Next Smart Home Brand, Hejhome
Hejhome is a smart home brand dedicated to enhancing people's lives by using IoT technology to solve everyday inconveniences. The introduction of AI speakers has led to the growth of IoT devices in categories like refrigerators, washing machines, and security cameras. In a highly competitive market where both international tech companies and domestic brands aim to gain a larger market share with a multitude of products, Hejhome has distinguished itself as a pioneer in the market presenting the widest range of IoT products. Expanding beyond its primary B2B IT solution service, Hejhome collaborated with BAT on a rebranding initiative to transform into a brand that impacts the daily lives of all individuals.
Despite its technological advancements, ‘Internet of Things’ was still a foreign concept to elderly consumers in Korea. The technology-focused marketing by most IoT brands resulted in the perception of IoT as "incomplete and unapproachable" and only used by tech-savvy individuals. Such consumer tendency to avoid unfamiliar technology was a primary obstacle to Hejhome's growth.
Products of domestic giants such as Samsung's SmartThings, U+'s AI, and LG's LGThinQ have dominated the market through their strong brand image and subsidiary synergy. Global tech firms like Xiaomi and Google have also attracted young consumers in their 20s and 30s with innovative, user-centric design strategies. For Hejhome to remain competitive against advanced rivals, it was essential to build unique brand equity and solidify its market position.
To change consumers’ preconceptions, BAT proposed a new direction: Instead of forcing a technology that could affect everyone's life drastically, Hejhome would help individuals to experience better convenience gradually. After establishing its market position with security-related products, Hejhome planned to expand its portfolio by developing soft living products. BAT established clear product development criteria for 'resolving small inconveniences in everyday life', thereby strengthening the basis for Hejhome’s brand story.
BAT established Hejhome as a customer-oriented brand in a supplier-dominated market by defining its brand essence as "Greeting Better Life.” This conveys Hejhome's mission to improve the lifestyle of individuals with IoT products, regardless of category. BAT has also defined Hejhome’s brand personality as a ‘Comforteller’, a combination of ‘comfortable’ and ‘teller’, positioning Hejhome as a brand that delivers both functional and emotional value for a better quality of life.
Hejhome's visual identity has been developed to portray comfort in daily life intuitively. To translate this value, BAT created a symbol combining two motifs: a "round square" as a form of space that provides comfort and a "smile" symbolizing comfort. The round square can be transformed into various sizes and applied as a frame for visual assets such as icons, images, and text, while the "smile" serves as a metaphor for the comfort provided by the space we call home.
Hejhome's color system is inspired by the changing hues of nature throughout the day. The use of familiar and stable natural colors with adjusted saturation conveys a sense of comfort in daily life. These colors, combined with images of everyday moments rather than product-focused imagery, communicate Hejhome's mission to deliver customer-centric experiences that improve daily comfort. This emotional visual language sets Hejhome apart from other IoT brands and completes a harmonious, organic brand identity.
