Former Rovertown and Standard AI executive Frank Beard announces launch of Konbini Strategy
Konbini Strategy, a marketing and public relations firm focused on companies serving the US fuel and convenience retail industry, launches this week. The company is founded by marketer, speaker, and writer Frank Beard, whose CV includes stints at Rovertown and Standard AI.
“To the best of my knowledge, this industry has never had a firm dedicated to this kind of work,” says Beard. “Over the past several years, I’ve met too many companies with genuinely great products that weren’t communicating their value effectively. I kept coming back to the same conclusion: there needs to be a better solution.”
Beard believes the pace of product development has accelerated dramatically in recent years, creating new challenges for companies that must continually explain evolving products to customers, prospective buyers, analysts, and the trade press. At the same time, he argues, many companies are misapplying AI to marketing and communications, creating a marketplace where vendors increasingly look and sound alike. Beard believes thoughtful strategy, craftsmanship, and industry expertise have become more important as companies work to communicate the value of what they've built.
“I come from a family of small business owners and tradespeople who took enormous pride in doing quality work,” he comments. “That’s shaped the way I view marketing. The tools will continue to change, but I believe the answer is the same: marketing needs to be really good. When I stepped back, I realised something was missing. This industry has specialists for just about everything, but nobody had built a firm focused on helping vendors communicate more effectively. These companies are building cutting-edge solutions with enormous potential, and they deserve a chance to stand out."
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
