Cox Marine spent years developing the CXO300, the first ever high-powered diesel outboard engine, which left the innovative British manufacturer with an unusual communications problem: how to hold a market’s attention through a multi-year development programme with no product yet to sell and arrive at launch with demand already built rather than starting from scratch.
Cox also needed to be understood as more than an innovator. Buyers of marine engines are buying reliability and supply, so credibility as a manufacturer mattered as much as credit for the idea.
Our team, then operating as Saltwater Stone which now sits within BLUE, was appointed by Cox in 2016 to manage its global communications across the commercial, defence, recreational and superyacht markets. We partnered with Cox on a long-term campaign to build global anticipation ahead of the first engine launch, sustaining market interest and media coverage throughout the engine’s development and priming the market for release.
We supported every stage of the story as it became available: first media interviews, on-water demonstrations, production facility features. Each one added evidence that the CXO300 was progressing towards production rather than remaining a concept. Alongside this ran a continuous content programme of blogs, white papers and thought leadership for the superyacht and commercial sectors, plus award entries and exhibition stand redesigns developed by our design studio.
Once the final-concept engine was complete, we delivered well-attended media launches at key European and US shows, including a press event timed ahead of the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, one of the largest attended events in the world, which generated additional global media coverage.
The campaign built Cox Marine’s global brand awareness from development through to launch and cemented the company’s credibility not just as an innovator but as a manufacturer with a market to supply. Prior to the start of production, we helped Cox secure a network of 50 distributors worldwide. Throughout, our PR, design and media buying teams worked as one to drive awareness and, ultimately, sales.
