Christ launches emotional moments on all channels

The awakening of the "sleeping beauty" in the Swiss watch and jewelry industry is related to one person in particular: CEO Nina Müller. The dedicated leader with many years of international brand and retail experience in the fashion, watch, and jewelry industries has been responsible for Christ since May 2016. Together with her team, Nina Müller is pursuing the vision of making Christ, which belongs to the Coop Group, the largest omni-channel provider for watches and jewelry. The current 70 stores will be successively remodeled and renovated as part of the repositioning. Following the relaunch of the online store www.christ-swiss.ch just a few months ago, a further milestone was set in mid-April with the opening of a new branch in the Glattzentrum as the fifth boutique in the new look.

In close cooperation with Nina Müller, the agency Partner & Partner has strategically repositioned the Christ brand over the past 18 months and, with the claim "Small moments, big memories," created the basis for a new era in which the customer journey is the focus and passion, authenticity, transparency and direct address play a central role.

From Instagram to AOH and back

The roll-out of the new brand is taking place across all communication channels. In addition to the modernized store concept and the new online store, a biannual magazine has been launched to inform customers about the latest trends and products. Currently, an extraordinary campaign is also finding its way to a younger and more urban target audience via Instagram. This campaign initially focuses geographically on specific locations and also relies heavily on targeting in the relevant target groups.

Hashtags such as #Love, #Bestmoment, #Girlpower and others are part of this campaign, which makes the start of the new Christ brand accessible to a wider public and starts a dialogue. The campaign is the result of a cooperation between the agencies Oppenheim & Partner and Partner & Partner. With the launch of Twint, these two had already demonstrated through cross-channel and cross-discipline collaboration how much innovative power can be developed when agencies team up in the service of clients and work together to find exceptional solutions. The emoji imagery was originally developed to launch the new Instagram channel christ_swiss, which accompanies Christ's new communication strategy. Over the next few months, this channel will provide Christ customers and others interested in fashion, watches and jewelry with surprising insights and tips - or even small moments and great memories.

Instagram.com/christ_swiss/

Responsible at Christ: Nina Müller (overall responsibility/ marketing management), Olivia Olano (project management), Bettina Bergmann (coordination). Responsible at Partner & Partner: Benno Maggi (Strategy/Consulting), Olivia Brunner (Project Management), Michèle Shouman (Project Management Digital), Hanah Hwang (Creative), Lisa Zimmermann (Art Direction Advertising Media). Responsible at Oppenheim & Partner: Regine Schoeller (idea, strategy/concept social media, art direction photography); Ladina Moser (collaboration social media strategy/concept, styling), Franco P. Tettamanti (photography).

Committed to watches and jewelry

The dynamic Austrian Nina Müller has been CEO of Christ since May 2016. She has a clear mission: to rejuvenate the company and make it the leading omni-channel provider for watches and jewelry.

Werbewoche: #Girlpower, that's currently on one of your posters, what do you mean by that?

Nina Müller: The hashtag stands for many things ... a woman's self-image of enjoying, also pampering herself, buying her own jewelry, wearing watches and jewelry with confidence - the images for this are multifaceted. But #Girlpower also stands for our many female customers and Christ employees. There are also other hashtags in our campaign. My heart also beats for #Bestmoment, for example.

Your new claim is called "Small moments, big memories", can you explain that to us?

This claim is self-explanatory ... and it describes what the "new" Christ brand is all about: We want to offer our customers a shopping experience that will be remembered and a product range that encourages them to reward themselves and others for small moments in life. There's something wonderful about that!

Has anything else changed since you started at Christ?

Some, I hope! (laughs) Seriously: the sales figures, the spirit, but also the values. We want to be a refreshing alternative to the classic jewelers. Modern and inspiring, but also competent and consultative. To do this, I first had to feel where the values and strengths of the CHRIST brand lie, what sets us apart and what we can build on. A large part of our repositioning is driven by our own CHRIST team. The new product range and the expertise of our sales team are certainly the most important drivers here. We have developed and implemented our strategic projects such as the brand and communication strategy, the new store design concept and the relaunch of the e-shop together with external partners.

Which agencies do you work with and how do you choose them?

We work with various agencies. In addition to competence and quality, one thing is central to the selection process: people. I have to feel that the people I work with have a real commitment to the cause. Our business is very small-scale and multi-layered. It's not enough to have a good idea and that's it. We need partners who are able to see the big picture, but are also consistent in the details. And I need people who are courageous and who compete with me and my team to find the best solutions. Benno Maggi and his crew from Partner & Partner and Regine Schoeller from Oppenheim & Partner are such people. For the development of the new store concept, it was Studioforma Architects, and for the online store, our internal Coop IT team together with Diconium Digital Solutions. They all have to bring the transparency that is required in today's world. That's the only way to be successful ... and the only way to enjoy working together.

The current campaign is very pared down, what are you trying to achieve?

First and foremost, we want to make people aware that the CHRIST brand is changing. We are uncomplicated and natural, young and modern, enthusiastic and inspiring. We analyze the data and optimize continuously. That is my understanding of campaigning and brand management. But it also includes the courage to rely on one's feelings or to take risks and make mistakes in order to then learn from them.

With various measures, we want to bring new people as well as loyal customers onto our Customer Journey and motivate them to share their experiences and memories with an ever-growing community.

What do your customers get out of interacting with your brand?

Today, the customer experience is more central than ever. This includes entering into a dialog with a brand and letting others know that you like that brand. Jewelry and watches used to be bought exclusively in jewelry stores; now people are increasingly shopping online even in this traditional industry. We connect these channels through our click & collect, click & reserve and order on behalf processes. We want our customers to be able to get information, try on and buy where they want and when they want. We underline the emotionality of life with the beauty of our products by immortalizing small and big moments with exclusive mementos and sharing this with friends - on social media and in "real" life.

How central do you see the role of social media for the watch and jewelry industry?

Social media and communities have brought transparency to brand management. It used to be different because there were no communities around brands. Today, if a brand is not transparent, sooner or later it will be made transparent. Social media are therefore very important for us. But we are only at the beginning. There's still a lot to come in the next few months, I promise!