Johnson Controls launches new brand to focus on comfort, safety and sustainability

Johnson Controls, Inc. recently launched a new brand communications platform and refreshed its corporate identity. The global company, which specializes in building efficiency and power solutions for the automotive industry, is rolling out a new logo, corporate slogan and advertising campaign to more effectively communicate its vision and better align its image and marketing efforts with the company's current strategic direction.

"We will continue to be a diversified multi-industrial company, dedicated to improving comfort, safety and sustainability with innovative products and services for the places where people live, work and travel," says Stephen A. Roell, the the company's new CEO. "With a focus on customer satisfaction, technology and global fluency, Johnson Controls is dedicated to helping make its customers more successful."

Roell added that the company also is seeking to strengthen its leadership in emerging markets through the support of its global and regional customers, a strategy that underscores the development of Johnson Controls' new vision of a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world and more accurately reflects the company's broad array of capabilities.

"This vision emphasizes that we're focused on helping our customers add value to consumers' everyday lives," Roell explains. "Each of our businesses plays an enormously important role in making life better and easier in the places where people spend most of their time. Whether it's through comfortable and safe automotive interiors, or advanced systems for energy efficiency and security in buildings, or vehicle battery systems that help to protect the environment, Johnson Controls is uniquely able to provide our customers with what we call 'smart environments' — ingenious solutions that are welcomed by the marketplace."

According to Denise Zutz, vice president of strategy, investor relations and communication, the brand initiative evolved as a better way of communicating the "smart environments" idea. "Our current customers, as well as those whom we'd like to serve in the future, are clear about what's important to them," she explains. "They want to do business with companies that can add value and proactively solve problems. As a result, we crafted our new slogan, 'Ingenuity Welcome,' to have two meanings: first, that we recognize people welcome innovation in products and services, and second, that we're a company looking for people with great ideas."

The recruiting-oriented tagline is not a coincidence, adds Roell. "To continue to serve our customers well, we need to continue to grow effectively, especially in emerging markets. Being an employer of choice is key to us having the right talent in place to help our customers build their business in those locations."

The company believes that building its brand will enable it to better compete for the best talent in all of its geographic markets and help support Johnson Controls' continued growth. To this end, it is rolling out the new slogan along with its new corporate identity, which it calls the "open globe," to the 125 countries it serves through approximately 1,300 offices and plants worldwide. In the spring of 2008, Johnson Controls will launch an advertising campaign designed to communicate its unique capabilities to the marketplace.

The Johnson Controls logo currently appears primarily on the company's building automation and controls products. According to Zutz, as part of the initiative, the company will now visually endorse several of its better-known, flagship product brands — HomeLink, York, Optima, Varta, Heliar and LTH — by adding the Johnson Controls name and logo to more strongly link its products to its corporate brand. HomeLink enables consumers to operate garage doors, entry gates and home appliances from inside their vehicles. York is a line of residential and commercial heating and air-conditioning products and services. Optima is a battery brand that offers a unique spiral wound absorbent glass mat (AGM) technology for extremely high performance; Varta, Heliar and LTH are the leading regional automotive battery brands.

For more information about Johnson Controls and its new marketing initiative, visit the company's Web site.