When America’s largest automaker General Motors decided to accelerate the shift of its portfolio from fossil fuels to electric vehicles, with a commitment to sell zero-emission only vehicles by 2035, and with a $27 billion investment in electrification – we knew we had quite a challenge ahead. Not only were Americans skeptical of electric vehicles, many were skeptical of GM. To overcome this, we needed to convince Americans that GM was the modern company to bring them the most exciting transportation technology since the first car. And in the end, we got everybody in: from Wall Street to Main Street.

When we started, GM was at its biggest inflection point since the switch from horses to cars. However, with decades of baggage that comes with being a legacy automaker, many investors and everyday auto consumers doubted GM’s ability to compete in the electric game.

This was especially apparent when looking at our market capitalization, which despite bringing in over 5 times the revenue and securing a profit year-after-year, paled in comparison to Tesla’s soaring numbers.

To tackle this, our brief was a big one: help GM spur mass adoption of EVs by breaking its legacy automaker inertia.

The ask included business and attitudinal objectives, including:

-Taking GM from a value stock to a growth stock

-Positioning GM’s Ultium battery platform as the industry-leading platform for all types of EVs

-And putting GM at forefront of EV conversation

While our business commitments showed we were ready for a new era of electrified transportation, we couldn’t simply come out with that message. Outdated perceptions about the brand ran too deep. A complete overhaul of the business demanded a complete overhaul of public opinion.

To do this, we identified three key audiences for our efforts. Selling Americans on GM meant selling the entities that informed Americans, so Wall Street and the media were two of our primary targets to convince. And the third was Main Street America, in line with our aim to spur mass adoption of EVs.

When examining competitors’ EV communications, we noticed that EVs were sold primarily to two groups of people: “tree huggers” and the coastal elite. But those groups didn’t define America. Similarly, the messaging around EVs often took a defensive stance, (explaining why you don’t have to sacrifice too much to make the switch) or a preachy stance (explaining why you need to switch to save the planet).

Between these findings, we realized that GM wasn’t the only one with a perception problem: EVs needed a jumpstart too.

So, we aimed to change the culture around marketing EVs, starting with the audience and messaging. For GM, making a real difference in the transition to EVs meant getting everybody in. An all-electric future wouldn’t happen without it.

And rather than employing a defensive or preachy tone, we spoke to them from a place of optimism, generating excitement around GM’s vision of the future.

Our idea had to make EVs more electrifying and put GM at the center of it all - from Wall Street to Main Street. So, our execution was threefold:

The inflection point. CES was our moment to reposition GM from legacy manufacturer to modern tech company with the leading battery platform – speaking the language for investors and the media to hear loud and clear.

EVerybody In. A marketing campaign and brand identity aimed at flipping the “Prius effect” perception of EVs and spurring a movement that was inclusive and accessible. Change agents and influencers from all genres and generations showed how our Ultium platform could power a unique EV for everyone.

No way, Norway. We broke through at the Super Bowl by leveraging cultural currency over auto clichés, making EVs desirable in a way only GM could (parodying the American competitive spirit with a jealous, slightly unhinged Will Ferrell).

We changed the way Wall Street saw GM: the stock price reached an all-time high after CES, increasing 17%. GM’s market cap increased with $12 billion from the combined efforts.

We changed the way media saw GM: Positive coverage was widespread, with 5,500+ articles and broadcast stories across geographies and publications. This includes being named ”star of the show at virtual CES” and featured in the “Best of CES” by Wired, CNET, Fox News, Digital Trends, and Forbes.

We changed the way Main Street saw GM…and EVs: Positive social mentions increased by 43%; and owned social posts were 139% more engaging and 135% higher reaching than the previous year’s EV Week event. Electrification visibility across social increased 220% YOY.

GM not only moved public opinion on electrification, but convinced Americans we are indeed living an inflection point, and the world wins when everybody is in.