a wider PR net—Hyliion turned to the one potentially market-changing advantage it had: its technology. There are three paths to electrification in commercial transportation today: electricity (Tesla), hydrogen (Nikola) and renewable natural gas (Hyliion), but only renewable natural gas has the capability to reduce, or even negate, carbon emissions. For an industry that leads the country in greenhouse gas emissions by a massive margin, it’s the story that, if told well, could build the foundation for a more sustainable future.

The Challenge

In June 2020, Hyliion had one more trick up its sleeve to make an immediate, significant market impact: It was going public in the fall via special purpose acquisition, and it needed the marketing and communications muscle to get it to the stock floor. Founded in 2015, the brand was more accustomed to accelerators and pitch competitions than earnings calls and bell ringings.

400%

1800+

289%

WEB TRAFFIC
increase driven by earned media

MEDIA MENTIONS
earned in target publications

SHARE OF VOICE
increase among direct competitors

The Solution

In the four months between the initial announcement and the public listing, Red Fan was integrated into every aspect of Hyliion’s marketing and communications plan, which involved:

  • Developing and supporting overall strategy and interagency coordination, which included key campaign themes and messages informed by Red Fan’s best-in-class analytics tools
  • End-to-end execution and content development for owned channels, including a rewritten website, email marketing campaigns and sales enablement materials
  • Social media support and copywriting for the brand and key executives
  • Building a brand story and positioning to establish differentiation in a market teeming with established competitors
  • Creating integrated corporate communications programs that incorporated:
    • Media, analyst and investor relations
    • Thought leadership, including executive positioning, ghostwritten bylines and speaker proposal development
    • Internal communications to keep Hyliion staff updated and cultivate a strong company culture
    • Industry events and trade show identification
    • Government relations content development

The Results

In just four months, Red Fan accomplished:

Hyliion’s October 2020 public listing was a success, as was the communications strategy that supported it.

Notable coverage includes Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! Finance, Cheddar, Forbes, Reuters, CNBC, Barron’s, MergerMarket, The Verge, Benzinga, S&P Global, Business Insider, Commercial Carrier Journal, Transport Dive, and FreightWaves.