ECOBEE + TORONTO

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ABOUT ECOBEE

Ecobee creates smarter Wi-Fi thermostats that are beautifully designed, easy to use, provide comfort and savings for families and are good for our planet. Before founding Ecobee, CEO Stuart Lombard was on a mission to reduce his family’s carbon footprint and save money. He found many ways to conserve energy but most of them were complex and costly. Once Stuart discovered that heating and cooling made up the majority of his home energy use, he tried a programmable thermostat. Unfortunately, it, too, turned out to be very complicated (even for someone with an engineering degree) and somewhat unreliable. When one winter day, Stuart and his family came home to find their house freezing cold, he knew there had to be a better way. He decided to build his own thermostat, one that was easy to install and smart enough to deliver comfort, conserve energy and, in a reasonable time, pay for itself with savings. Ecobee was born.

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THE DESIGN PROJECT

Our assignment was to create differentiated launch naming and brand identity design in a market dominated by long-term leaders with strong brand awareness. Following participation in a series of qualitative focus groups with consumers and home heating technologists, we worked with Stuart Lombard’s team and Compass Partners Market Research to define the mission and create brand strategy architecture. We chose the iconic bee as an eco-important brand identity symbol to communicate Ecobee’s commitment to sustaining the health of our environment. The clean, modern logo design was intended to convey the thermostat’s revolutionary capabilities and create a competitive design advantage.    

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BRAND LAUNCH = STRATEGIC PLANNING + NAMING + BRAND IDENTITY 

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In November 2021, Ecobee was acquired by Generac Holdings Inc. for up to $770 million USD. This transaction will create a home energy ecosystem that rings benefits to both homeowners and grid operators.