Eichhof Brewery: brewing rather than talking
The traditional Lucerne beer has a new look and is launching an advertising offensive in German-speaking Switzerland - with Publicis as its new agency. And a campaign with very few words, but a lot of films.
In recent years, Eichhof has concentrated on the local market and focused on Central Swiss culture and customs in its communications. Now the focus is back on what Eichhof has been passionate about since 1834: brewing beer. The six gold medals it won at the recent Swiss Beer Awards prove that it can do this very well.
Accordingly, the Eichhof brewers are now moving into the foreground. You can tell, however, that they would much rather devote their precious time to their core competence and brew beer in the background. For "Von Brauern, die lieber brauen als reden" (Of brewers who prefer brewing to talking), a large number of adaptations were produced in collaboration with director Jon Barber. These include TV and cinema spots, as well as a wealth of films specifically for digital channels. On Instagram Stories, for example, brewers are taking advantage of the tight format to get out and about. In Bumper Ads, they're happy that the ad only lasts 6 seconds. And if it has to be a film and culture quiz on social media, please make it one where you don't have to say much.
Claudia Ziltener (Publicis consultancy) on the positioning of the Eichhof brand:
"After the takeover by Heineken in 2008, Eichhof first had to look after its regular customers in Central Switzerland. This resulted in communication that mainly celebrates local traditions and the region. In order to make the leap to the rest of German-speaking Switzerland and, above all, to more urban areas, the brand had to think carefully about which values are regarded as popular throughout German-speaking Switzerland and at the same time fit well with Eichhof."
Johannes Raggio (Creative Director Publicis) on how the idea came about:
"The input came from our strategy: Central Swiss are doers. There are people who like to talk about what they do. And then there are people who prefer to do rather than talk about it. There are a lot of them in Central Switzerland. And somehow Peter Brönnimann and I feel the same way: We'd rather make ideas than talk about how we came up with them."
Responsible at Eichhof: Christian Weise (Marketing Director), Sami Ackermann (Brand Manager), Janine Beeler and Remo Vinceré (Junior Brand Manager). Responsible at Publicis: Claudia Ziltener, Angelos Apostolidis (Consulting), Lena Altorfer (Strategy), Johannes Raggio, Peter Brönnimann (CD), Jan Kempter (Text), Marvin Hugentobler (Art Direction), Anatole Comte, Dominik Locher (Graphics), Matthias Koller (Managing Director), Thomas Wildberger (CEO). Responsible for production: Jon Barber (director), Stories (film production), Jingle Jungle (sound). Responsible at Prodigious: Suzana Kovacevic (Art Buying).
