If you’re seeking media visibility for your EV brand or business, understanding the EV media landscape is crucial. Cooper Zajac, our Director of Digital Marketing and Communications, shares his insights on the opportunities and challenges in this space.
Q1: What’s the EV media landscape like in a nutshell?
EVs are changing the U.S. automotive landscape and beyond, impacting industries such as telecoms, real estate, energy, and public policy. However, since the EV industry is relatively new, there’s a lot of unknown territory for the media to cover. Emerging brands have a chance to act as educational resources for reporters and become thought leaders in the space. However, media outlets rarely have a designated EV reporter, and EV coverage may be shared among multiple reporters covering different beats.
Q2: Is there an appetite for EV-focused stories outside of automotive trade publications?
Surprisingly, the opportunity for EV-focused stories in automotive publications is relatively narrow, mainly covering updates from legacy automotive manufacturers, federal policy, and consumer data reports. There are actually more opportunities for EV-focused stories outside of automotive trade publications, such as examining the impact of EVs on other industries. To get a story placed, it’s critical to provide ample context, statistics, and the broader industry or consumer impact of the topic.
Q3: Which EV trends or topics are getting stale? Where do you see interesting story opportunities?
While there aren’t necessarily stale topics, some stories may have been covered extensively, making it harder to pitch without a new angle or hook. For example, the shortage of EV chargers is a common topic, so providing something new, contrarian, or unexpected can differentiate your story. Look for unique or niche topics with a far reaching impact that can offer a fresh perspective and appeal to reporters.
Q4: What do you think of the emergence of EV-specific media outlets?
EV-specific media outlets are a great way to give the industry the coverage it deserves, but they’re often enthusiast-driven and reach a smaller audience compared to other trade outlets. If your target audience is EV enthusiasts or industry insiders, they can be a valuable place to be featured. However, since these outlets can sometimes function more blogs and are not written by seasoned reporters, be careful when having conversations “on background” or “off the record,” since these terms may not mean anything to enthusiasts.
Q5: If someone is interested in learning the latest on EV news, where do you recommend, they go?
This depends on what kind of news you are looking for. If you are looking for EV policy related news, then go for the Wall Street Journal, Axios, New York Times, or any major publication will have fulsome up-to-date coverage. If you are curious about EV technology, then I would suggest an auto or EV focused media outlet, like Automotive News, Wards Auto or EV Unplugged. If you are looking to buy an EV and want to know more about what’s on the market, I would suggest Car and Driver, Road & Track, or any reputable consumer auto media outlet.