Case Study
Digital Shovel
- Energy, Physical Infrastructure, Bitcoin Mining
Overview
Digital Shovel: Category-Defining Mining Infrastructure
Digital Shovel is a premier Canadian manufacturer of Bitcoin mining infrastructure based in Toronto. The company redefined the industry with its modular Minipod and NanoPOD systems, delivering true plug-and-play scalability for miners at every stage. Under CEO Scot Johnson, Digital Shovel earned a reputation for engineering excellence, operational reliability, and industrial-grade durability.
The Challenge: A $100M Patent War
The company faced an existential threat in the form of a high-stakes patent infringement battle with a major competitor over its proprietary V-Shape airflow technology.
- The Risk: Litigation at this scale, with hundreds of millions in potential damages and future revenue at stake, creates extreme market uncertainty.
- The Pressure: Competitors leveraged legal filings to manufacture Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, attempting to delay purchasing decisions, poach customers, and undermine confidence.
The Objective: Win Beyond the Courtroom
Success required more than a legal victory.
- Strategic Goal: Digital Shovel needed to win the court of public opinion by reinforcing trust with existing customers, signaling strength to the market, deterring future infringers, and sustaining sales momentum throughout the litigation.
Strategy
“Defense by Offense” – The Credibility Tour
Rather than retreating into silence, which is common during legal disputes, we deployed a strategy of Radical Visibility. The objective was to make Digital Shovel and Scot Johnson synonymous with Innovation and Stability, effectively overwhelming any negative narrative stemming from ongoing litigation.
Strategic Pillars
1. Crisis & Legal Communications
We operated in lockstep with legal counsel to ensure messaging was assertive, controlled, and fully compliant.
- The Narrative: The lawsuit was framed not as a dispute, but as a defense of innovation. Digital Shovel was positioned as the original inventor protecting the industry standard it created, transforming litigation into proof of market leadership.
2. Executive Thought Leadership: The “50 Hit” Campaign
To reinforce business continuity, we placed Scot Johnson at the center of a sustained media offensive.
- Execution: We secured more than 50 unique media placements across top-tier Bitcoin podcasts, mainstream financial outlets, and major conference stages such as Consensus.
- Focus: Rather than centering interviews on the lawsuit, Scot spoke about the future of energy and infrastructure. This elevated him above the legal noise and reframed competitors as insignificant distractions.
3. Internal Advisory & Education
External messaging is ineffective if internal confidence erodes.
- Approach: We provided senior-level advisory for internal communications, ensuring sales and engineering teams remained aligned, confident, and well-equipped to address customer concerns around long-term support and warranty stability during the litigation period.
Results
Outcome: Crisis Without Momentum Loss
The campaign became a textbook example of how to navigate a corporate crisis while continuing to scale.
Brand Fortification
Digital Shovel did more than survive the litigation period, they expanded.
- Market Perception: A sustained, aggressive media presence insulated the brand from FUD. Instead of seeing a company consumed by legal battles, customers saw a CEO who was omnipresent, composed, and focused on execution and delivery.
Digital Footprint Expansion
We transformed media exposure into a long-term competitive asset.
- SEO Dominance: More than 50 high-authority media placements created a durable digital moat. Searches related to the lawsuit surfaced interviews focused on Digital Shovel’s technology and innovation, effectively suppressing negative or speculative content.
Reputation Security
By owning the narrative early and maintaining consistency, we shaped long-term perception.
- Narrative Control: The market adopted a “David vs. Goliath” framing, positioning Digital Shovel as the scrappy innovator defending its intellectual property. This reinforced trust and loyalty among miners who value authenticity and Proof of Work principles.