Rob Stott

Rob Stott is the Founder and CEO of RLS Creative Services and Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Connected Design. A 15-year veteran of the editorial and communications industry, Rob has a passion for helping tell the stories of and shape the content strategies for business and brands in the custom integration channel.

91 articles published

AI Industry News

This Is How Builders Are Using AI

When Digs announced its new strategic partnership with Matt Risinger and The Build Show Network last week, the headline was easy to read as another AI-in-construction story. A platform company and a respected industry educator collaborate on a promise to help builders make sense of new technology. All that is certainly accurate. But what I see is another example…

ByRob StottJuly 28, 20260Comments

Industry News Video

HTSA Board President Talks Leadership Search, Next Chapter for the Group

HTSA has officially opened its search for a new Managing Director, beginning a planned leadership transition that will continue through the end of the year and mark the organization’s first major leadership change in more than a decade. Current Executive Director Jon Robbins, who has led HTSA since December 2015, will remain in place through…

ByRob StottJuly 23, 20260Comments

Industry News News

HTSA Opens Search for Managing Director

In a statement emailed this morning, HTSA announced they’ve opened a search for a Managing Director. The announcement, part of a planned leadership transition that will run through the end of this year, represents the first major leadership change for the group in over a decade. Jon Robbins, the current Executive Director of the group who’s been…

ByRob StottJuly 22, 20260Comments

Industry News

Whole-System Coverage Makes the Warranty Talk Way Easier

Warranties are not exactly the topic that makes a room full of custom integrators sit up a little straighter. You know that. I know that. And, frankly, I said as much during a recent Connected Design Podcast conversation with Keith Kranepool, vice president of strategic partnerships at SureBright. But the more we got into the it, the…

ByRob StottJuly 21, 20260Comments

Podcast Video

SureBright Explores How Whole-System Coverage Improves the Integrator’s Offering

Warranty programs have their own connotations that they carry. But, traditionally, they’re seen as single-product programs that are there in the event of a product failure to protect the consumer. For custom integrators, who install products in myriad rooms and across a variety of categories and price points, the idea of attaching a warranty to…

ByRob StottJuly 20, 20260Comments

Industry News

Integrators Have an Identity Problem

This whole thing started with one of those silly mailers. You know the kind, it lists out all the local home services you could possibly need. This one in particular is put together by a company called Best Pick Reports. Like any homeowner who has stared down a project list, I flipped through it. HVAC?…

ByRob StottJuly 14, 20261Comment

Podcast Video

Loewe Brings Its Luxury Electronics Vision to the North American Market

Loewe North America General Manager Jeff Costello discusses the brand’s methodical launch in the U.S. market.

ByRob StottJuly 13, 20260Comments

Industry Events Industry News

CEDIA to Offer RP32 Audio Verification Training at CEDIA Expo

CEDIA will host the first North American workshop for its RP32: Audio System Measurement and Verification Recommended Practice at CEDIA Expo 2026, bringing hands-on training around a standard that could have meaningful implications for how integrators, designers, and builders define, verify, and communicate audio performance. The full-day RP32: Audio System Measurement and Verification Workshop will take place Monday, Aug.…

ByRob StottJuly 10, 20260Comments

Audio & Video Industry News

ZION Luxury TV Brings Video Walls Outdoors

Imported by selective design, the Spain-built Micro-LED line leans into large-format outdoor performance, architectural flexibility, and luxury customization for residential and marine projects.

ByRob StottJuly 8, 20260Comments

Industry News Smart Home

Matter is Improving. Should Integrators Worry?

The Matter platform has always carried a rather powerful promise. Smart home devices should just work. Getting multiple products to talk to one another shouldn’t require the homeowner to become a part-time systems engineer. A smart light switch should be able to work with any voice assistant. A connected thermostat shouldn’t be hindered just because…

ByRob StottJuly 7, 20260Comments

Rob Stott

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