A total of 121 clubs were given new outfits by the fashion company, five of which were used as models in the commercials. The television and print campaign will be launched throughout Switzerland on October 1, 2012 and will run until the end of the year. Preparatory work for the campaign began back in July 2012.

In an internal competition, all Charles Vögele branches in Switzerland had the opportunity to give a club of their choice a makeover and submit their design for the national Charles Vögele campaign. The branches were encouraged to take part in a call film with Charles Vögele Group management: Of the 150 Swiss Charles Vögele stores, a total of 121 submitted a suggestion.

The applications ranged from photos and home-made films, for example from the local Samaritan association or hiking club, to moped cliques, a magicians' club, martial arts clubs, crossbowmen, pontoonists, Guggenmusik musicians, theater or traditional costume groups. An internal jury selected a total of five clubs from all the applications - they are now the stars of the new Charles Vögele campaign and have also received a bonus for the club's coffers. The branches that have dressed the winning clubs will be rewarded with an adventure weekend.

The brand campaign

As soon as the five winning branches and their clubs had been selected by a jury of experts, the television and print campaign was launched: the television commercials were filmed at the end of the summer with Charles Vögele employees and show how they advise and dress their club for leisure time or a club event. The films were produced by Manifesto Films, and director Reto Salimbeni succeeded in capturing the local facets and a wide variety of club themes. At the same time as the production, photographer Michael Munique created a series of images for advertisements.

As a special highlight, the stories are accompanied by the Swiss dialect hit of the year - the song "Manhattan" with the line: "Do it with style, or don't - you can certainly do it without it, but with it, life is beautiful." The Charles Vögele advertising campaign can be seen on Swiss television and in Schweizer Illustrierte from October 1.

Responsible at Charles Vögele: Rudolf Scheben (Vice President Marketing). Selina Späni (Marketing Assistant & Fashion PR). Patrizia Vetter (Head of Marketing Coordination). Responsible at Red Lion: Viviana Chiosi, Andrea Zanzerl, Jan Krohn and Sacha Moser (creation). Christian Siegrist, Charlotte Hottinger (consulting). Responsible at Manifesto Films: Reto Salimbeni (Director), Michael Mieke (DOP Film), Michi Graf (Postproduction). Production: Daniela Berther, Shannon Mildon. Sound design/mix: Jingle Jungle. Music: Hitmill / Roman Camenzind & Fred Herrmann. Photographer: Michael Munique.

The briefing was clear: "We were asked to design a campaign specifically for Switzerland. It had to be much closer to the people than the previous advertising. The third requirement was that Charles Vögele employees should also be involved," explains Sacha Moser. The CD of the newly founded agency Red Lion had already worked for Vögele on previous campaigns. However, Red Lion now has the lead for this campaign and can therefore work more directly with those responsible at Vögele.

To find a basis for their new ideas, the Red Lion team spent two days touring various Vögele stores. "Together with the management, we wanted to create something that comes from the bottom up and is not imposed from above," says Moser, explaining the "field study". In the stores, they discovered "which customers frequent the stores and also the crucial importance of the advice given by the sales staff, some of whom are known by name, for customer loyalty and satisfaction," adds Managing Director Christian Siegrist.

The Krea team, Jan Krohn, Viviana Chiosi and Sacha Moser, sat down in a traditional Swiss pub to brainstorm. It was there that they were inspired to come up with the idea that Charles Vögele should focus its new advertising on Swiss clubs instead of Hollywood movie stars. "The diverse clubs in this country and their members are very close to Charles Vögele's target group," says Moser.

The aim is to reach these potential customers with a campaign in which the individual branches are each allowed to dress a club in their region with Charles Vögele fashion. The first step was to launch an internal campaign. In a funny and likeable film, staff in all 150 or so stores in Switzerland were asked to find a club in their immediate vicinity that would be willing to take part in an advertising campaign. "We bring Switzerland into fashion" was the motto of the employer branding. "The response was overwhelming," say the advertisers happily. 121 associations were inspired by the branches. Many of them submitted their applications with elaborate documentation or even films they had made themselves. As a thank you, all the clubs were given new clothing at Vögele's expense. A "Word of Mouth" campaign, which can of course have a much more lasting effect with this valuable fashion gift than just a "Like it" button on social media.

Five different associations from the large "casting" were then selected for a leading role in five different commercials. In the films produced by Manifesto and directed by Reto Salimbeni, the clubs and their activities are briefly presented in concise sequences. Charles Vögele's "Stil Mobil" then drives up and, together with real store managers, brings the club members into fashion as part of a suitable storyline. Tag line: "We advise you with style."

Andreas Panzeri

Rudolf P. Scheben, Vice President Marketing, on the new style

Charles Vögele's new campaign aims to be as close to the Swiss as possible. They are promised in a popular tone: "We advise you with style."
 
WW: Village clubs instead of Hollywood stars: What is the strategy behind the new advertising concept?
Rudolf P. Scheben: For the campaign, we were looking for an approach that was as close as possible to the Swiss and typical of the country. Switzerland is a "country of associations" - there are over 80,000 associations here. It was also important to us that we were able to involve the branches and our branch employees, as they are the heart of our company. We wanted an authentic campaign with real people and real employees. So we came up with the idea of having our branches dress Swiss clubs. I think this approach has enabled us to emphasize our proximity to our home market of Switzerland and to our employees.

What was the reaction from the stores?
The stores were enthusiastic and very committed. In total, we received over 121 applications for the campaign. All of these clubs were completely re-dressed by us. On average, there were ten people per club. Of course, they got to keep the outfits.

That's well over 1000 outfits. A nice budget item.
That was certainly an important budget component. But it was worth it. Our employees were able to personally invite the associations to the stores and thus establish contacts on the one hand and demonstrate our advisory and fashion expertise on the other.

Who is the target audience?
The campaign actually appeals to almost everyone. Charles Vögele is a Swiss company with strong roots. We didn't want to run a campaign that excludes people - after all, one of the aims was to show the proximity to Switzerland and the people here in the country.

So no longer an active rejuvenation like the Cruz sisters?
We want to be much closer to our customers again - and this is exactly what our new campaign stands for. In recent months, we have clearly realigned and repositioned the company. Our core target group corresponds to a good middle class with a high understanding of value for money aged 40 plus. With an up-to-date range, excellent value for money and expert advice, Charles Vögele aims to offer uncomplicated access to fashionable clothing. For our customers, this means At Charles Vögele, I can rely completely on fashion expertise.

 Will there be any concrete changes in the stores?
A lot has changed in the stores over the last 12 months. Particularly in terms of the product range, but also in terms of clarity and service. This is the basis for our communication strategy. We want to keep the promise of our campaign: "Advice with style" in our stores, i.e. we provide stylish advice and recommend stylish fashion.
 
What is the product range like? Have you heard of large stocks?
Every fashion retailer has goods that they take from the previous season. As long as this does not exceed a certain percentage - as is the case with us - it is completely unproblematic.

Vögele has over 800 stores throughout Europe. Can the Swiss campaign be adapted?
We have developed this campaign specifically for Switzerland. We are currently examining a similar approach for Austria. The prerequisite for this, however, is that authenticity is also maintained in this market so that customers know what Charles Vögele stands for.

Interview: Andreas Panzeri