The Brief
"Promote Hansgrohe’s best-in-class service using the launch of iSpecify to target design professionals."
The Process
To develop an impactful campaign, we researched the target audience’s needs and mindset. We then analyzed Hansgrohe’s positioning and communication strategy to assess how well it resonated with this audience.
The Findings
Hansgrohe's brand positioning and communication focus on technical superiority, quality, durability, and efficiency, which doesn't fully resonate with design professionals, who are more creatively and emotionally driven.
Design professionals see themselves as artists, and their busy schedules, high workloads, and long list of obligations leave them with limited time to explore creative ideas - something that deeply frustrates and impacts them.
The Approach
Our idea was to reposition Hansgrohe in the eyes of design professionals by inviting them to "Discover Hansgrohe from a different angle." We aimed to break away from the serious and rational tone, embracing playfulness and not taking everything too seriously. Instead of focusing solely on time-savings and efficiency, we wanted them to dream about what they could do with the time they gain.
We intentionally chose hand-painted ink elements, visual effects, and words that stand in stark contrast to what people typically expect from Hansgrohe. By using words like 'dream' and 'play,' we’re introducing a language that feels almost blasphemous to the more technical-minded audience. This playful approach challenges the norm, inviting our audience to engage with the brand in a way that goes beyond the conventional focus on technology and precision.
We developed a redesign for various touchpoints, including the website, newsletter, exhibition booth, and ads. Our goal was to ensure that once we initiated communication to generate awareness, the target audience would encounter a consistent narrative that continues the story we started to tell.
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Launch Campaign
To create awareness and engagement for iSpecify, we focused on what drives design professionals: recognition, creativity, and contributing to meaningful causes.
We discovered a real-world problem - the decline of public toilets - that fit perfectly as a canvas for designers to showcase their skills.
Rather than a traditional campaign, we developed "Save the Public Toilet," a design competition to revive a closed public toilet in either London or New York, two key hubs for design professionals. Framing it as London vs. New York aimed to heighten excitement and expand reach, with the intention of bringing the winning design to life.
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By hosting the competition on iSpecify, we aimed to generate awareness, drive usage, and allow designers to experience the tool firsthand, as they would use it to develop their designs and showcase them to their followers.
We developed a range of digital and physical campaign assets, including newsletters, banners, out-of-home placements, and mailings, to introduce the competition and seed initial information. The focus was on leveraging earned, shared, and owned media, with the ultimate goal of making the campaign trend on social media.
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We gave an outlook on the expected media coverage, which may have seemed secondary to the campaign itself but played a critical role in convincing the client of its potential impact. This foresight was essential in demonstrating how the campaign could capture public attention and generate buzz across various media channels. It wasn't just about strategy - it was about showcasing the broader reach and visibility the campaign could achieve.
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Project Team
Strategy & Concept: Marc Oldenburg (Nystart)
Creative Director: Martin Pahl
Graphics: Arnt Christmann
Text: Simon Cazzanelli