Execution

Karbo Com quickly hit the ground running, and collaborated with RTI to pursue an in-depth messaging exercise to establish the importance of RTI’s Connext product line and its role as the ‘connectivity platform’ of the IIoT. Using this positioning, Karbo Com immediately began reaching out to key press and analysts with strong product messaging and industry-leading customer stories. Additionally, Karbo Com and RTI developed a launch plan for their new security product, Connext DDS Secure. Being the first security product for the IIoT, the agency pursued an aggressive outreach strategy. 

RTI later broke into the autonomous drive market by announcing their first Connext product offering designed specifically for the development of autonomous vehicles: Connext Drive. Since then, Karbo Com has helped RTI announce various updates to their core automotive product. In June 2022, RTI unveiled RTI Connext Drive® 2.0, the newest version of their connectivity framework for software-defined vehicles, now with direct integrations into AUTOSAR Classic and ROS 2 and certified to ISO 26262 ASIL D. For each announcement, the agency has worked with RTI to determine key messages, prepare the press releases, counsel on product messaging and pursue aggressive outreach to key media and industry analysts in order to increase awareness in a priority vertical market.

In tandem, Karbo Com established a thought leadership platform for the head of RTI’s autonomous systems division, Bob Leigh and RTI’s Director of Automotive, Pedro Lopez Estepa. The agency continued momentum by driving opportunistic media and analyst campaigns and leveraging RTI executives as spokespeople for topical issues and trends in the autonomous vehicle, healthcare and A&D industries. Karbo Com worked with RTI to showcase the company’s automotive offering, Connext Drive, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2021 and 2023, where the agency reached out to key press contacts and influencers to secure on-site interviews, while allowing press to experience the Connext Drive product demo in an autonomous vehicle simulation booth on the show floor. Both leading up to and after CES, Karbo Com worked with RTI to execute media campaigns, highlighting autonomous vehicle customer success stories including Aptiv, Xpeng Motors and Baidu, in order to further validate RTI’s technology and its pivotal role in the development of next-generation driverless vehicles and autonomous systems. 

RTI has also joined elite organizations focused on furthering the advancement of autonomous vehicles: The Autoware Foundation, the Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium, SOAFEE and AUTOSAR and OCORA Consortiums. 

As RTI’s market has grown and advanced, Karbo Com worked with RTI to refine their current messaging to resonate with their evolving customer base. As the multi-year partnership has progressed, Karbo Com has continued to drive impactful and integrated PR and content programs across all of RTI’s five key verticals including aerospace and defense, automotive, healthcare, energy and transportation, establishing strategic thought leadership platforms for each vertical spokesperson. 

Results

From the start of the relationship, Karbo Com secured briefings with top market analysts and press, effectively communicating RTI’s important role in enabling the IIoT. With the Connext DDS Secure launch, the Karbo Com team successfully positioned RTI as the first company to address the need for a specialized security product for the IIoT, scoring coverage in top vertical and engineering press. A month later, an independent study, conducted by Appinions and published in Forbes, named RTI as the most influential Industrial Internet of Things Company, above Google, Cisco and GE. The survey validated RTI’s strong market positioning and aggressive PR and marketing efforts. 

When the IIC was founded by GE, AT&T, Cisco, IBM and Intel with the objective to develop a common blueprint for the IIoT, RTI was invited to join as an original member. RTI’s CEO was also elected to the IIC Steering Committee and re-elected for consecutive terms. Through RTI’s involvement with the IIC, the company announced a Smart Grid testbed in collaboration with Cisco, National Instruments and leading energy companies. The agency secured top tier coverage of the announcement in leading tech publications. Shortly thereafter, the IIC announced the first Industrial Internet Security Framework (IISF), which was co-authored by RTI and Intel. Karbo Com worked with RTI, Intel and the IIC to announce the framework at an event held at RTI’s office. The agency managed the media outreach for the event, inviting the top IIoT analysts and press and scoring interviews for RTI executives with IDC, IDG and more.

Karbo Com leveraged all of these opportunities in ongoing PR efforts and was successful in continuing RTI’s thought leadership program for key executives, consistently garnering both company and executive-focused feature articles, and securing contributed article placements in high-reach publications like VentureBeat and TechTarget IoT Agenda. As a result of RTI’s increasing market leadership, the company’s CEO went from speaking at events on IIoT panels, to being invited to give the keynote address at top industry events such as the IoT Solutions World Congress, IoT Tech Expo, IoT World and more. 

In tandem, Karbo Com was able to successfully raise RTI’s awareness amongst leading market analysts. RTI was named a Vendor to Watch by leading research firm EMA, was featured in Forrester’s IoT security report, and received Frost & Sullivan’s Product Leadership award. The agency continued to elevate the profile of RTI’s CEO, Stan Schneider, who was recognized as a Top Embedded Innovator of the Year and was featured on the cover of Embedded Computing Design, a top engineering trade publication. Schneider was also featured on the front page of The Mercury News business section and in Silicon Valley Business Journal and recognized as a Top 25 IIoT Influencer by Bloomberg. 

Throughout the relationship, Karbo Com has helped RTI secure nearly 20 award wins, bringing recognition to the company culture, technology and product and key markets like automotive, healthcare and aerospace and defense. RTI was recognized for the second time in 2022 by Silicon Valley Business Journal in their Largest Autonomous Vehicle Technology company ranking alongside industry heavyweights Nvidia, Waymo, Cruise, Apple and Tesla. Additionally, RTI was awarded Best in Show by Embedded Computing Design for their product, Connext Drive at the CES. Karbo Com also developed award-winning submissions, earning RTI an honoree status for the CES Innovation Awards in both 2022 and 2023. For two years in a row, RTI was named to the Best Companies for Women to Advance™ List by Parity.org, which recognizes organizations that support women’s advancement in the workplace. For the past two years, RTI also received a Great Place to Work Certification™ and was named one of the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area.

The agency has secured nearly 100 proactive media briefings and 500 article placements, with over a quarter of coverage secured being focused on automotive and A&D – two priority vertical markets for RTI. Karbo Com continues to also execute an aggressive thought leadership program, securing high impact byline, proactive media and commentary opportunities with publications like TechCrunch, Forbes, MedTech Dive, MedCity News, Electronic Design and more. As a result of aggressive and strategic outreach efforts, Karbo Com has generated consistent media interest from top-tier reporters at publications like Fast Company, CNBC, The LA Times, Forbes, Venturebeat, Fierce Electronics and Mashable.