Applied Arts
ONE: EV Ingredient Brand Strategy
January 2023
ONE (Our Next Energy) is the Detroit-based battery manufacturer powering the next century by doubling the range of electric vehicles, utilizing more sustainable and abundant chemistries, and establishing a local supply chain. The company approached Applied Arts at launch to create clear, concise messaging that translates complex technologies into easily understandable concepts. We positioned ONE to lead with their mission, whereas many in the space lead with technical specs.
As an ingredient brand, ONE’s challenge was to gain visibility and recognition for a company otherwise known as primarily speaking to B2B and policy-minded audiences.
We began with an in-depth phase of competitive and category trend audits, seeking out an ownable whitespace for the brand. Building off of this work, we took ONE’s creative team through a workshop process to identify foundational language, which has subsequently been seeding out through website copy, press releases, and informed the brand’s thought leadership content.
We deployed three core messages that speak to both product and mission:
Double the range of electric vehicles.
Use safer, more sustainable raw materials.
Establish a local supply chain.
ONE has since been very well received in industry press and beyond, having secured $90MM in funding from BMW i Ventures, Coatue, Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and others.
ONE has also recently broken ground with a $1.6B investment in a Factory near Detroit, dubbed ONE Circle, which will provide 20GWh output and the ability to support the region with grid storage.
With bold gestures and demonstrations, we set ONE on a path to resonate with popular conversations around range anxiety, safety, sustainability and the supply chain, garnering an estimated $58.2 MM in Ad-equivalent coverage.
We're proud to say that we also broke through to the talking points of politicians such as Governor Whitmer and the White House.
We continue to work with ONE, advising on communications and positioning as the company scales.