Bosch Thermotechnology Innovates Geothermal Industry with First Ever TV Commercial

In early May, Bosch Thermotechnology North America, a front-running manufacturer of quality HVAC units and systems, announced that it would rebrand its FHP geothermal line with the Bosch name and logo.

Bosch geothermal heating and cooling systems is the result.

The goal of this merger, to paraphrase the comments of Bosch CEO, Ervin Cash, was to take advantage of the expertise of both FHP and Bosch geothermal heat pump manufacturers, while adding another substantial piece to the Bosch puzzle. Bosch certainly added another weapon to its arsenal in rebranding the FHP geothermal heat pump line with its own name.

While the rebranding effort was news worthy, it was by no means contrary to industry standards. Companies buy and rebrand every day, turning existing, proven product lines into their own.

At this juncture, over a year removed from this announcement, Bosch finds itself in the spotlight - this time, though, standing on the stage of innovation. As of June, 2011, the Bosch geothermal division has become the first geothermal heat pump manufacturer to advertise the industry via television commercial. You can check out the commercial, below, if you haven’t seen it yet/don’t live in one of the select markets in which it’s been aired.

So, what can we gather from this advertisement (besides the fact that there’s a cute little kid talking about “geothermal energy”)? Well, having watched both versions of the ad, it’s clear that Bosch seeks not only to promote its own line, but also the industry in general. The commercial is centralized around the mere concept of geothermal heating and cooling, rather than specific products or services that the company can offer to consumers. While it doesn’t necessarily “drive home” all of the facts about geothermal because of its limited time frame, it does provide enough information to leave the viewer curious.

Another important aspect of the advertisement is the mentioning of the word “geothermal” multiple times. For those unfamiliar with the industry, this provides a term around which they can base further queries and research (2 out of 10 homeowners don’t know what geothermal is!). With this in mind, we can wager that Bosch’s goal in releasing this ad is to both create curiosity about the geothermal industry and provide direction for those that find themselves wanting more. This is a great service to every geothermal industry member. Raising public awareness if a key component to the growth of the geothermal industry.

All that said, does this commercial help the industry, harm it, or leave it unchanged? Well, as the primary purpose of the ad is to generate curiosity (and consequently, interest) in geothermal heating and cooling, it can only aid the industry as a whole. By avoiding pushing specific products or bombarding viewers with sophistical savings data, Bosch gives geothermal a folksy appeal. Once people are introduced to alternative to conventional HVAC, they can do their own research, substantiate their own data, and come up with their own list of pros and cons for geothermal heat pump installation. This commercial is an impetus for that discovery.

Begin your own research on geothermal heating and cooling.