ScrubMarine is a UK-based maritime robotics startup founded by 21-year-old engineer Rohith Devanathan. The company had recently closed a pre seed funding round of over $1m to accelerate development of its autonomous hull cleaning and inspection technology.
While modest by Silicon Valley standards, the raise supported a globally ambitious mission: to modernise a $100bn+ maritime efficiency and emissions challenge through robotics and autonomy. ScrubMarine’s innovation automates the removal of marine organisms such as molluscs, crustaceans and biofouling slime, delivering safer, more efficient vessel maintenance with significant environmental benefits.
The Challenge
The communications challenge for PR Agency One was clear:
- How do you rapidly elevate a deeptech, hardware-led startup into national and sector-level awareness before pilots, customers or commercial revenues are in place?
- The story offered multiple entry points, technology, sustainability, regulation, regional growth and founder narrative, but required a carefully sequenced strategy to build credibility, coherence and momentum across very different audiences.
What We Did
PR Agency One developed a sector-stacked communications strategy, aligned to the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework, with clear objectives across awareness, positioning and message pull-through.
The approach was anchored by a single, high-authority national exclusive, followed by tightly targeted sector and regional storytelling designed to compound impact rather than dilute it.
Our Campaign
We secured a front-footed exclusive interview with the Enterprise desk at The Times, positioning ScrubMarine as one of the UK’s most compelling young deeptech founders tackling a major industrial and climate problem.
This coverage acted as the campaign’s narrative anchor, establishing legitimacy, scale and ambition, and providing a trusted reference point for all subsequent outreach.
Following publication, we deployed a series of tailored releases and pitches, each written specifically for its intended audience:
- Scottish media: highlighting Edinburgh engineering roots and talent pipelines
- North West and Cumbria media: reinforcing Whitehaven headquarters and regional investment impact
- Maritime and offshore press: focusing on operational relevance, compliance and efficiency gains
- Sustainability media: framing emissions reduction and biofouling as climate and cost issues
- Startup and founder outlets: spotlighting the founder journey and early investor confidence
- Tech and deeptech press: detailing robotics, autonomy, hardware development and data-led inspection
- Each asset was designed to align with the priorities, language and editorial lens of the target sector, ensuring relevance and increasing pick-up probability.
The campaign was delivered over a seven-day period following the Times exclusive and included:
- A segmented media list of 300+ journalists across national, sector, regional and specialist titles
- Personalised outreach aligned to individual reporter beats and interests
- A combination of embargoed material, hook-led pitches and bespoke follow-ups
- A comprehensive media asset pack, including approved visuals, explainer materials and founder Q&A notes
- Interview coordination, briefing notes and rapid-response support to capitalise on inbound demand
The results
In line with PR Agency One’s commitment to best practice, performance was evaluated using a framework aligned to AMEC, PRCA and CIPR standards. Measurement focused on outcomes rather than outputs, assessing:
- Volume and velocity of coverage post-exclusive
- Media quality and authority, including tier-one national validation
- Message penetration across innovation, sustainability and maritime efficiency themes
- Audience relevance, measured by sector and geographic alignment
- Earned visibility momentum, including follow-on journalist enquiries and interviews
Within one week of publication in The Times, ScrubMarine secured approximately 50 pieces of earned coverage across national, sector, regional and international media.
Coverage highlights included:
- National business and innovation: The Times (exclusive), City A.M., BBC Online
- Technology and deeptech: TechCrunch, Sifted, UKTN, Tech.eu
- Startup and founder platforms: Business Insider, Startups.co.uk
- Maritime and trade press: Lloyd’s List, TradeWinds, MarineLink
- Sustainability media: BusinessGreen, edie
- Regional coverage: The Scotsman, Scottish Business Insider, North West Business Insider, Cumbria Crack
- International trade visibility: Offshore Wind Journal, Global Shipping Watch
Key outcomes included:
- High-density coverage across six distinct media verticals
- Strong message consistency linking technology innovation to emissions reduction and operational efficiency
- Significant secondary amplification via LinkedIn and social sharing from founder and investor networks
- Inbound media interest resulting in follow-on interviews and expert commentary opportunities
- Increased visibility with operators, partners and early adopters ahead of pilot deployment
Why It Mattered
This campaign did more than announce a funding round. It:
- Positioned ScrubMarine as a credible innovation story well beyond its pre-seed stage
- Established a founder-led narrative that resonated across business, technology and sustainability audiences
- Connected a complex, hardware-led solution to clear commercial, regulatory and environmental outcomes
- Created authority and visibility in priority markets before commercial proof points existed
Within days, ScrubMarine shifted from being “a startup that raised money” to a company actively tracked by journalists and industry stakeholders.
For deeptech and industrial innovation companies, awareness is not built through a single press release, but through strategic media architecture.
By sequencing a high-impact national exclusive with disciplined, audience-specific storytelling, and by measuring success against meaningful outcomes, PR Agency One delivered reach, relevance and narrative momentum. The result was a step-change in perception, positioning ScrubMarine to capitalise on its funding, founders and future growth.
