As it strives to secure its future as a brand for modern consumers, home security company ADT is updating its marketing strategy. The Boca Raton, Florida-based company has tapped McCann Worldgroup as its lead strategic and creative agency, following a two-month review. Under a new chief marketing officer, ADT is also taking its media-buying in-house and planning to promote more of its smart home security systems.
Jochen Koedijk, who joined the brand as senior VP and CMO from Chewy last July, says there is an awareness opportunity for ADT. Many people for example, don’t realize the 145-year-old brand has long had an existing smart-home platform compatible with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home, he says.
“Many people, when you tell them that ADT has these enormous capabilities, they don’t even know,” he says. “That’s where we have a great opportunity to increase the awareness of those types of capabilities especially in a time where they’ve become quite popular.”
Earlier this year, ADT ran its first Super Bowl spot, which featured HGTV’s Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott. The Scott brothers will continue to appear in ADT’s marketing content through the remainder of the year; the first work from McCann will roll out in the third quarter. Koedijk notes the agency’s 360 approach that includes educating ADT employees about the brand’s changes. The Super Bowl spot was created with Bear in the Hall, which will continue to work with ADT.
Last year, ADT spent roughly $80 million on measured media in the U.S., according to Kantar Media. Koedijk says the company will increase its marketing investment this year, though he declined to provide specifics. The company has also doubled its marketing headcount since Koedijk joined last year. Part of that staff increase is attributed to the brand internalizing all of its media operations. Late last year, ADT, which had been working with Horizon Media, began the shift by moving its social media in-house; all media will be in-house by the end of June.
“Ownership is the main reason,” says Koedijk. “For operations to own that ourselves, we’re able to move more rapidly and make decisions faster.”
