WMF is a German manufacturer of domestic kitchenware, professional hotel equipment and professional coffee machines. With a strong brand awareness in Germany, where it was founded in 1853, WMF is perceived as a prestigious and reliable company.

Schaerer is a Swiss brand producing professional coffee machines since 1924 with recognized attention to coffee competence, customization and individualization. WMF Group acquired Schaerer in 2006 and then Groupe SEB acquired the whole WMF Group in 2016.

Task

DEFINE A WINNING BRANDING IDENTITY

We partnered with Schaerer on design, engineering and branding projects before 2016. In particular, we worked with Schaerer on the design of the Schaerer Coffee Club professional machine and the refresh of the brand logo.

After the acquisition of the WMF Group by Groupe SEB in 2016, we were appointed with the task to reposition the two brands, according to the Multi-Brand Strategy defined by Groupe SEB and support the digitalization of their services.

Challenge

TWO BRANDS WITH WELL-DEFINED IDENTITIES

The main challenge we faced was to define the repositioning of two brands that are part of the same Group. It meant WMF and Schaerer Professional Coffee Machines needed two clearly different identities that never overlapped. In order to both become leaders in the environment of professional coffee machines, they had to be the reference point for specific customers and markets.

As the rebranding took place, all the new products, digital solutions and communications had to follow the new positioning of the two brands to guarantee consistency among the design and digital projects developed during and after the rebranding of WMF and Schaerer. Hence, our branding team disseminated the new branding values in all the new projects we developed for WMF and Schaerer.

Our multidisciplinary approach, made possible by our experience in design, branding and digital, defined us as a multifaceted partner for WMF and Schaerer.

A strategic positioning

With the takeover of the two brands by Groupe SEB, we anticipated new demands on the brands
by developing a strategic positioning to avoid product or target overlapping and to facilitate synergies between the two.

We started from the definition of two distinctive brand identities, that were the results of a research process based on the analysis of the professional coffee machines sector and a detailed benchmark.

We defined two specific identities, summarized in the slogans of the two brands: Designed to Perform for WMF and We love it your way for Schaerer.

From the analysis process and the definition of the two specific brand identities, we worked on the development of two brand manuals, one for each brand, that summed all the aspects of the brand and its declination on different media and materials, from print to digital media.

The manuals proved to be successful resources as the brands sent them to subsidiaries and partners in other regions to uniform local communications with the global guidelines.

Design & UI

Not only we proved to be a reliable partner to the rebranding process, but we also assisted the two brands in the design of new professional coffee machines and the definition of unique interfaces for specific product families.

In the process of digitalization of the brands, we also designed the UI of WMF and Schaerer’s digital solutions, WMF CoffeeConnect and Schaerer Coffee Link, and we developed the promotional material related to the solutions.

Our mission as Lead Agency

Since October 2018, we worked with WMF and Schaerer as their Lead Agency. We supported the two brands in creating compelling outputs that covered all main touch points between the brands and their users.

We supported WMF and Schaerer in the creation of communication material: multi-language print campaigns, visuals and templates for newsletters campaigns, marketing materials, flyers, product brochures and catalogues.

Multimedia

Since Host 2017, we also supported WMF and Schaerer presence at trade shows not only in the creation of compelling print materials but also with multimedia installations and digital concepts. We also provided full support in the creation of multimedia content and thanks to our experience, we covered every aspect of the creation and collection of new pictures and videos, organizing shootings.

Social Media

Our support as Lead Agency also involved our digital team that supported WMF to develop a social media strategy and to manage and operate their LinkedIn page. We also provided visuals for social media activity. To discover more on the LinkedIn project developed For WMF, read the dedicated success story.

An all-around partnership

During the years our partnership with WMF and Schaerer touched upon our competences in branding, digital and design, and we have been involved in projects to support every aspect of the two brands: from the UI and design of a new product family to the creation of communication materials and digital touch-points.