Graphic Design/ Multimedia and Marketing/ PR Intern Needed!

SemaConnect is the leading Electric Vehicle Charging Station company on the east coast.  We're a GreenTech company that produces the ChargePro Charging Station and SemaCharge Software.  With over 400 stations installed, and 1,500 more being deployed nationwide, we're taking the EV industry by storm and expanding more quickly than ever.  

We currently have openings for 2 intern positions within the Marketing/ PR team.  This is an outstanding opportunity for those who are interested in the green technology field, specifically working with Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.  It is a fast paced environment in a new industry with fresh enthusiasm

Please specify which internship you are interested in:

1.  Marketing and Public Relations Intern - 20 hours per week, unpaid

The Marketing and Public Relations Intern will give a helping hand in all facets of Marketing, Branding, Public Relations and some Sales.  

Having your own reliable form of transportation is very important, as we travel to many press, corporate events in the area (travel reimbursement available).

Knowledge in Microsoft Office Word, Excel & PowerPoint is extremely important.

Some projects/ campaigns you may be involved in:

• Assisting in all brand management
• Creating Press Lists
• Drafting Press Releases
• Coordinating with Journalists
• Planning events for National Sales team
• Planning events for Regional Sales in NYC and ATL
• Conducting internet research for various projects
• Compiling Lead Lists in Excel
• Writing blog posts
• Contributing to the monthly E-Newsletter
• Strategize for Social Media, Twitter, Facebook, Blog, YouTube

2.  Graphic Design/ Multimedia Intern - 20 hours per week, unpaid (flexibility to intern from home occasionally)

The Graphic Design and Multimedia Intern will give a helping hand in all facets of Marketing, Branding and Advertising.

This internship opportunity allows a flexible schedule, however, you will be expected to report to headquarters.  

Knowledge in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator is highly recommended.  If you know HTML, CSS, PHP - it's a plus but not required.   

Some projects/ campaigns you may be involved in:

• Creating flyers, brochures, handouts, etc.
• Designing Direct Mail Postcard pieces
• Assisting the design/ look-and-feel of the website, social media sites
• Shooting and Editing videos at our events - a plus, but not required
• Designing Marketing materials for National and Regional Sales team
• Custom graphic projects: Desktop Wall papers, iPhone Wallpapers, Invitations, etc.
• Designing iPhone/ Android App and usability testing, research
• Assisting in the design of our software look and feel

If you are interested, please send:

1. Cover Letter explaining why you would like this opportunity

2. Resume

3. Samples ( Marketing/ PR please send writing samples, Graphic Design/ Multimedia please send Artwork)

*PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH INTERNSHIP YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR.

** You may send your information to naly.yang@semaconnect.com

Thank You and Good Luck!

Capitalizing on the EV Subculture: Corporate Branding in the Future Urban Landscape

By Joseph Tohill

The automobile has a significance that goes beyond its utilitarian function as a method of personal transportation. It also forms an integral part of an individual’s identity and reflects one’s lifestyle choices, social status, and personal values. Identity and personal values have often become so intertwined with the purchase of an automobile that they have resulted in the emergence of various subcultures based on motor vehicle ownership – one might think of the “motorcycle subculture” and its associated lifestyle, accessories, and attire.

As environmental values continue to proliferate in society and people increasingly identify as “eco-conscious” individuals, we are beginning to see the emergence of a new motor vehicle culture: the EV subculture. And as with any cultural system, the EV subculture presents commercial enterprises with a unique opportunity to identify with a particular segment of the population and foster customer loyalty by exhibiting values that resonate with that particular demographic.

Before looking at ways to capitalize on EV ownership, businesses should first understand the primary underpinnings of the emerging EV sub-culture.

The Profile of an EV Owner

First of all, an individual who buys an EV often has a particular way of viewing the world around them.

The act of purchasing an EV reveals that they are conscious of the environmental consequences associated with petroleum-based personal transportation. This is a global issue with global ramifications. However, they have chosen to contribute to the sustainability of the global environment by making a very localized decision. That is, driving around in an EV is one way an individual can interact with their local environment without adversely affecting the global environment.

This local/global perspective permeates other aspects of their life as well, from lifestyle choices to purchasing decisions. Furthermore, they are more inclined to support retailers in their local environment that have a solid reputation in sustainability.

Tapping Into the EV Subculture

Retailers can tap into the emerging EV subculture by developing a built environment conducive to the needs of EV owners.

For instance, one of the biggest worries of an EV owner is whether their car has enough juice to travel to a particular location – often referred to as “range anxiety”. Finding a suitable place to charge on the road can be a difficult task, and when an EV driver does find one, charging their battery takes time.

A retailer that offers EV charging stations in their parking lots gives EV owners the opportunity to charge their vehicle while carrying out necessary shopping activities. It makes the customer’s trip more convenient, more efficient, and solidifies a positive consumer experience.

But perhaps even more important than its practical application, an EV charging station adds a tangible “green” dimension to the corporate brand. Eco-minded consumers are increasingly sceptical of unproven corporate claims of sustainability and are privy to green-washing attempts. An EV charging station is not merely an image of sustainability; it is a fully functional device that supports carbon neutral activities. More implicitly, it taps into the psychology of EV owners by providing them with a local outlet to tackle global environmental issues.

I have already discussed how members of the EV subculture are more likely to support a company with a solid reputation in sustainability. Well, adding a green dimension to the corporate brand through the installation of an EV charging station is one way they can build on their green reputation in a very real way.

Tapping into the EV culture allows a retailer to gain an advantage over competitors and establish a green reputation early in the EV market. Providing a shopping experience conducive to EV ownership is a strategic way a company can build up its corporate brand and ensure the longevity of its customer base both now and into the future.

Joseph Tohill is a freelance writer and online communications specialist for organizations in the sustainability sector. He has a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of British Columbia and spent most of his academic career studying sustainable urban development; namely the interdisciplinary relationship between built form and natural environment.

′We're All 'Gas' Station Owners Now!′ How the EV Revolution Will Turn Commercial Real Estate On Its Head

By Martin Leggett

The rise of the electric car promises to shake up more than just the jostling pack of global automakers. One of the more surprising potential spillovers could be into the world of commercial real estate. Such a dynamic new synthesis is being forged because electric vehicles – or EVs – need charging station infrastructure lain down fast for them. And that infrastructure doesn't have to be restricted to shiny, new, costly replacements for gas stations. In fact, commercial property owners may already be holding the keys – and the purse-strings – to the fast-tracking of this new 'electric fuel' system. So in the EV-impacted world, we may all be about to become electric 'gas station' owners.

But let's rewind a couple of steps, because the nexus between commercial property and EV charging is only slowly coming into focus. Much of the discussion over EV supply infrastructure has been struck along twin ruts – that of charging technology's limitations, and that of the cost of building an electric charging network that matches the fossil fuel way of 'doing supply'. Electrical charging has come to be seen as something that needs to happens at home overnight – plugged into a garage mains socket for hours on end – or to require purpose-built fast-charging stations, using DC to zap EV batteries back to full-power in minutes.

What has sometimes been overlooked is the devil in the detail – the pattern of daily car usage, particularly in cities, and how electric charging can mesh with it. While range anxiety may be real concern for EVs on longer journeys, nearly 80% of commutes in the US are less than 40 miles all-round. Cars spend a significant part of their time during the day sitting in parking lots. And much of daily car use is focused on shorter errand-running trips, interspersed with bouts of being parked up. That's a pattern ripe for the idea of 'opportunity charging'.

If the short-range hops of city life – and brief stay-overs in the office car park, mall lot or restaurant parking bay – are married up to mains charging stations, EV users will have new windows for electric refueling. Frequent charges will mean less time is needed to top up batteries. And if EV drivers can keep their batteries at nearly fully-power, worries about dead batteries and interrupted journeys will dwindle. The good news is that the technology charging from the 240V mains current – so-called Level 2 charging – is here and now, and relatively inexpensive.

Those who can offer such an electric charging service for EV drivers stand to gain a new potential source of income – as well as a potent pull-in for new customers. That could add some interesting twists to the income side of property valuations. And the patterns of commercial real estate valuation could also subtly shift, as EV-usage 'inkblots' roll-out across the nation. It seems the pieces on the commercial property board may take a while to fall back into place, as the EV revolution proceeds apace.

  Martin is a freelance writer from the UK, who specializes in writing on the strategic impact of environmental issues. After a 10-year sojourn as an analyst at Brady plc –  a Cambridge-based provider of services to commodity investment banking professionals – Martin set himself up as self-employed writer at the beginning of 2010. Since then he has written for a number of environmental websites and companies, and has been one of the principle journalists for green news website, The Earth Times.

Charging into Change A New Urban Landscape, Thanks to the Electric Car?

By Martin Leggett

2011 saw a few wobbly moments in the charge of the EV (Electric Vehicle) into the consumer auto market. Sales of the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf have nudged up to targets, rather than leaping over them. Safety concerns have been piqued by a battery fire, during crash testing of the Chevy Volt. And federal tax credits for EV owners have been paused during the budgetary ping-pong on Capitol Hill. So plenty for EV skeptics to grumble about. But teething troubles in adopting new technologies are nothing new – and the last 12 months have seen much difficult groundwork being done. In fact, the next twelve months may witness the urban landscape shifting rapidly in response to rise of the EV – a rise that many in the auto industry are now heavily betting on.

Trickle to flood

While 2011 was a toe-dipping exercise by GM and Nissan, 2012 will see the trickle of auto-industry commitment to EVs become a flood. Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi and Ford all plan to join Nissan and GM in seriously pushing the EV option. Indeed, John Gartner boldly staked out a forecast unit shift of 100,000 EVs for 2012, in the recent Pike Research report on the EV sector's prospects.

That forecast may turn out to be on the optimistic side, given the way some 2011 fell short. But what is not in doubt is the long-term momentum building up behind the electric car. It's less a question of 'if' the electric motor will be the replacement for the internal combustion engine, but 'when'.

Fossil fuel risks

That because today's automobiles are hooked on a fuel source whose liabilities are dangerously outweighing its benefits. Place to one side the tackling of greenhouse gas emissions – a fickle commitment likely to be held hostage in Congress for some time to come. It is cost and insecurity that are the worrying flash-points from relying on gasoline. The prolonged spike in oil prices suggests peak oil is already upon us, and the era of cheap oil looks unlikely to return.

Then there is the political instability of the world's major oil producers, which ramped up significantly in 2011, with little sign of abating. And the appetite in the US for financing access to the tightening global oil supply –  through costly military action – has been dulled by the deficit crisis. When looked at in that longer and broader context, the switch to clean, cheap and domestically-produced 'electric fuel' for auto-mobiles looks more like an inevitability.

And the EV transition won't just change the way the nation buys and drives its cars. It is also likely to see a radical reworking of the urban landscape, through which EVs will be traveling. With EVs, fuel supply no longer needs to be tethered to the hardened facilities of the gas station network. In the cities and suburbs of the US, electricity is as ubiquitous as the parking lot. So EVs are as likely to get their electric fuel topped up from a restaurant's parking lot, as they are from purpose-built new charging stations.

Different beats to jolt the urban scene

Of course, the charging technology for EVs (EVSE, or Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) is still taking shape. Purpose-built networks of charging stations will be needed to ease 'range anxiety' for longer journeys. They could be based on battery-swapping stations, using innovative technology to robotically change batteries. Or they could be based on Level 3 charging technology, using fast-charging bursts of 480V DC, which can fully charge a battery in minutes, rather than hours.

But while a form of dedicated EVSE network will certainly be needed, these technologies are still at a nascent stage – costs are high, and standards still being formed. A cheaper alternative  in the may be had in denser the urban environment,. much of Here, the base infrastructure is already in place – in the parking facilities of commercial properties and businesses. Level 2 charging stations, using 240VAC chargers connected to the mains, can be easily deployed to existing parking lots and garages. With costs relatively low, and an in-place feed of drivers parking their cars, rolling out the new EVSE infrastructure to urban drivers may be much simpler than some currently project.

Property investors take note

There are parallels to the internet revolution here. That saw the closed networks and data silos of big computing opened up to the masses – sparking a tumult of change, innovation – and opportunity. Powering cars electrically similarly offers up opportunities, with a flattening and dispersing of the auto-fuel network. And because the new EV supply infrastructure can be woven from existing commercial properties, owners and investors are sitting up and taking note. A whole new revenue stream – from EV-based servicing – may be about to come online. The urban commercial property landscape may never be the same again.

  Martin is a freelance writer from the UK, who specializes in writing on the strategic impact of environmental issues. After a 10-year sojourn as an analyst at Brady plc –  a Cambridge-based provider of services to commodity investment banking professionals – Martin set himself up as self-employed writer at the beginning of 2010. Since then he has written for a number of environmental websites and companies, and has been one of the principle journalists for green news website, The Earth Times.

Ahead of the Curve: Why Retailers Are Installing EV Charging Stations

By Joseph Tohill

Despite tepid gains in 2011, the electric vehicle (EV) market has finally shifted out of first gear. Consumers are increasingly turning to EVs for transportation and EV charging stations are beginning to pop up in parking lots all over the country. But a closer look at exactly where these EV charging stations are surfacing reveals some notable trends. In particular, EV charging stations are becoming a more common element of the commercial landscape as retailers provide customers with EV charging services while they shop.

Some might claim that installing EV charging stations in a parking lot would have a negligible impact on a retailer’s bottom line. After all, a large proportion of customers would not own EVs.

However, such a short-sighted perspective fails to account for the continued growth of the EV economy and the consumer-driven shift towards more sustainable transportation. Market analysis from Pike Research suggests a compound growth rate in EV sales of 43% between 2011 and 2017, with projected annual sales of 370,000 units by 2017. With nearly every major automaker on-board to release an EV this year, more and more people will inevitably be driving around in an electric vehicle. They will also inevitably need a place to charge their vehicle.

Providing a place to charge EVs is how forward-thinking retailers are differentiating themselves from their competition.

In terms of convenience, it allows a small segment of the retailer’s customer base to charge their EV while shopping. By installing charging stations in their parking lots, retailers are providing their customers with an amenity not yet common in other commercial spaces. It contributes to the convenience factor of an EV owner’s trip, since they can charge their EV while conducting their business. And once the customer is aware of the charging station’s existence, they have a higher propensity to return to that retailer for future shopping needs.

But the benefits of installing an EV charging station go much further than the practicality of providing EV owners with a place to charge their car. Retailers are ever-conscious of their corporate image, and incorporating EV charging stations in their commercial landscape indicates they are both innovative and sustainable. This especially scores them points with eco-conscious shoppers who make purchasing decisions based on environmental values.

Even customers who do not presently own an EV will notice when a charging station pops up in a retailer’s parking lot. It become a conversation piece for regular customers and injects a progressive, eco-friendly element to the overall shopping experience.

Thus a retailer’s decision to install a charging station does more than just provide EV owners with a convenient way to charge their vehicles. It allows a retailer to tap into the emerging EV economy and establish itself as a sustainable company that is ahead of the curve. 

Joseph Tohill is a freelance writer and online communications specialist for organizations in the sustainability sector. He has a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of British Columbia and spent most of his academic career studying sustainable urban development; namely the interdisciplinary relationship between built form and natural environment.