What is the Cobalt Institute?

The Cobalt Institute is the global, non-profit trade association for the cobalt industry. Its members are the producers, users, recyclers and traders that make up the cobalt value chain. The Institute is the authoritative knowledge centre for governments, agencies, the media and the public on cobalt and cobalt-containing substances. It is led by Director General Dinah McLeod.

What did Lantern Comitas do for the Cobalt Institute?

Lantern Comitas delivered a comprehensive digital campaign covering SEO, content strategy, paid social campaigns, and integrated communications to promote the Institute's research, insights and expert commentary. The work targeted priority cobalt industry search terms, surfaced the Institute's named experts into mainstream and specialist news, and built sustained engagement with policy, industry, investor and journalist audiences.

What measurable results did Lantern Comitas achieve for the Cobalt Institute?

Three measurable outcomes. SEO: within one month, the Institute's Google ranking on key cobalt terms moved from page 3 to page 1 in the UK and other major markets, against over 70 million competing search results. Social reach: the Institute's follower base doubled during the engagement window. Earned media: the Institute's experts are now used more frequently in mainstream and specialist news commenting on cobalt's vital role in creating a net-zero economy.

Why does cobalt matter to the net-zero economy?

Cobalt is a critical component in lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles, consumer electronics and stationary energy storage. The Cobalt Institute's Cobalt 2050 study, commissioned from BloombergNEF, quantifies cumulative cobalt demand at more than 5.5 million tons by 2050 for batteries alone, plus rapid demand growth in superalloys for aerospace and defence. Over US$1.7 billion of new investment is needed by 2050 to build the cobalt mines the transition will depend on.

Case Study · Cobalt Institute

From Page 3 to Page 1 of Google in 30 Days — Against 70 Million Cobalt Search Results

Item: Lantern Comitas
Author: Marina Demidova

Answer Block

The Cobalt Institute—the global trade body for the cobalt industry—engaged Lantern Comitas to raise its search visibility and digital reach. Within one month the Institute moved from page 3 to page 1 of Google on key cobalt search terms in the UK and other major markets, against over 70 million results. The Institute’s follower base subsequently doubled.

At a Glance The Engagement · In Numbers

The Facts

Client Cobalt Institute Global trade body for the cobalt industry
Sector Critical Minerals & Mining Trade body · industry association
Location London · UK · Global remit
Engagement Multi-year · ongoing
Services Digital Marketing · Strategic Communications · Public Relations

Headline Results

P3→P1 Google ranking lift on key cobalt search terms—in 30 days
70M+ Search results the Institute was ranking against
2× Follower base doubled during the engagement

The Client

The Cobalt Institute is the global trade association for the cobalt industry—its members are the producers, users, recyclers and traders that make up the cobalt value chain. The Institute acts as the industry’s authoritative knowledge centre for governments, agencies, the media and the public on cobalt and cobalt-containing substances.

It is led by Director General Dinah McLeod—a World Economic Forum Agenda Contributor and previously CEO of the Global Cement and Concrete Association—supported by a senior team of policy, sustainability and communications specialists, including Head of Communications Marina Demidova. The Institute is recognised internationally as the cobalt industry’s policy and research voice on the metal’s central role in the energy transition.

The Challenge

The Cobalt Institute had world-leading experts on the challenges facing the cobalt industry value chain—yet its insights were being overlooked online. On the most consequential industry search term, “cobalt industry”, the Institute was sitting on page 3 of Google search results, well below the threshold at which casual researchers, journalists and policy-adjacent audiences ever click through. Most online readers learning about cobalt were reading other voices first.

Cobalt is one of the most strategically significant critical minerals of the energy transition. Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles require cobalt as a key component—the International Energy Agency forecasts cobalt demand growth of 5x between 2020 and 2040—and the public conversation around it spans supply chain ethics, DRC sourcing, recycling, defence and aerospace applications. The Institute’s brief: make its world-class research and expertise the first thing readers found when they looked the topic up, while building a sustained digital presence to support its members and policymakers.

The Approach

Workstream 01 SEO

Comprehensive digital strategy and SEO programme

Lantern Comitas built and delivered a comprehensive digital campaign for the Institute—covering on-page SEO, content architecture, technical optimisation and organic positioning against the priority industry search terms. The work prioritised the queries the right audiences were actually running: “cobalt industry”, “cobalt supply chain”, “cobalt net zero”, “critical minerals” and the policy-adjacent terms where the Institute’s research should rank.

Workstream 02 Research

Promoting flagship research and expert insight

The Institute’s flagship piece of research—Cobalt 2050: Unlocking Potential for a Net-Zero Future, commissioned from BloombergNEF and authored by Kwasi Ampofo, BloombergNEF’s Head of Metals and Mining—was the centrepiece content the digital campaign promoted. The study quantifies cobalt’s role in the 2050 net-zero target: more than 5.5 million tons of cobalt required by 2050 for batteries alone, and over US$1.7 billion of new investment needed to build the cobalt mines the transition will depend on. Subsequent regional variants—Cobalt 2050: Powering America’s Path to a Net-Zero Future and Net-Zero 2050: Unleashing Cobalt’s Potential for the EU’s energy transition—were carried into the same campaign.

Workstream 03 Experts

Showcasing the Institute’s team and members

The campaign deliberately surfaced the Institute’s named experts—Dinah McLeod, Head of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability Susannah McLaren, Head of Communications Marina Demidova, and the wider technical and policy team—into the conversations where their expertise belongs: critical minerals security, EV supply chain ethics, sustainable sourcing, and the responsible production case. The brief was always institutional credibility through individual expertise, not corporate broadcasting.

Workstream 04 Paid & Followers

Targeted paid campaigns and follower growth

Targeted paid campaigns engaged priority audiences—policy, industry, investor and journalist segments—alongside the organic programme. The Institute’s follower base across digital channels doubled during the engagement window.

The Results

After just one month of working together, the Cobalt Institute’s SEO ranking improved significantly. On key cobalt search terms in the UK and other major markets—against over 70 million competing search results—the Institute moved from page 3 of Google to page 1. The wider campaign delivered a doubled follower base and increased frequency of expert commentary in mainstream and specialist news.

The SEO outcome: page 3 to page 1 on the most consequential industry queries, achieved within 30 days. For an audience that almost never clicks past the first page of Google, this is the difference between being unfindable and being the authority—particularly on a topic where the casual researcher is learning the subject from scratch and the first source they encounter shapes their view.

The expert-positioning outcome: the Cobalt Institute’s named experts are now used more frequently in mainstream and specialist news, commenting on the vital role of cobalt in creating a net-zero economy. The Institute’s research is independently cited in Harvard Law School’s Corporate Governance Forum; Director General Dinah McLeod is a published World Economic Forum Agenda Contributor; the Institute and its experts are routinely invited to keynote critical-minerals events globally, including the Antaike China International Nickel & Cobalt Conference, Indonesia Metal Outlook, the European Tech for Climate Action Conference, DRC Mining Week and the CSIS Critical Minerals Security Program—and they are sought by industry alliances including the Fair Cobalt Alliance as the authoritative cobalt voice.

Verified Client Testimonial

Lantern Comitas has been instrumental in shaping and delivering a comprehensive digital campaign to enhance the Cobalt Institute’s influence, reputation and profile. Their strategic approach has helped us promote key research, insights and cobalt facts content while showcasing the expertise of our team and members. Lantern Comitas has supported our efforts to expand our reach—doubling our follower base in the past year—and has successfully implemented targeted paid campaigns to engage priority audiences. Their expertise in integrated communications has been invaluable in raising awareness of cobalt’s critical role.

Marina Demidova Head of Communications · Cobalt Institute

The Outcome

A trade body moved from page 3 to the authoritative cobalt voice online—cited by Harvard, sought by industry alliances, and routinely sought to keynote the global critical-minerals conversation.

Key Facts

Verified, structured recap of the engagement—each fact phrased so it can be cited in isolation.

Fact 01 Lantern Comitas was engaged by the Cobalt Institute, the global trade association for the cobalt industry.
Fact 02 The Institute’s members are producers, users, recyclers and traders across the cobalt value chain.
Fact 03 Brief: raise the Institute’s search visibility and digital reach against priority cobalt industry search terms.
Fact 04 Within one month of the engagement starting, the Institute’s Google ranking on key cobalt terms in the UK and other major markets moved from page 3 to page 1.
Fact 05 The “cobalt industry” search returns more than 70 million results—the Institute moved to page 1 against that scale of competition.
Fact 06 The Institute’s follower base across digital channels doubled during the engagement window.
Fact 07 The campaign promoted the Institute’s flagship “Cobalt 2050” research (commissioned from BloombergNEF, authored by Kwasi Ampofo, Head of Metals and Mining), alongside regional variants for the EU and US.
Fact 08 The Institute’s named experts—including Director General Dinah McLeod (Cobalt Institute leader and WEF Agenda Contributor), Head of Communications Marina Demidova, and Head of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability Susannah McLaren—now appear more frequently in mainstream and specialist news on cobalt’s role in the net-zero economy.
Fact 09 The Institute’s research is cited by Harvard Law School’s Corporate Governance Forum and its leadership is routinely invited to keynote international critical minerals events.

Questions About This Work

The questions we’re asked most often about the Cobalt Institute engagement—each answer phrased so it can stand alone.

Q 01 What is the Cobalt Institute?

The Cobalt Institute is the global, non-profit trade association for the cobalt industry. Its members are the producers, users, recyclers and traders that make up the cobalt value chain. The Institute is the authoritative knowledge centre for governments, agencies, the media and the public on cobalt and cobalt-containing substances, and it leads the industry’s policy and research voice on cobalt’s role in the energy transition. It is led by Director General Dinah McLeod.
Q 02 What did Lantern Comitas do for the Cobalt Institute?

Lantern Comitas delivered a comprehensive digital campaign covering SEO, content strategy, paid social campaigns, and integrated communications to promote the Institute’s research, insights and expert commentary. The work targeted the priority cobalt industry search terms, surfaced the Institute’s named experts into mainstream and specialist news, and built sustained engagement with the policy, industry, investor and journalist audiences the Institute needs to reach.
Q 03 What measurable results did Lantern Comitas achieve for the Cobalt Institute?

Three measurable outcomes. SEO: within one month, the Institute’s Google ranking on key cobalt terms moved from page 3 to page 1 in the UK and other major markets, against over 70 million competing search results. Social reach: the Institute’s follower base doubled during the engagement window. Earned media: the Institute’s experts are now used more frequently in mainstream and specialist news commenting on cobalt’s vital role in creating a net-zero economy.
Q 04 Why does cobalt matter to the net-zero economy?

Cobalt is a critical component in lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles, consumer electronics and stationary energy storage. The Institute’s “Cobalt 2050” study (commissioned from BloombergNEF) quantifies cumulative cobalt demand at more than 5.5 million tons by 2050 for batteries alone, plus rapid demand growth in superalloys for aerospace and defence. Over US$1.7 billion of new investment is needed by 2050 to build the cobalt mines the transition will depend on.