3M CORP COMM + THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO LIGHTWEIGHTING
A “Thinky” EV Project
To emerge as a leader in the global EV manufacturing space, 3M Corporate Communications wanted to create the “definitive guide to lightweighting.” While the primary focus was automotive, they wanted to include rail, aviation and aerospace, buses and commercial vehicles, and marine. My account director and I pitched an approach to the project - and we WON. The catch: 3M didn’t want us to write and design the guide; they wanted an in-depth outline their team could use to bring the guide to life — starting within two months.
Phase 1: Fast-charge Mode — The Research
We spent the first three high-velocity weeks deep-diving into the world of lightweighting, compiling, culling through, and analyzing a mountain of industry and competitive research. We also:
Interviewed auto manufacturing leaders
Attended the GALM (Global Automotive Lightweight Materials) Summit in Detroit
Met with internal stakeholders from various 3M product dev groups
Analyzed the 3M materials landscape
Our goal: get a holistic sense of where 3M was the frontrunner, where they were lagging, and where they were simply out of the running. We then compiled our learnings and insights into a detailed “findings and recommendations” report that allowed us to set the stage for developing the outline.
We presented this report to key 3M stakeholders, and once they approved, we were on to the next steps!
Phase 2: Eco-mode — Outlining the Definitive Guide
Once our recommendations were approved, I took point on architecting the outline. I started with a basic information hierarchy, then expanded it into chapters with topics and sub-topics, providing notes and content direction, along with links to supporting resources and relevant materials. I also provided an addendum of different ideas and recommendations to bring the lightweighting stories to life in exciting, immersive, audience-relevant ways.
