Mojix

When RFID was first introduced to the market, the media and the industry in general received it with open arms, enthusiastically embracing the potential of this futuristic-sounding technology. Major media outlets voraciously covered all related technology and regulatory news, and speculation on potential applications of RFID abounded (e.g., baggage, lost children, prized possessions, etc.). Studies estimated that retailers, manufacturers and supply chain managers would reap huge productivity gains from RFID. In reality, limitations in terms of scalability, reliability and security — not to mention cost and regulatory concerns — were to become major obstacles to widespread adoption. RFID systems must scale both economically and physically in order to make a significant-enough business impact, but as of April 2008, this was not the case. Over time, stories about RFID’s regulatory and privacy issues quickly eclipsed positive coverage, increasing industry skepticism. Eventually, the media lost interest and coverage of the space dwindled dramatically. It appeared RFID was destined to be remembered as another overhyped technology that couldn’t deliver on its initial promise.

 

Then along comes Mojix — a new company founded by a team of NASA scientists and engineers with a groundbreaking new technology for RFID. The Bateman Group was retained in late 2007 for a six-month project to launch the company into this challenging market environment.

 

The Bateman team knew that the media would be hesitant to cover a new RFID company. In fact, the RFID beat had gone dormant at most publications. To combat this, communications strategies included:

 

As a result of the Bateman team’s outreach, 24 standalone articles and eight news briefs appeared in an impressive array of publications, ranging from the coverage in The Wall Street Journal to significant pieces in IT bible InformationWeek and the industry-specific RFID Journal. Coverage continued for several months as longer-lead publications ran their show wrap-up stories from RFID Journal LIVE. The highlight of the press coverage was a lengthy, glowing article by Don Clark, San Francisco Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal. The WSJ has moved away from covering unproven technology start-ups since the dot com bust, so the resulting story positively positioning Mojix’s entry into the market was widely viewed as a PR “coup.” Several online outlets repurposed the WSJ story, and other coverage highlights included articles in Supply Chain Digest, Managing Automation, RFID Journal, RFID Update and Supply Chain & Demand Executive. All referred to Mojix’s potential impact on the market as “huge” or “enormous” and reinforced the business value of this technology. Additional coverage came out of activities at the conference, including detailed summaries of the trial customer panel and the aforementioned wrap-up stories.

 

At RFID Journal LIVE!, the large-scale demonstration made use of the entire length of the exhibition hall, making Mojix a primary topic of conversation among exhibitors and attendees. The Mojix STAR™ system was also selected as the winner of the first annual "Best in Show" award at RFID Journal LIVE! — one of ten finalists selected by an independent panel of five judges from more than 40 submissions.

 

The media attention generated for Mojix caught the eye of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer selection committee. In December 2008, Mojix was named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer for 2009 — one of only 15 U.S. companies and 34 worldwide to be selected — for developing a “life-changing technology innovation with the potential for long-term impact on business and society”.