The most emotional Christmas Migros has ever experienced"
Wirz inszeniert crossmediale Weihnachtsvorfreude für die Migros. Mit einer eigenen Weihnachtsfamilie, einem Star-Regisseur und neun hochwertigen Spots.
Switzerland has hardly ever experienced a greater display of festive joy. "The most emotional Christmas Migros has ever experienced": That was the expectation and the associated briefing from Migros to Wirz at the beginning of the year. This was preceded by far-reaching strategic analyses by the agency of the best-selling family celebration of the year, backed up by numerous case studies on the marketing strategies of comparable companies around the world. The result was a long-standing expectation, now backed up by research: "At Christmas, people are looking for family closeness." The campaign therefore focuses on the Felix family of four: modern and open-minded in their roles and views, they are clearly committed to traditional values. Including Christmas traditions.
The Felix family takes viewers through the various phases of the festive anticipation. This includes decorating with fairy lights as well as crafting, baking, buying and wrapping presents, decorating the tree and, last but not least, planning and preparing the festive menus.
CD Hanspeter Schweizer at Wirz was aware that the campaign was only really intended to arouse pleasant anticipation and not lead to Christmas "overkill" as early as November. The creative team wanted to openly acknowledge the traditions and emotions of Christmas. Under no circumstances, however, was Migros to be "puffed up into an American kitsch company".
In this sense, the campaign develops in sync with the genuine build-up of anticipation and builds up to the climax on Christmas Eve. This idea is reflected in the advertising materials used, for example in the first magazine, "Zeit der Vorfreude". This has a circulation of 2.8 million and is distributed throughout Switzerland. It contains suggestions for planning and preparing for the festive season. A second magazine shortly before Christmas is entitled "Zeit des Geniessens" ("Time to enjoy") and contains specific suggestions, particularly on culinary matters.
However, the Christmas spirit does not end on the day of the big feast. Many people "bridge the gap" between Christmas and New Year and are particularly open to feasting and indulging during this time. That's why the traditional Advent calendar with its daily promotions has been extended until New Year's Eve. Another new feature of the Migros calendar is that you no longer have to open the doors every day. In the interests of "offer fairness", customers should be able to plan their purchases for the longer term and know which promotions are running at the POS on which day. There, the offers are clearly marked in gold with the key visual of the star tail that runs through the entire campaign. This temporary switch from the traditional orange of Migros promotions to gold is "the first time in the history" of the major distributor with this campaign, as Marc Engelhard explains at FMCG.
The cross-media interaction also surpasses anything previously seen and sets new standards in the category with a uniform appearance across all channels. This initially meant a lot of networking and persuasion work and a number of workshops, including with specialists from sales and decoration. A wide variety of disciplines, media and sales channels had to be coordinated and brought to a common denominator: various advertising measures (TV, print and outdoor advertising, dialog and direct advertising, online platform, events, internal communication), Migros media such as Saisonküche and Migros magazine, as well as the communication of the consumer and specialist stores on and around their sales areas.
Emotions are best aroused by cinematic means. In the TV commercials, which will run from November 1 until after Christmas, our Felix family experiences the crescendo from the run-up to the actual festive joy in nine episodes, told from the perspective of seven-year-old Anna, the baby of the family, and in some cases even filmed by her "herself". The commercials bear the signature of director Arne Feldhusen, who has also gained a large fan base in Germany with his Pro7 cult series "Stromberg". To select this director, the agency shortlisted five out of forty possible names and then had them pitch their stylistic concepts. "An absolute stroke of luck" for project manager Roman Reichelt from Migros was also the baby of the family. With her naturalness, Anna, who is only six years old, creates exactly the desired effect of a modern mood without any embarrassing sentimentality. The nine films were shot in an old school building with a crew of 45 specialists. Pascal Walder ("Sennentuntschi") worked on the 35 mm camera.
But the campaign is not just about spreading good vibes. Closely linked to the stories of the Felix family, a discount offer will be communicated every week as an impulse for more frequency and sales in the stores. In addition, a large-scale Christmas raffle promotion will play its part in promoting sales.
Migros is launching a completely new campaign for Switzerland on the Internet. Here you can take part in the largest online Christmas choir in Switzerland. At www.weihnachtschor.ch you can record and upload "Silent Night". You can mix your own contribution and the recordings of three friends and take part in the competition for the most beautiful choir as a mini choir. You can win 200 musical weekends in London. If you feel like it, you can also send your song contribution as an e-card. Even as a duet, for example with family members on the other side of the world. Andreas Panzeri
The Felix family takes viewers through the various phases of the festive anticipation. This includes decorating with fairy lights as well as crafting, baking, buying and wrapping presents, decorating the tree and, last but not least, planning and preparing the festive menus.
CD Hanspeter Schweizer at Wirz was aware that the campaign was only really intended to arouse pleasant anticipation and not lead to Christmas "overkill" as early as November. The creative team wanted to openly acknowledge the traditions and emotions of Christmas. Under no circumstances, however, was Migros to be "puffed up into an American kitsch company".
In this sense, the campaign develops in sync with the genuine build-up of anticipation and builds up to the climax on Christmas Eve. This idea is reflected in the advertising materials used, for example in the first magazine, "Zeit der Vorfreude". This has a circulation of 2.8 million and is distributed throughout Switzerland. It contains suggestions for planning and preparing for the festive season. A second magazine shortly before Christmas is entitled "Zeit des Geniessens" ("Time to enjoy") and contains specific suggestions, particularly on culinary matters.
However, the Christmas spirit does not end on the day of the big feast. Many people "bridge the gap" between Christmas and New Year and are particularly open to feasting and indulging during this time. That's why the traditional Advent calendar with its daily promotions has been extended until New Year's Eve. Another new feature of the Migros calendar is that you no longer have to open the doors every day. In the interests of "offer fairness", customers should be able to plan their purchases for the longer term and know which promotions are running at the POS on which day. There, the offers are clearly marked in gold with the key visual of the star tail that runs through the entire campaign. This temporary switch from the traditional orange of Migros promotions to gold is "the first time in the history" of the major distributor with this campaign, as Marc Engelhard explains at FMCG.
The cross-media interaction also surpasses anything previously seen and sets new standards in the category with a uniform appearance across all channels. This initially meant a lot of networking and persuasion work and a number of workshops, including with specialists from sales and decoration. A wide variety of disciplines, media and sales channels had to be coordinated and brought to a common denominator: various advertising measures (TV, print and outdoor advertising, dialog and direct advertising, online platform, events, internal communication), Migros media such as Saisonküche and Migros magazine, as well as the communication of the consumer and specialist stores on and around their sales areas.
Emotions are best aroused by cinematic means. In the TV commercials, which will run from November 1 until after Christmas, our Felix family experiences the crescendo from the run-up to the actual festive joy in nine episodes, told from the perspective of seven-year-old Anna, the baby of the family, and in some cases even filmed by her "herself". The commercials bear the signature of director Arne Feldhusen, who has also gained a large fan base in Germany with his Pro7 cult series "Stromberg". To select this director, the agency shortlisted five out of forty possible names and then had them pitch their stylistic concepts. "An absolute stroke of luck" for project manager Roman Reichelt from Migros was also the baby of the family. With her naturalness, Anna, who is only six years old, creates exactly the desired effect of a modern mood without any embarrassing sentimentality. The nine films were shot in an old school building with a crew of 45 specialists. Pascal Walder ("Sennentuntschi") worked on the 35 mm camera.
But the campaign is not just about spreading good vibes. Closely linked to the stories of the Felix family, a discount offer will be communicated every week as an impulse for more frequency and sales in the stores. In addition, a large-scale Christmas raffle promotion will play its part in promoting sales.
Migros is launching a completely new campaign for Switzerland on the Internet. Here you can take part in the largest online Christmas choir in Switzerland. At www.weihnachtschor.ch you can record and upload "Silent Night". You can mix your own contribution and the recordings of three friends and take part in the competition for the most beautiful choir as a mini choir. You can win 200 musical weekends in London. If you feel like it, you can also send your song contribution as an e-card. Even as a duet, for example with family members on the other side of the world. Andreas Panzeri
Gold class
The campaign works with high advertising pressure. One magazine with a circulation of 2.8 million and one with a circulation of 2.4 million, 9 films with 9 weeks of "heavy rotation". 3.8 million Advent calendars. 27.5 million raffle tickets, 6.8 million cinnamon stars for free distribution at the POS.
