Ember is best known for its temperature-controlled mug, but its ambitions reach far beyond a single product. Founded by inventor and patent expert Clay Alexander, Ember aimed to leverage its proprietary temperature control technology to expand into entirely new categories.
Approach
As strategy director, I led the brand strategy workstream in close partnership with the creative and client teams. We conducted internal stakeholder interviews alongside customer research to understand how Ember’s portfolio was currently perceived, and partnered closely with the head of product to map the future roadmap. After auditing all existing and planned products, we explored multiple organizing principles and ultimately aligned on an audience-led structure.
We recommended a hybrid architecture that distinguished—but still connected—Ember’s consumer and B2B offerings. From there, we developed tailored nomenclature systems to reflect the unique positioning needs of each side of the business.
Brand positioning
With the architecture in place, we turned to brand positioning. We saw an opportunity to elevate Ember’s inventive spirit into a broader brand philosophy—allowing the brand to stand for a transformational idea, not just a single product. Customer interviews revealed that B2B stakeholders valued Ember’s consumer equity, reinforcing our recommendation to position Ember as a consumer-first brand. And although Ember’s patent portfolio limits direct competition, we knew the company needed to signal staying power in the competitive consumer tech space. We positioned Ember as a high-quality, category-defining brand built to endure.
We arrived at a unifying brand idea: Invisible Alchemy—capturing the almost magical experience of temperature control in your hands. This platform could flex across both consumer and enterprise offerings.
Ember brand narrative
“The smallest degrees can shape the most meaningful moments.
The golden sunset and warm evening that perfectly coincides with an outdoor dinner party. Beating our half-marathon time in the winning combination of athletic layers that keep us dry and just warm enough. The hot tea that grounds us when our struggles seem insurmountable.
Temperature — it’s the unspoken hero. The secret ingredient that can transform a day.
Ember believes that temperature has the power to enhance all aspects of our lives. All of our products — from mugs, to baby bottles, and cold chain shippers — are built from the foundation of precise temperature control. Our technology meets you in the moment you need it. Whether it’s that perfectly heated cup of coffee to get us through our morning inbox, the 98° milk that’s ready to go when we’re bleary-eyed and fumbling through our baby’s 2 am feeding, or the assurance that the life-saving medication we’re shipping will be kept at precisely -2° celsius on its way from lab to patient.
Temperature is the undercurrent of everything we touch in our lives. So take it into your own hands with Ember.”
The new strategy informed a refreshed visual and verbal identity. Ember launched its B2B offering, Ember LifeSciences, in February 2023, followed by its first consumer expansion, Ember Baby Bottle, in March 2023.
