Battery Council International Website Wins Gold at 2023 dotCOMM Awards

WASHINGTON — August 8, 2023 – Living in “The Golden Age of Batteries” has created an unprecedented need for a definitive resource on sustainable energy storage solutions. Battery Council International (BCI) has answered the call with an award-winning “golden” website. The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) has awarded BCI a 2023 Gold dotCOMM Award in the Website Redesign category. [Watch this short highlights video of the site’s key features.]

The dotComm Awards is an international competition honoring excellence in web creativity and digital communication. The awards are administered and judged by AMCP, a leading evaluator of creative marketing efforts in the dynamic – and highly competitive – digital realm.

Roger Miksad is president and executive director of BCI, the premier trade association for battery manufacturers and recyclers in North America. He said BCI’s new website will give BCI members, policymakers, researchers, businesses, consumers and media the valuable, vetted content needed to make informed decisions.

“Foremost, we wanted a website that gave users faster, easier access to a consolidated library of deep content and resources on the complex aspects of batteries,” Miksad explained. “We’re very proud of the result. The new site reaffirms BCI’s commitment to be the definitive authority on credible, timely information related to sustainable energy storage.”

BCI’s overhauled website consolidates all the association’s rich content and resources into one efficient site devoted to sustainable energy storage technologies. The effort merges the extensive content of BCI’s two previous sites: one general website for consumers and BCI members, and one titled “Essential Energy Everyday,” which had been devoted to lead battery thought leadership and education.

Users now have convenient access to nearly 100 main content pages on battery benefits, solutions, research and policy, as well as almost 500 news posts, event highlights and downloadable educational assets. The new site, which includes a quick-search repository of infographics, reports, videos, fact sheets, publications, case studies and more, is categorized into six main sections:

• Battery Facts & Benefits – an educational overview of lead batteries and their foremost benefits related to cost-effectiveness, domestic infrastructure, sustainability, innovation, safety, reliability and more.
• Essential Applications – the criticality of sustainable, scalable energy storage to achieve a clean energy transition and how lead batteries are meeting soaring demand for renewable energy, EV’s, autonomous vehicles and other pivotal applications.
• Sustainability & Stewardship – how lead batteries and their established circular economy (i.e., nearly 100% recycling rate) and their materials stewardship are a model for other battery chemistries.
• Policy & Initiatives – dedicated to informing lawmakers on key issues and new research impacting the future of the lead battery industry. This includes:

+ U.S. Battery Briefing on Capitol Hill

+ Lead Battery Economic Impact Study

+ Lead Battery National Recycling Rate Study

• News & Events – easy access to conventions, conferences, in-person and online events on energy storage innovations, safety and sustainability.
• About BCI – details on BCI, its mission, membership, leadership and awards.

The site’s design gives users more visual “mega menus” with intuitive navigation and featured content, as well as improved filtering and search functionality. There are also more related content carousels and page links to access related materials and information. A responsive design ensures smooth engagement across various devices and browsers.

To-date, metrics show the new site is fulfilling users’ expectations. Across the board, key benchmark numbers are up (in some cases, by triple digits): average engagement time, scroll depth, user engagement, downloads and clicks.

“We’re happy to share a depth of knowledge unparalleled by any other battery industry group. We invite all stakeholders – government, business, media, consumers – to learn how BCI members are ensuring our country can domestically meet the soaring need for scalable, sustainable energy storage,” Miksad added.

With its 100^th anniversary approaching in 2024, BCI collaborated with its ongoing marketing communications partner Activated Growth, a full-service strategic marketing agency based in Minneapolis, to design, develop and manage the new website. The goal, concluded Miksad, was to best position BCI for a second century of thought leadership and advocacy during the highly electrified future underway, especially in transportation and renewable energy.