Michael Meyer, 38, manages an independent company that operates a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The trained electrical engineer has been interested in electromobility since he was a child – the Carrera slot-car racetrack sparked his childhood imagination. Two years ago, he finally found a strategy that could turn his personal interests into a business concept.

It all started when one of his friends, a repair shop owner, asked Michael what he thought about charge spots for electric vehicles and whether Michael could get a charge spot for him. So Michael sounded out the market and found software solutions used to network charge spots and connect up existing corporate systems. These solutions are also available as a SaaS service, enabling charge spots to be operated without any major IT know-how or infrastructure.

Having set up the first charge spots outside the repair shop, Michael is now actively looking for interested partners. The software enables him to offer value-added services above and beyond the revenue generated solely from selling electricity, which make setting up charge spots a compelling proposition.

Michael offers personalized advertising at the charge spots. He uploads targeted advertisements onto the particular charge spots via the internet, which drivers can then watch while they charge their car. The advertising can be location-based, or tailored to the user profiles of the electric car drivers. Consequently, he tends to reach a large number of prospects in the public arena, while at the same time addressing very precisely the environmentally aware, innovative and wealthy target group of electric car drivers.

This offering brought him to the attention of a nationwide chain store company for which he is setting up and operating charge spots on a large scale. A few smaller downtown retailers have also commissioned Michael to set up a charge spot on their parking lot and implement an integrated advertising concept for them.

Petra Lüders, a staffer in the advertising agency just around the corner from Michael, helps produce the advertising. He has been working closely together with Petra to handle the numerous inquiries that are now coming in. This evening, they have arranged to meet for dinner in their local Italian restaurant to discuss new ideas.

Advantages and value-added:

• Targeted advertising and higher revenue
• Cost-effective operation of the charging infrastructure