OCTOPUS ENERGY Germany
launching our German office for octopus energy
BRIEF
In 2023, Octopus asked us to manage PR for the German arm of the business. Together with Harpswood’s UK team, our DACH PR specialist Christina delivers dedicated on-site support and has grown their media presence dramatically.
We were asked to focus on establishing Octopus Energy as a trailblazer leading Germany's energy transition and the market’s consumer champion - and establish CEO Bastian Gierull as the media’s go-to energy commentator.
APPROACH
Reactive news pitching expanded our contacts across Germany’s national, regional and trade press.
We focussed our early efforts on positioning Bastian as an expert commentator on topical energy stories and offering Octopus case studies to bring a human angle to Germany’s clean energy transition.
We also delivered crucial and far-reaching support with Octopus’s Wired 2024 event in Berlin with high profile speakers and media.
RESULTS
Our excellent media relationships quickly resulted in one of Germany's top news magazines, Der Spiegel, showcasing Octopus Energy's flagship ‘Fan Club’ project.
Manager Magazin is a top-tier national outlet and one of the most important business titles. We delivered a profile feature for CEO Bastian Gierull which covered in detail Octopus’s ambitious goals in the German market.
We also landed a case study-led article in Berlin Morgenpost - one of Berlin’s most read daily newspapers - on how much families can save with Octopus smart meters, which was then syndicated to 10 other leading city newspapers.
Further coverage landed in top-tier national outlets Handelsblatt and BILD and global outlets Bloomberg and Business Insider - as well as Bastian’s first TV interview appearance with Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Our brief with Octopus Energy Germany also includes a consumer focus to shine a light on the possibilities of smart meters for the German energy market if more households had them. When Octopus gifted all their smart meter customers free electricity on Christmas, we led on consumer media efforts to secure articles in Giga, Münchener Merkur, Frankfurter Rundschau and E-Fahrer.
Several interviews with influential journalists were secured at the Handelsblatt Energy Summit.
