JC goes green (and blue)

MILWAUKEE--At the ASIS International conference in Las Vegas, this editor and a number of other attendees stopped and did a double take at the Johnson Controls booth: What's up with the light green shirts? Turns out it was a sneak peek of Johnson Controls' new branding effort, more than two years in the making and officially launched Oct. 1. Denise Gadowski, marketing communications representative at Johnson Controls, said to look for television commercials in the spring of 2008. Everything rallies around the company's new catchphrase, "Ingenuity Welcome." "It's about creating smart environments and ingenious solutions," Gadowski said. The company will focus on creative sales pitches, which, for example, guarantee energy cost savings, which can be used to pay for new security installations. Part of the rebranding is working more to consolidate the company's three business units: building efficiency, the automotive group, and the power solutions group. Especially with the company's purchase of HVAC manufacturer York International in 2005, Johnson Controls now makes products that reside with many end users in their home, cars and offices, and that will be emphasized through the new branding campaign. Gadowski said Johnson Controls recognizes it is unique as a major integrator and manufacturer, and will work in the coming year to develop the dealer channel for its video surveillance and access control products, while at the same time establishing manufacturer partnerships. "A lot of our customers are concerned that we would put in a proprietary system," Gadowski admitted, "but we're trying to break out of that paradigm."