Energy Ventures
ABOUT
Established in 2002, Energy Ventures is an independent venture capital firm providing competent capital to high-growth oil and gas technology companies. Headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, with offices in Aberdeen and Houston, the firm manages and advises four venture funds with a combined capital base of NOK 2.33 billion ($400 million USD). Compared to traditional venture capital firms, Energy Ventures' fund managers, partners and advisors originate from diverse backgrounds in upstream oil and gas, making them exceptionally qualified to evaluate and pursue business opportunities in the energy sector.
With the potential to be a premier energy-focused venture capital firm, Energy Ventures needed to address several branding and awareness challenges. In such a hyper-competitive market space, the Energy Ventures name was not well recognized in North America. While the company maintained a strong reputation among its current and prospective portfolio companies, investor partners, exploration and production companies and oilfield service providers in Norway, Energy Ventures strived to increase awareness in the U.S. and make a meaningful impact on the American market.
Energy Ventures engaged Pierpont Communications to assist the firm in differentiating itself from other venture capital firms and funding sources, establishing its expertise in the energy sector and becoming the go-to firm for introducing innovative exploration and production technologies to the market.
To build awareness of Energy Ventures and position it as the leading venture capital firm in the upstream oil and gas space, Pierpont implemented a series of marketing strategies that centered on online reputation management and thought leadership.
Energy Ventures Knowledge Center
Because Energy Ventures' website often serves as the initial point of contact between the firm and its potential investors, portfolio companies and E&P buyers, Pierpont developed a plan to launch a new online resource portal to convey the firm's extensive expertise.
Pierpont spearheaded the planning, creation and launch of the new Knowledge Center, providing extensive design and navigation work and advising Energy Ventures on the type of content to publish on the website. To bolster the online archive, Pierpont cited recent Energy Ventures news, activities and accomplishments and highlighted game-changing oil and gas technologies from companies in the firm's investment portfolio.
Launched in February 2010, the Knowledge Center serves as a library of presentations from Energy Ventures leadership and its portfolio companies, upcoming industry events and conferences, case studies, published articles, white papers, podcasts, videos and more. The resulting website not only serves as a compelling resource for information on the firm itself, but also on topics such as smart venture capital investing, technology innovation and its impact on the oil and gas industry. To see it for yourself, please visit www.energyventures.no/kc.
eNewsletter Series
Once the Knowledge Center was up and running, Pierpont initiated efforts to develop an inaugural Energy Ventures eNewsletter to build on the firm's key differentiators, increase awareness of the overhauled website and keep the firm top of mind with its key audiences and contacts.
Pierpont worked with Energy Ventures' partners to develop content plans for the quarterly eNewsletter series, highlighting the firm’s most recent activities and compelling industry trends. Each edition of Energy Ventures' eNewsletter is distributed to the firm’s extensive database of industry peers, current and potential portfolio companies, prospective investment partners, oil and gas operators and service companies and more.
Driving traffic to Energy Ventures' website, leveraging media results and sharing company news, the firm’s eNewsletters provide an excellent platform for sharing the comprehensive nature of Energy Ventures’ expertise and investment strategy.
Diverse Thought Leadership
In addition to the Knowledge Center and eNewsletter initiatives, Pierpont secured opportunities for Energy Ventures with key publications and industry conferences to further expand the firm's thought leadership and provide content for the above mentioned digital initiatives.
In partnership with Hart Energy Publishing, Energy Ventures hosted a webinar focused on unconventional resource technologies. The webinar provided oilfield insiders with insight on innovations being driven by entrepreneurs and private capital and gave viewers a first look at new technologies impacting unconventional resource plays. Hundreds of participants tuned in to hear Energy Ventures partner Jim Sledzik and representatives from four portfolio companies (Ingrain, Fotech Solutions, Oxane Materials and Ziebel) discuss why new technology is the key to the continued viability of oil and gas and how the innovations of each company overcome specific production challenges of shale.
Through a targeted trade media campaign, Pierpont secured bylined articles authored by Energy Ventures' leadership in the industry's top publications, including Oil & Gas Investor, Journal of Petroleum Technology and E&P. The articles focused on topics ranging from best practices for companies seeking venture capital funding to an overall energy industry outlook, further demonstrating Energy Ventures’ expertise in both the oil and gas and competent investing spaces.
To spread Energy Ventures’ vast knowledge base to key industry players, Pierpont undertook an event placement campaign, working to identify key industry conferences, workshops and tradeshows where Energy Ventures could demonstrate its knowledge. As one example, Pierpont secured an opportunity for Partner Greg Herrera to speak at the January 2010 Finding Petroleum conference in London, discussing the parallels of technology investments and exploration success. The presentation allowed Energy Ventures to speak directly to a focused audience of industry peers, prospective customers and key media, and directly resulted in new business leads.
As a result of the Knowledge Center's launch and eNewsletter distribution, traffic to Energy Ventures' website increased dramatically. There was an immediate and significant spike in activity following the launch of the Knowledge Center on February 17, as well as an overwhelming increase in activity on April 5, the date the first Energy Ventures eNewsletter was distributed. Since the launching, there has also been a significant increase in the number of visitors from the United States, surpassing the number of visitors from Norway and establishing it as the largest source of Energy Ventures website traffic in the world.
Additionally, the total number of unique visitors as of June 1 highlighted a significant increase in new traffic to the website. The total number of unique visitors comprised more than half of the total number of visitors, which demonstrated a direct increase in new traffic to the website as a result of the Knowledge Center and eNewsletter launch. The total number of page views and time spent on the Energy Ventures website has also risen since the Knowledge Center launch in comparison to 2009. This measurement denotes that the Knowledge Center has increased the amount of time visitors spend on the site and the number of pages they view.
Energy Ventures’ marketing efforts have also directly resulted in an increase in valuable media opportunities and deal flow. The firm has strengthened its brand visibility through key media and event placements for its leadership, advisors and portfolio companies. Prospective investors and portfolio companies have contacted Energy Ventures as a direct result of event appearances and media coverage.
Maximizing the success of the Knowledge Center, inaugural eNewsletter and other thought leadership initiatives, Pierpont continues to aid Energy Ventures in bolstering its reputation as a leader in the energy-focused venture capital space and sharing its expertise with key audiences.