Gaggenau “A Statement of Form” at Villa Necchi, Milano
Gaggenau, the German luxury appliance manufacturer, wanted to concentrate its marketing energies on Architects and Designers. To make a powerful statement in 2022, it was decided to step away from Europe’s biggest kitchen trade show ‘EuroCucina’ at the Salone del Mobile, and instead take the brave move to the more arty, playful and hugely competitive FuoriSalone in the centre of Milan. They chose to install an immersive display within the Pavilion of Milan’s grand Villa Necchi Campiglio. Central to the Gaggenau experience was an architectural installation showcasing their latest appliance innovations, with immersive cooking stations and innovative cuisine prepared by three-Michelin starred chef Christian Jürgen.
The Brief:
Lime had to envelop the whole event with a name, an overarching narrative and multi-channelled creative campaign to tell the story and attract the valued audience of architects and designers.
Our Answer:
The exhibit allowed us to better showcase the luxury and cultural aspects of Gaggenau and their heritage, progressiveness, materiality and culinary pillars. We chose to amplify the balance of where form and function connect, championing the installation materials’ beauty and the grand masters (chef and appliances) crafting culinary art. We named it “A Statement of Form”.
A lead animated graphic was developed reflecting the design consciousness of the installation, paying homage to the Villa and the architectural/artistic movements of the 1930’s. We then rolled out a cohesive, single-minded campaign to drive registration, awareness and push out live content. This included creating film and imagery content, advertising outdoor and online, a full social media strategy and implementation, web, PR and launch event, sourcing influencers, key opinion leaders (KOLs) and print.
Advertising was placed in leading European design and architectural titles, supported through digital ads and promoted social media posts. Impactful digital and poster advertising was strategically placed throughout Milan’s three major airports.
Lime’s PR and content team researched, developed and managed a VIP engagement list of key guests to attend a ‘first look’ event, that saw over 200 guests in attendance: a mix of Press, Micro Influencers and KOLs from the architecture & design community.
Sourcing Influencers to attend the event meant exposing Gaggenau to new audiences within the luxury, design and lifestyle sectors - a first for the brand. We managed everyones itineraries and brought in various production teams for content capture from start to finish. Our strategy was to creatively tell Gaggenau’s story, at the Villa in Milan, beautifully and quickly, with video and photography capturing every moment, both in front and behind the scenes. The footage was broadcast ‘on the go’ and posted live across Gaggenau’s official channels, whilst a team back in the UK supported content management.
To amplify the story further we suggested Gaggenau provide the platform and a media partner provide the content to engage with the targeted audience. Dezeen, one of the world's most influential architecture, interiors and design magazine, curated a program of events bringing masters within these together to a select audience. The talks were held within “A Statement of Form” exhibition space and filmed live for further audiences to watch from their virtual seats. With this we would gain greater amplification of the brand to a wider audience and get to use inspiring, cultural content to use across channels.
And finally, to mark the move from the fair into Milan’s architectural gem Villa Necchi, Lime created a limited edition hardcover guide book revealing the hidden gems of Milano. We titled it "The Little Black Book” and invited Anna Morelli, chief editor of Italian gourmet magazine ‘Cook-inc’ to share her personal experiences and introduce the book. An invited list of contributors added their secret spaces and places under the chapters of architecture, art, culinary and lifestyle. Lime commissioned a photographer team from Milan and printed the books in Italy to reduce carbon footprint. It was gifted to VIPs and attendees in a stylish branded tote bag. The content was broadcast on LinkedIn over a set pre-event calendar, to further strengthen Gaggenau as connoisseurs of Milan.
The Results:
The campaign was a huge success for Gaggenau. New architects and designers began their ‘journey’ with the brand, and an untold number of audiences have been introduced to Gaggenau.
Organic traffic to the Gaggenau website showed an 381% increase with over 320K unique visits compared to the same period 12 months prior. Paid traffic for the same period also showed a 277% increase.
The 'first look' VIP PR event exceeded attendance targets by 170%, with a mix of Gaggenau ambassadors, KOLs, press and micro influencers attending for free. Guests at the event created a mix of organic social media posts generating over 1.1M Instagram views featuring “A Statement of Form”.
The event gained the attention of the world's leading design press with over 100+ articles published online and in print; equivalent to €1.1M free column space. Appearing in Dezeen, Wallpaper, Marie Claire, ELLE Decor and Vanity Fair, to name but a few.
Gaggenau's social platforms saw a 12.8M reach and 9% increase in followers on Instagram and a 24% increase on LinkedIn with over 8.7K link clicks. LinkedIn results were especially important due to the wealth of architect and designers on this platform.
In Summary:
Lime has contributed to repositioning Gaggenau as more than just a kitchen appliance brand. By refocusing their marketing efforts on architect and designer content creators, Gaggenau is now seen as a lifestyle and architect and designers choice brand.
We educated the client, showing the importance of an integrated multi-channelled campaign to support an event, pre and during its duration. Also collaborating with very targeted Influencers and KOLs, as part of the marketing mix, we showed the client a cost-effective way to expand their audience reach and strengthen their traditional marketing strategy.
“A Statement of Form” creative campaign, content strategy and new digital content streams instantly put their brand in front of new audiences, educating them about the brand and hopefully converting them into future customers.
Commissioned qualitative research looking at brand perceptions amongst global kitchen professionals before and after attending the “A Statement of Form” installation received an overwhelmingly positive response. All respondents loved the concept and installation and there was a significant positive shift in brand perception around the decision to leave “the hectic, loud, stressful fair” at EuroCucina and come to the “calm and impressive grounds” of Villa Necchi.
The values between Villa Necchi and Gaggenau were seen as a perfect fit and the title branding “A Statement of Form” was highly praised and described as artistic, like artwork displayed in a museum.
Most importantly, whilst Gaggenau was seen as a leading European/German kitchen appliance brand, the visitor’s perception changed to Gaggenau being a luxury brand that is doing kitchen appliances. Elevating the brand as modern, edgy and different against other kitchen brands like Miele or Subzero who were seen as less exciting and extraordinary.
“Yes, before Gaggenau made everything right, best in class… But now they made everything different, and that is setting them apart!”
(Jon, architect)
Presentation Report: A Statement of Form.
VALOR Research & Consulting
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Lime Creative
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