Over six-plus years of partnership, Diff Comms helped Roofnest go from a growing DTC brand competing against industry giants to the dominant name in rooftop tent media coverage — with nearly 900 placements and $130 million in advertising value equivalent.
When Roofnest came to Diff Comms, the rooftop tent category was dominated by Tepui — a brand with the advantage of being sold in OEM showrooms and included in manufacturer concept vehicles. iKamper, James Baroud, and CVT rounded out a competitive set where Roofnest had to fight for every mention.
Roofnest's products were premium — hardshell, aluminum construction — but the brand lacked the media infrastructure and relationships to get the coverage those products deserved. They needed a PR partner who could land them in mainstream publications alongside the enthusiast outlets, building both credibility and consumer awareness.
Diff Comms built a sustained earned media program that prioritized high-authority placements over sheer volume. While competitors racked up mentions through OEM association and recall coverage, we focused on getting Roofnest into the publications that outdoor consumers actually read and trust — and keeping them there, year after year.
The approach combined product review seeding, new model launch campaigns, seasonal gift guide pitches, and adventure-lifestyle feature placements. We maintained ongoing relationships with key journalists at outlets like Gear Patrol, LA Times, Popular Mechanics, and Rolling Stone.
Crucially, we positioned Roofnest not just as a tent brand but as a premium outdoor lifestyle product — expanding coverage beyond niche overlanding outlets into mainstream automotive, travel, and men's lifestyle publications. This broadened Roofnest's addressable audience far beyond the existing rooftop tent consumer base.
The program also included competitive media monitoring to track share of voice against Tepui, iKamper, and others — allowing us to identify coverage gaps and react strategically throughout the year.
In 2021, Tepui held a commanding 53% share of voice by volume. By the latest reporting period, Roofnest had flipped the script entirely — commanding 82.84% of all rooftop tent coverage.
| Brand | 2021 SOV | Latest SOV |
|---|---|---|
| Roofnest | 38% | 82.84% |
| Tepui | 53% | — |
| iKamper | 7% | 8.33% |
| CVT | 1% | 0.49% |
Over the course of the engagement, Diff Comms secured 895 media placements for Roofnest across the full spectrum of outdoor, automotive, lifestyle, and mainstream publications. Total unique visitor impressions reached 14 billion, with an average UVM of 16.16 million per placement.
Coverage sentiment held at 67.8% positive — a strong rate for a consumer goods brand, especially one in a category where product reviews can be critical. Just 8.6% of coverage was negative, with the remainder neutral.
The quality-over-quantity approach showed in the outlet mix: LA Times, Rolling Stone, MotorTrend, Popular Mechanics, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, and Travel + Leisure — publications that Tepui's OEM-driven coverage strategy never reached.
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