opportunity
In 2004, Zephyr asked us to help them target affluent homeowners with a succession of premium-priced, category-defining lines of luxury kitchen ventilation hoods by such renowned designers as Fu-Tung Cheng and Sir David Lewis.

Our challenge? Zephyr’s existing brand identity was not conceived with luxury products in mind. The company’s reputation was rooted in its original product line, which was sold on functionality and value. So our job was to continue to support the original lines while moving Zephyr up-market.

The challenge was to raise consumers’ perception of range hoods, seen largely as functional necessities, to their rightful place: an eye-level centerpiece in the heart of the home—the kitchen.

We knew our approach would be a departure from Zephyr’s competitors, who put their focus on performance, with little emphasis on the hood as anything more than a secondary portion of their kitchen appliance lines.

idea
Our consumer research exposed the thrill of discovery in home design and the emotional triggers attached to Zephyr’s offerings. We saw an opportunity to directly challenge the status quo by presenting our consumers with fresh ways to explore how “a kitchen hood can do more than vent air.”

We moved forward with a complete re-crafting of the company’s brand architecture, with unique brand platforms for the entire portfolio. Our strategy accommodated both the basic lines and the luxury collections, all unified under the deceptively simple mantra, “Look Beyond the Expected.”

For the value lines, which we folded into a new brand we called Essentials, this mantra means getting the very best you can for your money. For the luxury collections, we asked consumers to “look beyond the expected” for not only finely crafted products but unique experiences that satisfy their sense of discovery on many levels.

Through a strategy driven by consumer desires, we opened the possibilities for Zephyr to create inspiration and emotional intrigue in what had traditionally been a staid appliance category.

execution
Our creative approach was to design a true sense of place, from Zephyr’s Web site to its event space and showroom, right down to the drink menus at its tradeshow debut. Our integrated palette also included:

• Print and online ads in Dwell, Metropolitan Home, Elle Décor, HGTV.com and more
• Award-winning design of brochures, catalogs and sales materials
• Event and environmental design
• Web site and video production

A perfect embodiment of creating an “unexpected” experience lies in the design of the Web site. With the sense of “discovery” as our brief, our Web developers used a groundbreaking combination of Flash, XML, PHP and MySQL coding to create:

• An open, canvas-like layout that allows users to discover Zephyr via any of four navigational methods
• A “Help Me Choose” tool that dynamically shuffles and filters products for the consumer
• A database-driven structure that enables our client to easily maintain site content
• A script that preserves search engine rankings by offering up an HTML-based mirror site

Our public relations effort launched in 2007, with a heavy push at the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show (K/BIS). Altogether, Loomis Group hosted a packed press event and facilitated 47 one-on-one briefings over the course of three days, including HGTV, The New York Times, Elle Décor, Vogue Living and Metropolitan Home. Through our partnership, we also secured coverage in the following media:

influence
Since 2004, our integrated effort has zeroed in on Zephyr’s visionary aesthetic to raise the bar for consumers and the trade. It has been an intense rebranding effort, and in the course of just over a year, we’ve seen:

• Award-winning work acknowledged by the Addy’s and House & Garden’s Best of 2007
• View-conversion rates for a series of online ads that average 29% and peak at 52%
• More than 300,000 pieces of literature delivered to channel partners and consumers
• Incoming call-center contacts increase by 100%
• Unique visitors to Zephyr’s Web site grow by at least 400%

Our efforts have not only driven Zephyr’s business but also changed people’s perspectives on what a hood can be. Now that’s what we call Vent-Elation!