nPhase:  Helping shape a new category:  M2M/The Internet of Things

BIGfrontier’s innovative efforts and approach exceeded what a typical PR firm would offer to a startup. Working with them allowed us establish one of the leading brands and a thought leadership position in a new market (M2M or Machine-to-Machine) with no advertising. The results were great media coverage, many public speaking opportunities and numerous awards. PR was a key part of our strategy and it had a significant impact on our successful execution of our business plan, from the launch of nPhase to its acquisition by Qualcomm

 

Steve Pazol (formerly CEO, nPhase, LLC, now owned by Verizon Wireless)

 

Overview

 

When talk turns to M2M or The Internet of Things, nPhase is one of the first names mentioned within telecom and general business circles. BIGfrontier began working with nPhase prior to its launch, in 2002. Our driving goal was to standardize the term M2M, which meant, variously, Machine to Machine, Man to Machine or Machine to Mobile, and position nPhase as the preeminent driver within the space. A steady stream of speaking opportunities, extensive media exposure, industry awards and targeted events have helped this start up grow into a viable player that has pioneered a niche within the manufacturing marketplace. In late 2006 nPhase was acquired by Qualcomm and the BIGfrontier relationship was maintained.

 

BIGfrontier was approached by nPhase in late 2002 to launch the company. The planning stage included naming and the development of a launch event in Chicago, at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center. The objective was twofold: to introduce the concept of Machine to Machine (M2M) solutions to the business and technology communities and to position nPhase as an emerging leader in the space.

 

Following the launch, covered extensively by local media (Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times), BIGfrontier kicked off an aggressive campaign to position nPhase CEO Steve Pazol as a guru within the M2M space, thereby elevating the name recognition of nPhase within potential buying circles. BIGfrontier placed Pazol on a multi-year speaking circuit. By 2004 Steve Pazol was being heralded as an “M to M Pioneer” by M2M magazine and accepted as such by a host of other industry publications. During the course of this four year campaign leading to the acquisition by Qualcomm the following publications featured and/or included nPhase in articles and bestowed industry awards on them (partial list):

 

Manufacturing Business Technology (multiple stories)

 

Chicago Tribune (multiple national stories)

 

Chicago Sun-Times

 

SSI Embedded Systems Programming

 

RTC Magazine

 

The Manufacturer

 

Harbor Research

 

M2M Magazine (multiple stories and awards)

 

South China Post

 

Control Engineering (multiple stories)

 

BusinessWeek

 

Telematics Update

 

ARClight

 

AMR Research

 

Design news

 

CNN

 

CRN

 

Mobile Radio Technology

 

And many others.

 

Through this exposure coupled with an aggressive sales force, nPhase began attracting big name partners and customers including Nokia, Sprint, Avnet and Air Products, while expanding their footprint within the M2M space. BIGfrontier helped nPhase craft and release several white papers and secured many significant industry media placements, including exposure on a CNN business program.

 

In 2005 BIGfrontier helped nPhase develop and launch what would become the first of a series of annual events: the M2M Summit. This day-long event was built around a series of presentations and panels by innovative companies and industry experts and served as a gathering point for potential customers, existing customers and the media. The second annual summit was held in July 2006. The2008 iteration of the Summit is being held at Qualcomm’s campus in San Diego and is called the Smart Services Leadership Summit, keynoted by Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs.

 

To help facilitate the M2M concept within the marketplace BIGfrontier worked with nPhase to develop www.M2Mblog.com, which became the first blog covering the M2M space and remains one of the most widely read blogs within the space today. In late 2005 BIGfrontier began helping nPhase push forth a “Smart Services” initiative, further extending their brand and broadening their customer base. At this point we began to turn our attention to the manufacturing sector and viewed M2M as an enabler of Smart Services. Smart Services offer manufacturers a method for extending their relationship with a product and utilize embedded devices and the growing infrastructure to provide critical information on a product?s state.

 

BIGfrontier services were retained through the acquisition by Qualcomm and development of the Global Smart Services initiative. One of our most recent significant contributions was the identification of opportunities for the company within the cleantech space and the concept of Smart Cleantech, as delineated in the white paper BIGfrontier developed and co-authored Smart Cleantech: The Clean Component of the Smart Services Equation.  nPhase was recently acquired by Verizon Wireless; BIGfrontier’s efforts helped the company raise funding and become acquired twice.

A recent post of John Tillotson of nPhase describes our approach:

Advertising or PR? Advertising for Early Stage Technology Ventures Is a Waste of Money