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MONI to license Brink’s name for home security

MONI has existed in its current iteration since October 2016. Prior to that, it was known as Monitronics. At the time, MONI execs said the new name was designed to provide the company greater visibility in the market.

MONI president and CEO Jeff Gardner says the company had spoken to Brink’s several years ago about a possible licensing arrangement, but a deal was never reached. When the opportunity presented itself again under new Brink’s management, they were able to come to terms.

According to the agreement, MONI will have “exclusive use of all Brink’s trademarks related to the residential smart home and home security categories in the U.S. and Canada.”

The agreement spans an initial term of seven years with subsequent renewal periods, subject to performance metrics, that extend the agreement beyond 20 years. A Brink’s statement says that first-year royalties are expected to reach US$5 million “and could more than double if the business grows as planned.”

MONI has approximately 300 active dealers, according to Gardner, about 10 of which operate in Canada. (MONI does not divulge subscriber numbers, but Gardner says its largest concentration is in the Edmonton area.) MONI also owns a direct-to-consumer DIY business, LiveWatch (acquired in 2015), which accounts for 35 per cent of all new customers. Both of these businesses, along with related home automation products like doorbell cameras, will be rebranded with the Brink’s name.

“With MONI, we had worked really hard and had built up the brand awareness, but it was still mid-single digits in overall brand awareness. When we started talking to the Brink’s people and started testing that trademark and that brand, it’s the clear No. 2 in the industry,” explains Gardner.

For Brink’s, it also represents a return to home security. The company has operated for more than 150 years and is best known today for its cash management and logistics business. Back in 1983, the company established Brink’s Home Security, which it operated until 2008 when it was spun off and renamed Broadview Security. Broadview was acquired by Tyco International in 2010 and merged into its ADT business. (ADT was acquired by Apollo Global Management in 2016.)

Gardner says that the Brink’s name still has a lot of caché in home security and offers a brand that dealers can get behind. The company began notifying its dealers of the impending change the morning of the announcement. The rebranding process will commence in Q2 this year.

“We think that simplification is really important in this industry. Going to a single brand really makes it a lot easier to do business with us,” says Gardner.