Brand: Ellumi Lighting
Project: Product rebranding, Ellumi antimicrobial (2020)
Role: Brand strategy, creative direction, product naming, photo direction, art direction, packaging design direction
Following Lucidity Lights’ acquisition of Ellumi, a line of antimicrobial lighting products, I led the effort to rebrand and relaunch Ellumi as a brand extension for Brilli Wellness Lighting.
The Challenge
Ellumi was suffering from poor brand equity and affinity - low brand awareness, few repeat customers, reviews that skewed negatively, and unclear brand messaging about the core features, benefits, and effectiveness of the products.
Primary Business Goals:
Increase brand awareness
Engage new retailers (specifically targeting major partners like Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s)
Create a better brand that conveys core product features and benefits, specifically, the efficacy of energy-efficient LED antimicrobial lighting technology
My Approach
The core challenge was to take a highly technical, scientific, and innovative product and make it approachable, applicable, and accessible to the mass retail consumer at a pivotal moment in time when the world was focused on health and cleanliness—the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LED, not UV: Clearly communicating how the product worked to kill viruses and bacteria was critical. We also had to adhere to compliance regulations around safety and efficacy messaging. My approach, given the public’s understanding and awareness of LED lighting (and its safety), was to differentiate the product from unsafe, UV-powered competitors by clearly stating it was “UV-free”.
Retail-readiness: The updated product line name and packaging needed to instantly convey core benefits, efficacy, quality, and brand associations; to stand out on the shelves of major home improvement and mass-market retailers.
Updated packaging included before-and-after images to showcase the product line’s effectiveness, along with key metrics from scientific studies, and relevant features like the light’s ability to kill mold and mildew, a common bathroom problem.
Brand Awareness: Establish a brand personality that was both innovative and futuristic while also feeling clean, accessible, and empathetic.
The Results
This project and the subsequent launch of the Brilli Bright Clean product line resulted in:
Exclusive partnerships with Home Depot and Lowe’s, both online and in-store
Recognition from the Sapphire Lighting Awards and Better Homes & Gardens (2021)
Ultimately contributed to delivering $24M in annual revenue for the company (2021)
