Acuity Brands
(formerly National
Service Industries)

To unlock shareholder value, National Service Industries (NSI), a diversified manufacturer based in Atlanta, GA, decided to spin off its lighting equipment and specialty chemicals businesses into a new company. The spin-off company would have the leading brands in its categories, but needed an effective identity strategy and system to enable it to fully leverage the strength of those brands with key audiences.

Lister Butler developed a brand identity strategy that consistently links the new company to its business units and their brands, helping to raise awareness and position it as more than a holding company. Based on the strategy, we developed a new name for the company — Acuity Brands. “Acuity,” which means keenness of vision and sharpness of thought, underscores management’s focus on its core businesses. “Brands” calls attention to one of the company’s most important assets — the value of its product brands.

Lister Butler also developed a coordinated visual identity system, including a distinctive visual signature, to ensure that all corporate and business unit communications would support Acuity Brands’ business and positioning objectives.

The Acuity Brands IPO took place on November 14, 2001, and the company is now listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AYI.