Beyond Performance, Toward Better Experiences.
Mitsubishi Electric’s commercial package air conditioner, “Mr.Slim,” has a long history. However, despite its strong track record, there had been few opportunities to develop a full-scale brand communication strategy around the product.
At the same time, as the nature of offices, retail environments, and ways of working continued to evolve, the value expected from air conditioning was also changing — from simple performance and functionality to the quality of experience within a space.
In this project, we redefined commercial air conditioning not as mere “equipment,” but as something that supports comfortable human experiences. Based on the essential benefits customers truly receive, we redesigned the overall communication approach. Through web design, film, photography, and brand expression, we developed a branding project that communicated the value of Mr.Slim from a completely new perspective.
Context
High Performance, but Value Communicated Only Through Functions
For many years, Mr.Slim has supported a wide range of environments including offices and retail spaces as a highly reliable commercial air conditioning system. However, its value had primarily been communicated through specifications and functionality, making it difficult for users to fully understand the actual experiences and benefits the product could provide.
Commercial air conditioning systems are often treated simply as facilities or equipment, making it difficult to communicate value beyond “making the air comfortable.” As a result, comparisons were typically centered on performance and price, while perspectives such as “what kind of experience can be created in the space” or “how people feel within the environment” were rarely shared.
In addition, while Mitsubishi Electric’s consumer air conditioner brand “Kirigamine” had strong public recognition, Mr.Slim — despite its achievements and reliability — had not received the same level of attention or brand visibility.
Air conditioning is not simply equipment. It deeply influences the quality of the spaces where people spend their time. However, there was a lack of communication that conveyed this essential value, which became the starting point of this project.
Approach
Redefining Comfort as an Essential Customer Benefit
In this project, we first reconsidered the value of commercial air conditioning from the perspective of human experience rather than functions or technical performance.
A comfortable environment created by air conditioning is not simply about adjusting temperature. It affects concentration and peace of mind for workers, as well as comfort and atmosphere for visitors in retail spaces. For this reason, we redefined “comfort” not as a performance specification, but as an essential benefit experienced by customers.
Based on this concept, we rebuilt the entire brand communication approach, including the website, film, and photography. Rather than simply explaining product features, we designed the communication so users could intuitively feel the spatial experiences created by the air conditioning and imagine people naturally spending time within those environments.
In addition, the project was developed in close collaboration with the project’s core members and manufacturing teams, pursuing a customer-experience-driven approach even within the BtoB sector. Instead of focusing solely on performance superiority or specifications, we shifted attention toward the essential question: “Why does this space feel comfortable?” Through this perspective, we introduced a brand-oriented approach that had rarely existed in the commercial air conditioning industry.
Outcome
From Performance-Based Selection to a Brand Chosen for the Experience of Comfort
Through these efforts, Mr.Slim evolved from being viewed simply as commercial air conditioning equipment into a brand that provides new value by supporting comfortable spatial experiences for people.
Users are now able to imagine not only product performance, but also the kind of spaces and moments the air conditioning can create. As a result, the value of the product is understood not through functionality alone, but through the experiences it enables.
Furthermore, in a commercial air conditioning category where brand communication had traditionally been limited, the realization of a unified brand expression across web, film, and photography generated significant positive reactions both internally and externally.
This project also demonstrated a new perspective for BtoB branding: rather than simply “selling equipment,” the focus shifted toward “designing customer experiences.”
Ultimately, this project went beyond a conventional product promotion initiative and became an effort to present a new approach to brand value within the commercial air conditioning industry.
This project was strongly supported by a client team that continuously sought to redefine “comfort” not as a simple performance metric, but as something people fundamentally value and experience.
Their sincere commitment to customer experience and brand value left a lasting impression on us as well.
Type
faces
Color
Schemes
RGB / 242 242 242
CMYK / 0 0 0 5
HEX #F2F2F2
RGB / 102 102 102
CMYK / 0 0 0 60
HEX #666666
RGB / 213 0 0
CMYK / 0 100 100 16
HEX #d50000
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MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC