Overview/Challenge
Plus One Robotics, a provider of AI vision software and solutions for robotic parcel handling, is a niche company in a competitive market. The company wanted to establish itself as a thought leader in the space, gain brand awareness to match its competitors within the industry and amplify its 1 billionth “pick,” which came shortly after engaging with PANBlast. Because the company couldn’t publicly reference customers yet, PANBlast helped identify the best PR strategy to build a consistent flow of media coverage for Plus One Robotics with the media outlets that mattered most to the company’s Chief Supply Chain Officer and Principal Engineer targets within the supply chain and manufacturing industries.
Strategy
Working hand-in-hand with the Plus One Robotics marketing team, PANBlast identified three primary PR levels to pull: bold commentary, trade show presence, and owned data. The team researched leading writers and trending topics in robotics (like TechCrunch’s Brian Heater and humanoid robots) and story-mined with the CEO to identify bold commentary about these trends.
Execution
The PANBlast team diligently monitored and responded to reactive opportunities and journalist requests for sources (on platforms like QWOTED and LinkedIn) regarding robotics and/or warehouse automation. For example, PANBlast reacted to the news of Jeff Bezos’s investment in humanoid robots by offering the Plus One Robotics CEO and its investor McRock Capital to comment on the news.
The PANBlast team also pitched introductions of Plus One Robotics’ CEO to fitting trade and top-tier media attending the MODEX trade show. Doing so gave the CEO the opportunity to directly connect with journalists, putting a face and expertise to a name for future pitches and stories.
While PANBlast could not speak externally about Plus One Robotics customers, the team uncovered a milestone data point and pitched a press release highlighting its customer milestone of 1 billion picks. The PANBlast team adapted this news and data into a pitch around an anti-humanoid robot trend story for top-tier journalists.
Results
In the span of 90 days, PANBlast was able to use a combination of bold commentary, trade show presence and data to secure:
- 14 total interviews, including top-tier publications such Forbes, AP News and TechCrunch
- 28 total pieces of coverage, 13 of which categorized as high-impact, including:
- Full features in San Antonio Business Journal and IoT World Today
- Investory commentary in the Associated Press
- Quotes in PYMNTS, TechCrunch and Robotics 24/7
- Content in Industry Today
- 134 total website sessions from the press release and 102 new users to PlusOneRobotics.com