Keen Home: Keen Home Smart Vent

 
Campaign Summary

Using a single thermostat to control the airflow of an entire home is like using a single light switch to control all of the lights. Keen Home's goal was to change this by redefining the home air vent and creating an intuitive, mobile-driven solution that allowed people to control the temperature in their homes room by room. The result was the Smart Vent and the accompanying app, which gave users the ability to control the temperature in every room, from anywhere.

Strategy

Objective and Context:

Temperature is an essential factor in the comfort of one's home, but many people have imbalances throughout their homes, like an upstairs bedroom that gets too hot or a corner living room that gets too cold. While most homeowners can immediately identify the hot and cold spots in their home, they don't have much recourse when it comes to remedying these irregularities. Keen Home's goal was to change that, with a mobile app-driven solution that would put people in control of their home temperatures.

Target Audience:

Based on internal research and online surveys, Keen Home narrowed down its target customer to homeowners between the ages of 30 to 45 who have one or two children. This person is technologically savvy, an iPhone owner, inclined to do DIY projects, and loves to buy new gadgets.

Creative Strategy:

No matter how smart one's thermostat is, it will never be able to control the temperature of individual rooms, so Keen Home created the Smart Vent. It replaces the vents in each room, and these vents can then connect to existing smart home platforms with the touch of a button. Using sensors embedded in the device, it learns inhabitants' habits and intelligently redirects airflow. At the heart of the product's campaign strategy and execution is the Smart Vent mobile app, which works in partnership with the physical air vent. The app simplifies temperature control with a sophisticated "Auto Mode" algorithm that optimizes the temperature for maximum comfort.

Execution

Mobile Execution:

Mobile is an integral part of the product experience and functionality of the Smart Vents. Without the mobile app, the technology that powers the vents would not be able to serve its purpose. It allows customers to set up their Smart Vents and control all the vents in a room. The app also makes it easy to add a smart thermostat and has a customer support section where people can ask for help.

Development of the app began by recording user stories that were related to controlling the Smart Vent. This helped Keen Home narrow down the app feature list that needed to be built first. The brand used out-of-the-box controls for most of the app and custom modules for the landing screen and home section. The home screen prompts users to add rooms and fill out a short survey. Once that step is completed, the app analyzes the information and recommends a minimum number of Smart Vents to optimize comfort and efficiency.

Results (including context, evaluation, and market impact)

As of April 1, 2016, over 28,000 units have been shipped, resulting in over $2.3 million in revenue. Smart Vents are currently available in-store at more than 650 Lowe's Home Improvement Centers across the U.S. and online at lowes.com, amazon.com, build.com, newegg.com, and keenhome.io. Smart Vents were also featured on Nest.com, where it was the No. 1 clicked-on partner product. Additionally, Keen Home garnered national exposure by securing one of the largest investment deals on the popular reality TV show Shark Tank. Time on the app has exceeded two million hours from over 2,700 users across the U.S. and Canada.


Categories: The Internet of Things | Industries: Consumer Electronics, Technology | Objectives: The Internet of Things | Awards: Silver Winner

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