Client: Drax Electric Vehicles
A data-driven PR strategy
24%
share of voice
3.9m
estimated coverage views
128
pieces of coverage
At the start of 2024, Drax Electric Vehicles had a confident ambition: to establish itself as a key player in EV charging conversation; growing the authority of its experts, and reaching new target decision-makers.
The challenge? Standing out in a market where competition was already rife.
That’s where we came in. With a data-led digital PR approach. Our strategic approach turned insights into headlines—securing high-impact media placements that elevated the brand and reached key decision-makers.
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Research and insight and survey agencies do a great job - but they are expensive. And not every data story needs to blow the campaign budget.
There are goldmines of free data out there. You just need to know where to look and how to craft your story. Data storytelling is about combining a change or difference in the data with relevant subjects or moments to create a brand new story.Something that sparks conversation. Something unexpected and eye-brow raising. Something that feels relevant and zeitgeisty.
That is where our three part formula comes in.
Let me demonstrate…so…Cultural moment + Brand topic + Data = A pretty damn good data story
Let me show you how that plays out in practice for a client like Drax Electric Vehicles. Drax are a brand wanting to establish themselves as a key player in the Electric Vehicle charging conversation.
So for that first part of the formula, we want to tap into a cultural moment.
For your client that might be the new series of the Traitors, it could be a brand new piece of legislation, it could be the next massive sporting event.For Drax that moment was ‘The November deadline for Public Charge Point Regulations’. Sexy right?!
Secondly: Your brand topic. These are the things your brand can sensibly talk about. It’s their areas of expertise, or the things that spring to mind when we think about them. In Drax’s case we went for ‘The charge point infrastructure’. Basically, ‘What is the access to chargepoints like around the UK?’
Thirdly: We want to investigate the data. Data is everywhere, and much of it is open source and free. For Drax, our data investigation led us to submitting Freedom Of Information requests to 210 local councils across Britain. It’s tough, and it’s time consuming – but it is free!
All of that means…that ahead of that November charge point deadline, we were able to talk about charge point compliance by councils by creating maps of the data from the councils themselves. No one had pieced together that data before. Were the first to tell that story
I’ll give you another Drax example: UK summer holidays + Driving holidays + Analysing 15,000 hotels on Booking.com…gives us…the ability to rank UK city destinations by percentage of hotels with Electric Vehicle charge points.
We followed the formula again for UK holiday parks using Zapmap as our data source, and managed to get Center Parcs to weigh in on the story with us. If you want to find out about the best and worst performing holiday parks then we’ll put that one in the comments.
[Steve Monk-Chipman, Head Of Creative]
The brief
Having previously collaborated with the brand on promoting its energy proposition, our 2024 goal was to help Drax spotlight their new EV proposition from the ground up; establishing the profiles of the department experts, and educating a fleet manager focused audience about the core services.
Already knowing the brand so well we could hit the ground running. We aimed to build awareness of the Drax Electric Vehicles via brand stories that delivered on key messages in earned media, as well as position Drax’s spokespersons as thought leaders.
Creativity & execution
Every brand – especially when they’re entering a market space - wants supercharged earned media coverage. But in a world where journalists are bombarded with pitches, standing out isn’t just a challenge—it’s an art. The secret? Data storytelling.
At its core, data storytelling is about showing change and difference—whether across time, geography, or demographics. The best data-led PR stories aren’t just numbers on a page; they provide context, spark conversations, and feel culturally relevant.
Here’s our three-part formula:
Tap into Pop-Culture moments
This is the topical hook that makes your story relevant. From the Spring Budget to the Met Gala, predictable holidays to UK policy changes—these popular culture moments dominate media conversations.Align with brand topics
Great PR stories sit at the intersection of a brand’s core themes and trending conversations. We find interesting (and sometimes niche) brand topics and keywords to uncover new spaces where our clients can be part of the discussion.Investigate the data
Data is everywhere, and much of it is free. We use open data sources like Google Trends, ONS reports, and YouGov surveys alongside proprietary client data to extract insights into compelling headlines.
Once we have these elements, we fuse them together in an unexpected way – we call it creative force-fitting. Sometimes, it’s a straightforward data analysis. Other times, it’s about making clever connections.
Our data story process
How we used this approach for Drax Electric Vehicles
DATA STORY 1. A FOI request on Public Charge Point Regulations
The pop-culture moment: November deadline for Public Charge Point Regulations.
The brand topic: EV charging infrastructure remains a major industry talking point, and regulation compliance is a growing concern. Checking in on the progress of the Public Charge Point Regulations built Drax into these conversations.
The open data: We submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 210 local councils across Great Britain, requesting insights into their compliance with the UK’s Public Charge Point Regulations 2023. - This was no mean feat!
The results:
34 pieces of coverage across top-tier national and regional outlets, including Metro, The Independent, Evening Standard, Daily Express, and Transport + Energy.
1.67M estimated coverage views.
Positioned Drax EV spokespeople as industry thought leaders.
DATA STORY 2. Using Booking.com data analysis to look at EV charging at UK hotels
The pop-culture moment: UK summer holidays
The brand topic: Hospitality is one of the brand’s target sales sectors. Travelers expect convenience—and that includes EV charging. But how many UK hotels offer EV charging?
We set out to find the answer and boost Drax EV in destination charging conversations.
The open data: We analysed over 15,000 hotels across 74 UK cities using booking.com data to uncover gaps in EV charging availability.
The results:
13 pieces of coverage in hospitality, motoring, and national news sites
783K estimated coverage views
Started an industry conversations on LinkedIn about the need for improved charging infrastructure at travel destinations.
All cities
Major cities
DATA STORY 3: Zap-Map data analysis: EV charging at UK holiday parks
The pop-culture moment: October half-term holidays
The brand topic: Destination charging is a growing concern for EV drivers. We saw an opportunity to highlight the best and worst-performing holiday parks—and gain mass media appeal by collaborating with a big name.
Execution: Using Zap-Map data, we analysed EV charger availability at Which? top-rated holiday parks. This gave us a plethora of regional story angles. When Center Parcs took the top spot, we reached out to collaborate with them and share a quote from their Director of Sustainability.
The results:
7 pieces of coverage in regional titles and trade media
601K estimated coverage views
Reached a new audience of holiday park operators and decision-makers
Bonus – Center Parcs shared with over 26K followers on LinkedIn.
Results & impact
This strategy wasn’t just about volume of coverage but about sparking meaningful conversations that positioned Drax Electric Vehicles as a leader in the space. By aligning cultural moments with data-driven insights, we delivered impressive results that exceeded our annual PR targets:
128 pieces of coverage (28% increase on annual target)
3.9M estimated coverage views (95% increase on annual target)
24% share of voice among competitors (2% increase from 2023)
In a highly competitive market where major players dominate the conversation, even a small shift in Share of Voice (SoV) is a big win.
A 2% increase now means Drax is taking up more space in industry discussions, outpacing 3 out of 4 competitors and gaining greater visibility among key decision-makers.
Given that SoV is often influenced by unpredictable factors like market disruptions, new product launches, or shifting media agendas, sustained growth signals a strong, consistent presence.
It can be a tough cookie to crack; that’s where we can help with a long-term fame Digital PR approach.
Share of Voice growth from 2023 to 2024
Our key takeouts in a nutshell:
Data stories create impact. Journalists crave original data, and we give them something worth publishing by uncovering new data insights.
Targeted content gets picked up. Each story was crafted for specific media verticals, ensuring maximum relevance and coverage.
Strategic partnerships boost reach. Collaborating with household-known brands like Center Parcs added credibility and media appeal.
Data - led PR isn’t just a trend; it’s a strategy that drives real business impact. If you want to turn insights into influence, then we’d love to chat.
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