When you’re already a huge global manufacturer of indoor comfort systems and refrigerants, with products sold in over 140 countries before entering the enormous North American marketplace, you’re sitting in a very favorable position. Not willing to settle for that, in 2012 Japan-based Daikin Industries acquired Goodman Manufacturing Company in Houston, Texas, which enabled Daikin to overtake top-ranked Carrier as the world’s largest HVAC maker. Post-acquisition Daikin recognized it faced a pair of challenges: 1. How best to launch the unknown Daikin brand identity as a premium offering in both the U.S. and Canada; and 2. How to rapidly build-out a network of exclusive Daikin dealers, as they are the key to accessing both the residential and commercial markets in this part of the world.
In 2013 Daikin North America engaged Broderick Advertising to conceive and produce an orchestrated multimedia campaign to reach major markets across the U.S. and Canada via an aggressive mix of network and cable TV, and radio commercials. The goals were to introduce and entrench the company’s name in the minds of consumers and HVAC dealers alike, and elevate the perception of Daikin’s dealers (Daikin Comfort Pros) as a cut above the typical run-of-the-mill HVAC purveyor. A fundamental imperative for the client was to “Americanize” the company name to aid the average consumer in how to pronounce the Daikin name. To that end we employed a mnemonic device designed to educate HVAC consumers in North America via back-and-forth repetitive banter between customer and Daikin Comfort Pro.
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No one in North America was Thinkin’ Daikin, until we thought of it.
“Now I’m thinkin’ Daikin.”As a rule of thumb, you don’t think about your air conditioner or heating system until it stops working. But when it does, depending on the season, it becomes the only thing you can think about. So we focused our initial creative executions on this pivotal point—when homeowners are faced with an HVAC that must be replaced. And, more importantly, when they turn to a professional for a recommendation. It’s at this moment of truth that we spring our casually delivered mnemonic and a subsequent exchange of the brand name Daikin to maximum effect. In each of two 30-second TV spots Daikin is voiced out loud nine times.
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The Comfort Guru. Another TV commercial in the campaign designed to distinguish Daikin Comfort Pros from other HVAC professionals lightheartedly suggests the featured Comfort Pro possesses nothing short of extra-sensory skills. These exaggerated abilities amaze the homeowners and give viewers reason to reflect that not all HVAC dealers are created equal, while also introducing the “Daikin Comfort Promise,” a satisfaction guarantee.
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Average Joes vs. Comfort Pros. A long-form video was also produced as a recruitment tool for dealers and as a consumer-facing asset that dealers could use to explain the distinction to prospective customers. Using stereotypical negative HVAC technician scenarios with which many homeowners could identify, the video clearly outlined the professional practices and personality traits of the Daikin Comfort Pro in stark contrast to those of the Average Joe.
In the end, the global brand few here knew how to pronounce became a household name.
Buoyed by the brand-imprinting phrase, “I’m Thinkin’ Daikin,” the campaign gained immediate traction with consumers and dealers alike, and the positioning mystique of Daikin Comfort Pros began to take root throughout the U.S. and Canada. In fact, Daikin went from a previously nonexistent North American dealer network, to hundreds of dealers in just the first year alone. Daikin North America declared the launch a clear success and as a result subsequently engaged Broderick Advertising to craft messaging for the promotion of Daikin’s ductless systems domestically.