Products unite under one name

SYOSSET, N.Y. - The Honeywell brand name will now be used across the board to identify burglar alarm, CCTV and access control products. Company officials announced the standardization to a single brand name for the company’s security-related products, such as its In-telliSense line of sensors and Northern Computer brand of access control products, in early February. Fire products and the company’s NexWatch and First Alert Professional brands, however, are not part of the change. “The recognition of Honeywell amongst consumers and end-users is much greater than these other brands,” said David Gottlieb, vice president of global marketing, communications for Honeywell Security. While that may be true, security industry analyst Jack Mallon of Mallon Associates, said he was sorry to see such a well-known name like Ademco go. “So many of their products have such well-established brand names and recognition, that from one point of view it really takes away that edge.” Honeywell, however, is not alone in its single brand name strategy. The same approach was recently adopted by both Bosch Security and GE Security. Last year guard company Securitas adopted a single name across the board, replacing its Burns and Pinkerton brands. Honeywell first began testing unified brand name in 2003 when it announced plans to brand its Ademco products as Honeywell. This year in anticipation of a single brand approach, Honeywell Security announced in January that it would no longer sell its IntelliSense line of sensors through independent distributors as of March 16. Its Northern Computers line of access control products was taken off independent distributor’s shelves last year. Gottlieb characterized the decision for IntelliSense to leave the independent distribution market as a “branding decision,” and that the product line will adopt Honeywell’s distribution arrangements with sister company and product distributor ADI. Nonetheless, the single brand name approach, first tested with the Ademco line of products, has been well received by the industry, said Gottlieb. “Since that time customers’ response has been positive and we’ve decided to extend that to the entire Honeywell portfolio of products,” he said. Gottlieb said it will take several months before products with the new Honeywell label hit the shelves, depending on how long it takes to deplete existing inventory. In the meantime, Honeywell is offering logo inserts on its Ademco-branded keypads.