Behind the Brand: Creating & Launching Ariel by Solar-Breeze

Pivot-Solar Breeze’s 2019-2020 labor of love has been Ariel by Solar-Breeze, the company’s latest evolution of pool robots. With improved performance and durability being the engineering team’s primary goal, the marketing team had to imagine how the new robot could visually defy average market trends and breath fresh life into the sometimes-dull swimming pool cleaner market. Pivot-Solar Breeze robots (the Solar-Breeze, NX and NX2 series) have always revolutionized the residential pool cleaning market, so from the start, Ariel had lofty fins to fill when it came to shaking things up.

In this blog, swim along as we take you through a high-level process of launching Ariel by Pivot-Solar Breeze.

The Name

Our team dove into the naming process open to possibilities, but had a list of swimming industry keywords that we were sure we did not want to incorporate (pictured). This robot needed to be humanized and unique. We started drumming up names that were clever, foreign, a play on words, etc. After a lengthy deliberation with stakeholders and a few drafts of what the top three name’s brands could potentially look like, Ariel was unanimously selected. Coincidentally, Ariel is our Vice President’s daughter’s name!

The Logo

Ariel’s logo features customized letterforms that play on the circle motions of her robotic paddle wheels, the primary technology that propels her forward.

The Palette

Did you know that 70 percent of backyard pool related items are purchased by women? So many brands are skewed towards males, being manufactured in dominant blues, whites and masculine greys. We decided to appeal to the true target market with a color palette reminiscent of seashell bras, mermaid scales and Kool Decking.

Personality & Tone

If Ariel were a person, who would she be? Knowing who Ariel is helps us create relatable content in a tone that reflects her personality and character traits. She’s just a down-to-earth gal that’s seriously concerned about your pool!

Ariel is a millennial that values efficiency, environmentalism, and family and friends. She’s got a sexy vibe to her, but is nurturing. She’s playful and hardworking. She’s obsessive compulsive, but always remains calm and collected, and can be rather leisurely. She is sophisticated, elegant, bubbly, adventurous, brave, and kind – someone that you could easily welcome into your home.

tray being pulled out of ariel robot pool cleaner filled with flowers

The Visuals

The swimming pool industry has historically overlooked women and over-sexualized them in advertising. Ariel is an inclusive product whose brand is understood by women and men of all generations with varying pool types, backgrounds, jobs, incomes, abilities, family status, and more. We gathered family, friends, and professional models who represented a broad demographic and spent a day by a luxury pool that we rented on Air BnB to capture Ariel’s essence.

Enjoy these behind the scenes shots, and follow us to check out the final branded assets!