Well punched, Käser Aebi
Fredy, the Emmental cheese expert and male mouse, is stepping down from the Emmental TV show after three and a half years. Going forward, Publicis will promote Switzerland’s most famous cheese using its most famous holes.
After three and a half years on the Emmental TV show, Emmental cheese expert and mouse Fredy is stepping down from the stage. In future, Publicis
with the most famous holes for the most important Swiss cheese.
Despite the constantly growing range of cheeses on offer, Emmentaler remains top of mind among sliced cheeses. This is not only confirmed by all previous Brand Asset Valuer studies, in which the traditional brand was always among the top 20 power brands in Switzerland. A more recent panel conducted by the Zurich-based D&S Institute also produced pleasing results in terms of familiarity and image strength. Among other things, Publicis' expert campaign contributed to this with a crazy TV show and its star
Fredy, the mouse, was supposed to give younger people a taste for it and put the competition from cheap foreign copies in their place. "However, it has not brought the hoped-for turnaround," says Pascal Schaub, Strategic Planner, pointing to sales of Emmentaler, which are stagnating like the entire semi-hard cheese market despite good consumer ratings.
Peter G. Eichenberger, Marketing Manager at the Emmentaler Switzerland variety organization, sees the main causes in modern consumer habits - the growing importance of convenience and neutral-tasting cheeses. According to the IHA-GfK, Emmentaler consumption by Swiss private households fell by 240 tons (-4.7%) in 2002. Nevertheless, the "big-hole cheese" was able to defend third place, behind Gruyère and Raclette, whose consumption remained stable or increased slightly. "It was clear to everyone that we could not trigger an Emmentaler sales boom with a campaign," says CD Jean Etienne Aebi, who sums up the anti-cyclical cheese campaign metaphorically: a locomotive that brakes downwards and pulls upwards.
Perception problemsThe question of how the trend could be reversed also remained a priority for the second appearance from Publicis. The basis for this was found in the results of a survey that examined consumer demand behavior and associations: The results showed that positioning features such as quality, tradition and originality are the central ones for the world's most famous cheese and that it therefore belongs on every cheese platter - whether you like Emmental or not.
However, because the vast majority of Emmentaler in Switzerland is bought in the Migros and Coop supermarkets, where the original cheese wheel shape has all but disappeared in plastic packaging and become a negligible quantity, a perception problem has arisen: many respondents are convinced that the packaged piece of Emmentaler is industrially produced and no longer comes from the village cheese dairy.
"From the position of the strongest "The aim was therefore to restore the image of naturalness to cheese. "However, this does not mean that we serve up these values in a conventional Alpine cow and cheese story, but rather that we implement them in a contemporary and surprising way," explains Aebi. The comparison with other cheeses or copies was deliberately not sought, says copywriter Roy Spring. "With the product story, which refers to the origin in the print presentation and acts as a tag-on in the commercial, we are not even dependent on comparisons. The original argues from the position of the strongest," says Spring, explaining the leader's understatement. In fact, the campaign kicked off with a publicity report that provided information about the meaning and purpose of the oval cheese brands introduced last year.
While advertisements and posters take consumers back to the cheese dairies, the film focuses on the dominant product feature - the holes. The five commercials stage a hymn to typical Swiss holes - from the tunnels to the alphorns to the bullet holes - in rapid editing sequences in image and sound
in the movie "Schützenfest". "Switzerland is famous for its holes," says the narrator in a traditional Emmental dialect. And continues: "But the best thing is all around it." With which he calmly draws attention to the most famous of all holes in Helvetia and the cheese around it - "The original Schwizer Aemmitaler made from early raw milk from naturally fermented cows".
The most copied cheeseIn 2002, 35533 tons of Emmentaler were produced. Due to market restructuring and the reduction in stocks, this was 22.2 percent less than in 2001. Nevertheless, Emmentaler remains by far the most important Swiss cheese in terms of production and export volume. Around three quarters of the cheese produced
Emmentaler is exported. This means that in 2002 almost the
half of the approximately 55,000 tons of Swiss cheese exported is Emmental. It is not surprising that it is also the most copied type of cheese in the world. Around 40 percent of this hard cheese is currently produced in the Emmental and Bern region, while the other 60 percent comes from cheese dairies in the cantons of Thurgau, St. Gallen and Lucerne. An AOC dossier was submitted two years ago. Objections from Switzerland and abroad are currently being dealt with. (la)
Hymn to Swiss holes: commercial from Publicis.
In its advertisements, Emmentaler claims that every piece of cheese can be traced back to its place of origin.
Luca Aloisi
with the most famous holes for the most important Swiss cheese.
Despite the constantly growing range of cheeses on offer, Emmentaler remains top of mind among sliced cheeses. This is not only confirmed by all previous Brand Asset Valuer studies, in which the traditional brand was always among the top 20 power brands in Switzerland. A more recent panel conducted by the Zurich-based D&S Institute also produced pleasing results in terms of familiarity and image strength. Among other things, Publicis' expert campaign contributed to this with a crazy TV show and its star
Fredy, the mouse, was supposed to give younger people a taste for it and put the competition from cheap foreign copies in their place. "However, it has not brought the hoped-for turnaround," says Pascal Schaub, Strategic Planner, pointing to sales of Emmentaler, which are stagnating like the entire semi-hard cheese market despite good consumer ratings.
Peter G. Eichenberger, Marketing Manager at the Emmentaler Switzerland variety organization, sees the main causes in modern consumer habits - the growing importance of convenience and neutral-tasting cheeses. According to the IHA-GfK, Emmentaler consumption by Swiss private households fell by 240 tons (-4.7%) in 2002. Nevertheless, the "big-hole cheese" was able to defend third place, behind Gruyère and Raclette, whose consumption remained stable or increased slightly. "It was clear to everyone that we could not trigger an Emmentaler sales boom with a campaign," says CD Jean Etienne Aebi, who sums up the anti-cyclical cheese campaign metaphorically: a locomotive that brakes downwards and pulls upwards.
Perception problemsThe question of how the trend could be reversed also remained a priority for the second appearance from Publicis. The basis for this was found in the results of a survey that examined consumer demand behavior and associations: The results showed that positioning features such as quality, tradition and originality are the central ones for the world's most famous cheese and that it therefore belongs on every cheese platter - whether you like Emmental or not.
However, because the vast majority of Emmentaler in Switzerland is bought in the Migros and Coop supermarkets, where the original cheese wheel shape has all but disappeared in plastic packaging and become a negligible quantity, a perception problem has arisen: many respondents are convinced that the packaged piece of Emmentaler is industrially produced and no longer comes from the village cheese dairy.
"From the position of the strongest "The aim was therefore to restore the image of naturalness to cheese. "However, this does not mean that we serve up these values in a conventional Alpine cow and cheese story, but rather that we implement them in a contemporary and surprising way," explains Aebi. The comparison with other cheeses or copies was deliberately not sought, says copywriter Roy Spring. "With the product story, which refers to the origin in the print presentation and acts as a tag-on in the commercial, we are not even dependent on comparisons. The original argues from the position of the strongest," says Spring, explaining the leader's understatement. In fact, the campaign kicked off with a publicity report that provided information about the meaning and purpose of the oval cheese brands introduced last year.
While advertisements and posters take consumers back to the cheese dairies, the film focuses on the dominant product feature - the holes. The five commercials stage a hymn to typical Swiss holes - from the tunnels to the alphorns to the bullet holes - in rapid editing sequences in image and sound
in the movie "Schützenfest". "Switzerland is famous for its holes," says the narrator in a traditional Emmental dialect. And continues: "But the best thing is all around it." With which he calmly draws attention to the most famous of all holes in Helvetia and the cheese around it - "The original Schwizer Aemmitaler made from early raw milk from naturally fermented cows".
The most copied cheeseIn 2002, 35533 tons of Emmentaler were produced. Due to market restructuring and the reduction in stocks, this was 22.2 percent less than in 2001. Nevertheless, Emmentaler remains by far the most important Swiss cheese in terms of production and export volume. Around three quarters of the cheese produced
Emmentaler is exported. This means that in 2002 almost the
half of the approximately 55,000 tons of Swiss cheese exported is Emmental. It is not surprising that it is also the most copied type of cheese in the world. Around 40 percent of this hard cheese is currently produced in the Emmental and Bern region, while the other 60 percent comes from cheese dairies in the cantons of Thurgau, St. Gallen and Lucerne. An AOC dossier was submitted two years ago. Objections from Switzerland and abroad are currently being dealt with. (la)
Hymn to Swiss holes: commercial from Publicis.
In its advertisements, Emmentaler claims that every piece of cheese can be traced back to its place of origin.
Luca Aloisi
