How Nicole Silver is promoting Volta’s advertising opportunities for brands

When Nicole Silver joined Volta, a company making charging stations for electric vehicles, two years ago, her job was to tell advertisers about the company’s media network. That network consists of screens placed at EV charging stations that reach both people charging their vehicles as well as those passing by. The screens serve as a media vehicle for brands to advertise to customers. At that point, Volta “had never connected with the media community,” said Silver, 36. See all 40 Under 40 honorees here One challenge was showing how effective the network was for advertisers as an alternative to a traditional billboard. Silver dealt with this by measuring perception and awareness. This included producing a media kit to educate advertisers and coming up with a white paper, “The Rise of the Climate Conscious Consumer,” showing habits and preferences of consumers. This led to a 73% increase in revenue from media sales for the first quarter of this year compared to the year-earlier period. Measurement is something that Silver will continue to prioritize as she gains a better grasp of what advertisers are looking for. Part of her strategy is understanding “who is your audience” and “how can you bring them along on the journey,” she said. If you could have dinner with one person, alive or dead, who would it be and why? Nancy Katz, my grandmother and a successful entrepreneur who was ahead of her time as a female business leader. I was fortunate to have many dinners with her before she passed away in 2008, but now that I’m at this point in my career, this dinner would have a different agenda. It would be a conversation about resilience and building brands. What are the top two social media sites you use on a regular basis? Instagram and LinkedIn. Over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly aware of how important my community is, for my family and for my career. Instagram is my hub for all things family and friends, and LinkedIn has increasingly become the nucleus of my professional community. What’s currently on your bedside reading list? A pile of Wall Street Journals. Yes, I still get the print edition because it gets me to read a more diverse set of information than the articles I’m recommended by the algorithms online. They usually pile up and once or twice a week I’ll sit down and read them all. Between my role at Volta and chasing after my kids (ages 2 and 4), I don’t read a whole lot more than the news these days, but I’m a huge fan of listening to books. I recently finished “My Life in Full” by Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo. What was the last show you binge-watched? “Instant Dream Home” on Netflix. We moved into a new house last year and have been loving life in the suburbs. But unlike in “Instant Dream House,” nothing about setting up our house has been instant—between indecision and supply chain delays, we’re still getting set up a year later. At what age do you hope to retire? Earlier in my career, I got some great advice from a leader who mentioned mentoring two types of people—those who set a goal and firmly stick to it with every decision they make, and those who seize the opportunities in front of them. While I am absolutely a planner and always have goals that I’m working toward, I’ve taken the latter approach in my career, and it’s often taken me further than even my own goals. When I reach a point where the opportunity in retirement offers me more than the opportunities in my career, I’ll know it’s time. See all 40 Under 40 honorees here

How Nicole Silver is promoting Volta’s advertising opportunities for brands

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