29 Oct Belgian Marketing Awards Young Marketing Company of the Year: Nobi

AI-driven, life-saving healthcare technology disguised as a stylish lamp that detects, prevents and predicts falls: not a utopian scifi fantasy but the heartwarming reality thanks to scale-up Nobi. Behind the story of its smart lamp lies a well-thought-out marketing strategy, which did not escape the Steering Committee of the Belgian Marketing Awards either. Nobi is one of three finalists for the Young Marketing Company of the Year Award.

“We call ourselves the smartest lamp in the world.” Thirty seconds away and it should be clear: there is no lack of belief in their own abilities, Nobi and its marketing head Liesbeth Pyck are far from lacking. Don’t blame them: with its revolutionary lamp, the company is linking innovation to design and care in an unparalleled way, thus offering an original and efficient response to the general wave of aging and the challenges that accompany it.

Unsustainable paradox

And these challenges are not minor. After all, whoever says aging, also says care sector. As the number of elderly people in our society increases at a rapid pace, so does the demand for appropriate care. A demand that Nobi is meeting, Liesbeth explains. “There are more and more elderly people and fewer and fewer care workers, which leads to an unsustainable paradox at the expense of quality care. Nobi aims to guarantee just that much-needed care. Our mission, or rather purpose, is therefore to offer older people the opportunity to live happily, with dignity and independence for as long as possible.”

A dignified life guaranteed by a trendy lamp, it doesn’t sound very logical at first. Why does Nobi choose stylish designs to provide tailored human care? The answer turns out to be multiple. “A lamp is on the one hand very inconspicuous but on the other hand it is always there. Moreover, a lamp is not intrusive, unlike, for example, the red button people wear around the neck. Our hi-tech fall detection and fall prevention aims first and foremost to be at least as efficient as existing systems. Our latest impact studies together with the UK NHS showed that Nobi exceeds the efficiency of traditional fall detection systems. For example, the smart lamp detects 100% of traps: including the 62% of traps that were not detected with existing technologies until today. In addition, we believe that everyone, including our elderly users, is entitled to beautiful, easy-to-use products and stylish design. Efficiency and aesthetics therefore go hand in hand at Nobi. This is why we develop designer lamps that not only blend into the room but also really fit into the interior.”

Tech Story

So much for the packaging, on to the content. How does the revolutionary smart lamp work? For an AI-powered device, the mechanism behind it already looks simpler than expected. Specifically: a lamp made up of optical sensors that continuously takes pictures that are analyzed by an AI system. Important here: the AI analysis occurs locally and does not leave the resident’s home unless a fall occurs. At that point, the images are sent to a secure environment where they can be accessed provided the person involved gives their consent.

In summary, technology tailored to the elderly, or age-tech. Sounds like an oxymoron? Not according to Liesbeth. Because while the use and application of technology in a sector built on humane pillars such as care seems somewhat paradoxical, it does represent the future, she believes. “Reality compels us to use technology to meet the increasing demand for care. The number of care workers will only decrease so technology will increasingly have to support them. Therefore, it is essential that care workers, family members but also policy makers step into this tech story because new technologies like Nobi are only as strong as the extent to which they are allowed and able to play their role as a team in society and the care system.”

Save time

That care system – think hospitals and residential care centers, among others – is Nobi’s core business for the time being, Liesbeth emphasizes: “We try to make a difference there and to be a support for care workers. Nobi takes over certain tasks from them, allowing them to focus on other tasks. Result: time savings, less stress for staff and again time for warm care for residents and patients.”

Beyond the healthcare sector, however, Nobi is also looking more and more emphatically at the home market. An expansion that broadens the company’s potential target market but also further reduces the aging challenge, Liesbeth said. “Our smart lights in the home not only have a meaningful impact on the users, the elderly themselves and their families. But in addition, it is also part of the solution to the aging population: the more people can live at home longer, the less pressure on the healthcare system.”

Personal stories

Automation and technological advances undeniably create many benefits. However, the question is how personal care will continue to be guaranteed in the future in a world driven by algorithms and data. “It is precisely that personal care that Nobi is all about. ‘Personal’ in the sense that we want to support family and caregivers to once again provide warm care to our seniors. Our technology is secondary to the warm care circle that surrounds our elderly. Just because our smart lights can work silently in the background, human care runs as it should.” Moreover, Liesbeth contradicts the notion that AI – in care at least – would stand in the way of a personal approach. “The opposite is true. AI learns very quickly and so is also getting better and better at tailoring care advice, which just makes supporting people very much more personal and also enables early detection of health problems.”

Trust

Creating efficient (and personal) technology that eases the burden of care is one thing, gaining the trust of the elderly population – who often look with nostalgia and extra scrutiny at anything that smells far or near like automation – is another. How does Nobi manage to gain that trust? “Trust is at the heart of our marketing plan: everything stands or falls with it. In addition, trust was also at the heart of the development of the product itself. After all, privacy and safeguarding it are crucial to the credibility of our products. Respect for our users always forms the basis.”

Anyone who takes a look at Nobi’s values knows that the latter is no lie. Authenticity, human impact, engagement and, therefore, respect are things that just about all of the company’s stakeholders share. For Nobi may be a for-profit commercial company, but a committed set of values is certainly paramount, says Liesbeth. “We don’t easily clash with people with different interests. Everyone involved at Nobi shares the same values.”

In short: the noses are pointed in the same direction. That makes Nobi write a common story, where cooperation is crucial, Liesbeth concludes. “Cooperation is extremely important in our story. I deliberately say ‘us’ because Nobi is aiming at everyone – the whole world. So our dream is to create one big holistic care system where technologies are connected and data comes together and the whole thing can be used by care workers and the elderly in an easy way. These rapidly changing times really require a disruptive way of thinking and doing and that is only possible if all parties step into the story together.”

Jo Van den Broeck (EMEA/selection committee Belgian Marketing Awards) about the case

“Their rapid market expansion and constant pursuit of customer satisfaction underline their role as a reliable partner on the journey of aging. Nobi is an example of how innovative technology can have a profound social impact, making them a beacon of hope and progress in the healthcare sector.”

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