FINDING THE RIGHT MARKETING FIT IN MANUFACTURED HOUSING
How G/L helped reshape Intertherm’s creative messaging.
When Nordyne engaged Geile/Leon (G/L) to support a rebranding effort for Intertherm, the HVAC equipment brand was ready for a breath of fresh air. Despite a century-long legacy of building safe and reliable HVAC equipment for manufactured housing, Intertherm’s story was getting lost in a crowded market where builders often mix and match residential brands.
The ask? Eliminate confusion and encourage brand-matching by creating a consistent, comprehensive and compelling brand story for Intertherm.
PURPOSEFUL POSITIONING
The critical components of a powerful brand positioning:
Ever-ready for the challenge, the G/L team got started at the core of Intertherm’s identity: the value proposition and brand positioning statement. Starting with our pursuit of a perfectly crafted USP, we began to hone in on what makes Intertherm stand out from the competition. As we did, their focus on holistic operational efficiency continued to capture our attention.
Allow us to translate.
Holistic operational efficiency means Intertherm’s products go beyond energy efficiency alone. So by design, Intertherm heating and cooling equipment is built to ensure efficiency from the ease of installation and costs of ownership down to its physical footprint in each unique space. Oh, and on the subject of unique spaces, you should know not all manufactured homes are created alike. That’s why Intertherm’s versatile equipment is built to fit seamlessly into modular and tiny homes, as well as multi-tenant and single-room configurations. Once we distilled these ownable truths down and defined the “why” for our various audiences in the factory-built housing industry, we were left with a clean, crisp positioning statement to guide us on our creative path.
METHODICAL MESSAGING
The next step: developing a methodical system by which to anchor those messages under one branded umbrella. Enter RightFit — a succinct summation of Intertherm’s unique approach to matched HVAC systems that delivers the right equipment with the right support, right when you need it. Fitting your budget, your space and your needs.
Now it was time to pressure-test this naming convention by applying it across Intertherm’s brand pillars. RightMatch communicates the compatibility of the brand’s matched equipment, while RightFunction means your equipment meets the unique needs of specialty HVAC applications. All the while, RightFoundation backs up these promises with a legacy of quality and unparalleled support.
Needless to say, things were starting to feel right. With the brand’s foundation regrounded in our new positioning and messaging strategy, it was time to define Intertherm’s visual identity and bring the brand to life through creative.
FINDING THE RIGHT CREATIVE FIT
Alas, the idea-generation stage in which we forge imaginative, conceptual ideas to meld creativity and strategy—all in perfect lock-step with the brand positioning statement and our RightFit messaging platform. Like a finely-tuned system, our creative process rumbled to life along the guiding principles we believe every brand deserves. 
Time to turn up the heat! We started scribbling down theme lines until things started to feel…right. Inspired by the RightFit name and USP, creative and copy development quickly coalesced around two conceptual camps: “right” and “fit.” The next step would be building out our top contenders into two distinctive creative concepts.
COMFORT, MEET COMPATIBILITY
Celebrating the myriad forms factory-built homes can take, our first concept heavily emphasized the crossroads of compatibility and comfort for homeowners and contractors alike. Illustrating a brand that is truly “fit” not only in the versatility of its products to maintain a subtle visual profile, but also uniquely fit to function as a fully integrated system that delivers optimum performance.
The use of bold, vibrant color gradients throughout the concepting work was built around a novel use of color that not only would serve to stand out within the category, but was also striking, modern and personable, all at the same time.
THE CHOICE IS CLEAR
Meanwhile, our second concept zoomed in on the notion of eliminating guesswork and mismatched equipment by making the right choice, right from the start. Beginning with Intertherm Blue, we hand-selected a bold yet approachable palette and paired it with sleek icons, dynamic patterns and a bento box-inspired grid layout to showcase our new library of high-impact photography.
NOW WE WERE REALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE.
With a green light of approval from our client partners on our second concept, Right From the Start, our creative team began blowing out all the deliverables that would truly bring the campaign and the new brand to life. With the production of various print collateral, the development of a new website, and a brand anthem video looming on the horizon, a library of both product and lifestyle imagery was needed—fast.
Cue G/L Content Studios, our in-house production wing. Like the systems we would be shooting, this assignment demanded that the team be highly efficient. Thanks to ongoing and open communication with the client, we coordinated two highly involved shoots within a restrictive 1½-day production window. When all was said and done, we had amassed an asset library boasting both in-studio, catalog-quality imagery and video assets.
Up next was a glow-up for Intertherm’s printed sales collateral. From sales brochures to product line booklets and sell sheets, it was time to put the new brand to work empowering distributors and contractors to confidently represent the Intertherm brand.
THE INTERTHERM TEAM WAS READY TO START ROLLING
At G/L, we see brand anthem videos as an opportunity to bring all elements of a new brand together in one cohesive piece.
Last but most certainly not least, the Intertherm brand needed an impactful and intuitive website with tailored content and user experiences for contractors and homeowners alike. With our partners at Beanstalk, we delivered a brand hub that allows users to effortlessly explore products for their specific HVAC needs while seamlessly weaving in actionable content and showcasing Intertherm’s rich history.
MAKING OUR MARK ON THE MARKET
Crafting the work and releasing it into the wild is one endeavor. Seeing it succeed for our partners is another level of reward entirely. From launch day onward, each element of the Right From the Start campaign was met with tremendous support and enthusiasm from clients, contractors and customers alike. Freshly equipped with hot-off-the-press print materials and a newly-refined messaging platform, the sales team was ready to tell the Intertherm brand story to all its audiences. A storied brand took a deep breath, turned on its heels and took its first steps in a new direction toward another century of innovation.
And as for our client? We’ll let his words speak for themselves.
