From County Devon to World Domination The Background: Headquartered in Ashburton, England, Orthogon Systems designs fixed wireless solutions that provide Non-Line-of-Sight, point-to-point broadband connections in environments where traditional wireless solutions fail to perform. The Challenge: Today’s wireless marketplace can be unforgiving, with competitors lurking around every corner and existing monoliths seeking entry into every emerging market. It demands that each company speak as a market leader and deliver on that promise. Size and scale cannot be gained tomorrow without projecting a larger-than-life image today. Orthogon Systems faced some significant challenges in communicating its corporate story to a wider audience. These included: 1) complex technology; 2) an unformed product category; and 3) lack of a consistent set of competitors to give better shape to the emerging market. In addition, Orthogon’s location in rural South West England, while distinctive, worked both for and against the company from a PR standpoint. Furthermore, the executives were reticent to promote the company’s accomplishments due to the more reserved British business culture. The Bateman Group was instructed to drive the creation of new corporate-level messaging while preserving the company’s English identity and avoiding “tall poppy syndrome” at all costs – a tall order, indeed! The Strategy: Orthogon had the raw materials necessary to launch a successful corporate communications program and build a lasting corporate brand. These assets included: 1) a growing list of “marquee-value” customers; 2) pedigreed leadership in management and engineering; 3) well-known investors; and 4) groundbreaking technology for which there was a real market need. The Bateman Group jumped in with the following strategies: A full-day workshop facilitated in England with senior management to craft new company positioning; tie together the OS-Gemini and OS-Spectra product lines Craft new Vision/Mission statements and define company Core Values to help indoctrinate new employees as the company expanded rapidly worldwide Increase awareness in North America by “Americanizing” the company’s PR and marketing programs, shifting from a less passive to more aggressive approach while maintaining respect for the company’s English heritage Teach customer champions to speak out more on behalf of Orthogon, the company, not just the technology, (e.g., exceptional customer service ethic, senior management involvement, knowledgeable channel partners, etc.) The Results: Armed with a new set of corporate messages, The Bateman Group kicked off revitalized AR and PR programs across North America and the U.K. Highlights included successful launches of entry-level versions of the two main product lines, OS-Gemini Lite and OS-Spectra Lite. These were received warmly by analysts, the press and channel partners, who applauded the lower-cost options for certain customers. One cornerstone program was the pursuit of awards, which netted seven highly competitive product or customer award wins in just 9 months. These included Network Computing’s Editor’s Choice Awards, bestowed after a first place finish in a competitive review. This was followed by a Network Computing Well-Connected Award for 2006. Orthogon's customer, Kansas City Power & Light, was named one of Network World’s 2006 Enterprise All-Stars. The customer PR program also built momentum quickly. Orthogon’s customers often use the wireless solutions to accomplish remarkable feats, like transmitting signals across deserts in the Middle East, over bodies of water or around large obstacles such as mountain ranges. The Aquarius Undersea Research Laboratory, owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), emerged as a “poster child” for the company, winning a 2006 InfoWorld 100 Award for innovative use of wireless technology. InfoWorld also singled out Orthogon Systems and Aquarius for a separate sidebar profile as a Top 20 Implementation for the year. John Cox of Network World featured Orthogon and Aquarius again in a cover story entitled, “A Net Under Pressure: Broadband Wireless Key for Undersea Research Lab.” Awareness of Orthogon Systems and its unbeatable technology grew substantially and the business began a rapid ascent. The company experienced record revenue growth month over month, reached profitability much earlier than expected and had thousands of wireless links installed in 53 countries around the world. All this success caught the attention of many suitors, including a current an investor, Motorola. On April 18, 2006, Motorola announced a definitive agreement to acquire Orthogon. Today, The Bateman Group continues to work with Orthogon, now a part of Motorola’s Networks & Enterprise Business Unit.

"At the Bateman Group, every individual is a content expert." Phil Bolt CEO Orthogon Systems