NEXT GENERATION MOBILITY
Launching SWITCH e1 - a pioneering electric bus for the European market
30th June 2022
Services: Campaign planning, event design and build, logo development, video production, photography, social media management
What’s the difference between launching a car and a bus?
The sheer number of purchase influencers. And about 9000kgs.
Team SC have worked on innumerable car launches between them, but this was a different beast. Certified carbon neutral manufacturer, Switch Mobility, were launching their new 12m bus for Europe - the first launch since the conception of the brand in 2021. We’ve been with them since the beginning and couldn’t have been prouder to be a part of this monumental company milestone.
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We helped them to devise and deliver a comms plan that would inform policy makers, fleet operators, drivers and riders of the battery technology and lightweight construction underpinning the product. The SWITCH e1 boasts the lowest total cost of ownership for operators - vital with the pressing need to ensure carbon free mass mobility is accessible for all.
The campaign consisted of a doubleheader of mobility shows - BUS2BUS in Berlin and the European Mobility Expo in Paris - with the focus of the former being brand awareness and private previews and the latter focussing firmly on all things SWITCH e1.
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Capturing content for this campaign took us to the Leeds factory with the ever amazing Duna Films for an overnight shoot; a heady mix of smoke machines, strobe lighting and Travelodge breakfasts. The teasers, films and interviews shot across these two days formed the backbone of the pre launch comms and delivered evergreen content for thought leadership and social requirements.
Our friends at IYA worked with us to translate the SWITCH brand essence into a live event experience and the wildly experienced Skyline Whitespace and KreMa made these visions a reality, all while keeping sustainability a top priority. This vivid representation of urban utopia, complete with the sound of birdsong and the scent of freshly cut grass, made a real impact as our friendly multilingual hosts welcomed delegates from all over the world.
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The fantastic photographer Jenna Foxton was persuaded to take the train from Truro and join us in Paris for a slightly different assignment to usual - and SWITCH couldn’t have been happier with her fresh take on exhibition photography and her beautiful images that highlight the people behind the product.
There is still a way to go to convince the British public that getting the bus is a viable option for some of their journeys, and a lot to be done in terms of fleet electrification and infrastructure, but momentum is building.
So yes, there are a lot of differences between launching a car and a bus. There was less champagne. But there was a sense of being part of building a more sustainable future. And that’s worth toasting.
Author: Rebecca Day, CEO at Still Curious