RETROWURST: Richtfest September 2007

 

Well, well, well.

By strange coincidence, on the eve of yet another long journey back to Brexit island, I see that 18 years ago, I was writing about jollier circumstances. Not selling up and moving out, but building and moving in.

Here’s the story of the Richtfest, some insight into Germans and DIY, and the state of the DIY retail brands back in September 2007.

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Last Friday, I attended another “first” for me here in Germany. After over 11 years in Germany, I had thought that I had exhausted my list of “first times” but it seems that there are ever-new obscure and fascinating traditions and opportunities for celebration here. The occasion on Friday was something called a Richtfest, which took place just over the road from our house. 

 

We live on an area of new housing in a small town east of Frankfurt. While some of the houses are finished, there are still a number of vacant lots available plus houses in various stages of completion. While much of the UK’s new housing is built by developers or the Barrett/Wimpey Homes of this world, it is still very common in Germany to search for your own plot of land and then commission an architect and building company to build to your own wishes.

 

The Richtfest is traditionally held when the main structure and roof beams are in place. A relation of the Christmas Tree, the Richtbaum – a pine, spruce or similar decorated with coloured ribbons, is fixed onto the gables and the craftsmen, workers, architect and building foreman are all invited along with the neighbours who have undoubtedly put up with all manner of dust, dirt, noise and huge machines in the last few months. To open the Richtfest, the carpenter, dressed in his traditional black corduroy outfit (which looks like a cross between a cowboy and someone from a 70s rock group) stands on the roof, a full Schnapps glass at the ready to give his carpenter’s speech or Zimmermannsspruch.The speech is a thank you to all concerned and asks for God to bestow His blessing on the house and all who live within. A little reminiscent of the launching of a ship, the Schnapps is then downed and the glass hurled from the roof. If it breaks, this is a good omen, but, should it stay intact, then all will not necessarily run smoothly for the new home-owners. This is, understandably, one of the most nerve-racking moments in a carpenter’s life – far more so that balancing 10m up on the roof wielding a heavy and dangerous saw!

 

Now, you may have heard that most Germans live in rented accommodation, mainly apartments and this is indeed true. Only 43% of Germans (45% former West Germany, 35% former DDR) own their homes, a level way below the European norm. The equivalent figure for GB is 69% and Southern Europe has even higher levels of home ownership, with Italy at 72% and Spain at 86%, for example. But the point is that, when Germans do decide to buy their home, the “gold standard” is literally to start from scratch with buying a plot, designing and building the house complete to one’s own specifications. Buying a house that someone else has built or had built is not seen as ideal as it is not likely to match your own personal needs and wishes. In addition, German houses tend to be pretty solid, so it is not usually a case of simply knocking down a few dividing walls.

 

Going back to all those rented flats: the vast majority of these are rented not only unfurnished but without what we would see as normal fixtures and fittings. The chances are that, if you move into a rented flat, the last occupants will have taken their kitchen and anything else built-in with them. And whether there are any light bulbs left will be the least of your worries: there will be no ceiling or wall lamps at all! And the tenants are responsible for the state of decoration of the property while living there and on moving out. This all leads me on to the main topic of this Extrawurst: DIY in Germany. As you can imagine, with all this building of homes from scratch, re-building someone else’s house to suit your personal needs and renovating your rented accommodation, DIY is big business in Germany!

 

Before I move on to look at some of the interesting players in the DIY market here, it’s worth looking at the psychology of DIY here, which I believe has a major influence on the market. Overall, the average German is probably more keen and more adept at DIY than his or her average British counterpart. From my work with IKEA, I have been in plenty of German homes and the occupants are always very keen to point out which tasks they completed with their own hands. I think it all stems from a pride in craftsmanship: craftsmen and skilled workers are very highly regarded in Germany. There is none of the “class divide” that still pervades the UK and a master carpenter will be regarded here as being on a professional level with, say, an accountant. Because no-one feels that “working with your hands” is “beneath them”, most Germans are quite keen to give it all a go themselves.

 

Another interesting point about the psychology is that Germans generally feel “safe” in an area where there are set rules and ways of doing things, that one can learn, rather than in the area of personal inspiration and creativity, where one can make a dreadful faux pas as there are no set rules. There is only one way to lay tiles, generally, but choosing the colour, pattern and matching it to the existing style is the area where Germans are more likely to flounder.

 

The market for DIY in Germany is huge and has a large number of players. Most of these are now large chain superstores rather than independent builders’ merchants, although these still exist, mainly for the professionals. Many of the large chains also have some presence in other European markets.

 

The number 1 in Germany is Obi www.obi.de with 334 stores in Germany alone and a major presence in Italy, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and other European markets. Obi is one of the best-known brand names in Germany and the orange and black logo and “busy beaver” symbol are universally recognised. Obi started in 1970 and was one of the first to develop the USA DIY concept of “everything under one roof”. Obi is active in sports sponsorship and was one of the major sponsors for the World Cup 2007.

 

Bauhaus (www.bauhaus.info ) is probably the “gold standard” in Germany. The chain has 185 stores across Europe and positions itself on a “best choice, first class quality and excellent value for money” platform. Bauhaus’ advertising line “Wenn es gut sein muss” (“when it’s got to be good”) reflects this. The store experience in Bauhaus is probably the best in Germany, with excellent and well-qualified co-workers and a range of services from tool hire to video workshops on DIY topics.

 

The big personality among the German DIY chains is Hornbach (www.hornbach.de ). With their huge pink and orange monstrosities of stores and their unashamedly quirky advertising, you can’t really miss Hornbach. Although the roots of the store go back 130 years, Hornbach’s in-store experience is right up-to-date with demonstrations and seminars. The advertising campaign (“Es gibt immer was zu tun” “There’s always something to be done”) connects perfectly with the German Zeitgeist as far as DIY goes.

 

Finally, we come to Praktiker (www.praktiker.de ). Although a large chain with 245 outlets, Praktiker seem to have done everything wrong in the retail book and are suffering for it. From over-diversification (into travel and telecommunications), to an appalling in-store experience with non-existent service to a focus on price discounts that is ceasing to be credible, Praktiker seem to have messed-up.

 

Maybe the Schnapps glass didn’t break at their Richtfest.

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I don’t suppose there will be a Richtfest in Camberley when I move out, nor was there one when the houses were built in 1960. 

I wonder if there’s an alternative Richtfest for moving out - possibly celebrated by removing the house name sign - above?

RETROWURST: Advertising Agencies September 2005

 

In September 2005, I indulged in a bit of navel-gazing about ad agencies, which may have seemed self-indulgent at the time. But it’s certainly fascinating to read with 18 years’ hindsight.

In this article, I referred to the “new media and internet specialists” who tended to lurk around Berlin. How quaint. And then, I was very snooty about mozzarella and cherry tomatoes on sticks.

On a positive note, I cheered German agencies' success at Cannes that year. And commented that Planning had perhaps achieved critical mass in Germany. Were the two connected? I wonder.

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Last week, I attended the “Night of the Lions” in Frankfurt; one of the German advertising industry’s yearly highlights where hundreds of advertising types gather to see creatives getting their prizes and viewing the reel of the gold, silver and bronze film winners. I say “one of” for good reason. While, in the UK, I assume this sort of thing would always take place in London, the German advertising industry has a number of centres including Hamburg, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Berlin. In addition, many major (-ish) agencies have their offices in Munich or cities in the former East Germany, such as Leipzig. If there is any tendency at all to who sits where, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf tend to be the German offices of the multi-nationals with Hamburg being home to the original German agencies that grew up in the 1980s and early 1990s such as Springer & Jacoby and Jung von Matt. Berlin tends to house the newest agencies and many of the new media and internet specialists.

 

Although there has been much talk from the industry press of the revival of German advertising creativity after many years of doom and gloom, I did find my experience last week a bit like being in a time-warp. The event was held in a former tram depot all decked out in black with a bit of white, as were most of the rather earnest-looking guests. There were Caipirinhas at the bar and bits of mozzarella and baby tomatoes on sticks (which I have always considered the 1990s version of the 1970s cheese `n` pineapple). I’ve now been freelance for nearly three years and haven’t worked full-time in an agency for nearly five but it didn’t really look to me as if things had moved on much.

 

Working in advertising here in Germany (funnily enough, one never says “being in advertising” as one might in the UK) doesn’t really carry the cachet that it might in the UK or USA. Advertising is not really regarded as a profession here and certainly does not have the glamorous image that it might have in other markets. At a party, if you own up to “working in advertising”, the subject is quickly changed, rather as if you had admitted to having something to do with second-hand cars. You would be better off to try and disguise your role as a “consultant” in some way as this at least suggests better academic credentials. “Real” professions, such as being a doctor or a lawyer, are what buy you points here in Germany. So extreme is this tendency that even some of the creatives who went up to collect their gongs last week were announced as “Dr So-and-so” in a totally non-ironic way. Academic qualifications are often made much of in agency credentials presentations which came as something of a surprise to me, coming from a world where a PhD is something that a London-based creative is about as likely to own up to having as piles.

 

Maybe it’s no surprise, then, that one area of the German advertising industry which seems to be on the up at the moment is Planning. From my own perspective, it does seem that Strategic Planning in Germany has now achieved critical mass. The annual Open Event of the apgd in June seemed packed full of young faces and the organisation now seems to have got its act together in offering training for young planners. Although the apgd has been in existence for nine years now (I had the dubious privilege of sitting through its inaugural constitutional meeting) it was perhaps a little handicapped in its early years by an over-intellectual, inward-looking attitude (typified by endless humourless debates about “The definition of planning” “Whether one is a strategic planner or a creative planner” and an article laying out “a segmentation of planners.”)

In a typically German way, the most “intellectual” of advertising’s disciplines now seems to be feeding the right stuff to the creative folks to make some damned good ads. It is no surprise to learn that some of the agencies that did well at Cannes are those with a strong planning tradition: Springer & Jacoby, who have their own Planning Consultancy, Jung von Matt, where one of the MDs is a planner and chairman (female!) of the apgd and Heimat, where another Planner has his name over the door (unusual in German agencies.)

 

So, back to Cannes, or at least to that converted tram depot in Frankfurt. Germany has done rather well at Cannes this year, 4^th overall in terms of Lions won, whereas they were struggling in the double-figure rankings just a few years ago. In fact, in the area of film, Germany achieved the joint third placing (with France) after the USA and UK in 2006 with a total of eight film Lions won.

 

It’s probably no surprise to here that many of these Lions, including the gold, were won for car advertising. The Germans are actually rather good at car advertising, just as they are rather good at cars. The gold winner, entitled “Sound of Summer” is a lovely piece of film for the Mercedes sports from Springer & Jacoby based on the visual creative idea of sound frequencies. This is a great spot that combines the German passions of cars and music, and you don’t see a single car (except in your imagination, of course). A bronze also went to S&J for their Mercedes C-Class spot and to McCann Erickson for their Astra spot where the car replaces the dog in the owner’s affections as “man’s new best friend.”

 

Another great German passion is DIY (I’m sure you’ll all have heard that here, the DIY enthusiast doesn’t just stop at a few shelves, he is more than likely to build his own house!). Another bronze lion went to the Berlin agency Heimat for their work for Hornbach DIY stores. Here, the German members of the jury had the difficulty of explaining the underlying concept of a member of a surrealist-nihilist-punk group reading the Hornbach catalogue aloud, but they succeeded, the films are a hoot in any language and Heimat deservedly won.

 

What appears to be a bit of an oddity on the prize list is Jung von Matt’s silver for K-Fee, which is a coffee product. Not a category so close to German hearts, you may think. Furthermore, the creative idea is a downright weird (if highly effective) demonstration of the product’s stimulating powers. You are lulled into a false sense of security by what you think will be a typical, clichéd advertising spot when something suddenly pops up and screams at you at a high decibel level. But here’s where the link happens. Guess what kind of cliché is used to lull you into that semi-comatose state? That’s right - a typical scene of a beautiful car driving through a rolling rural landscape. You can almost hear the “Sound of Summer” before the scream so rudely interrupts you.

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Well, Hornbach are still making great ads, eighteen years on. 

What I perhaps wouldn’t have predicted is that the ‘Dr So-and-So’ syndrome has really caught on. Worldwide. Even in the UK. Ad people desperately trying to demonstrate their gravitas to keep the management consultants after their jobs at bay. The geeks and nerds really have inherited the earth.

Back then, I said that a PhD is something a London-based creative is about as likely to own up to as having piles.

These days, I think they’d probably own up to their “lived experience” of haemorrhoids, too, in the interests of empathy and authenticity.

I’m off to make some - ahem - mozzarella and cherry tomatoes on sticks.

Hip to be square

 

If anyone asked me which German brands have cracked it in terms of consistently distinctive and entertaining advertising, Hornbach would be on the list. Maybe top of the list. And here comes the latest campaign from HeimatTBWA for the Autumn. 

I remember from my IKEA days that living space per person is on the decline, through choice (sustainability) or necessity, or both. The creative idea in this camapign is to bring the (increasing)value of each square metre to life.

And what better way to do that than to use the little-used square film format to show that “every square metre deserves to be the best in the world.”

The beautifully conceived, constructed and produced commercial shows the life of a man who lives in a world of tiny spaces. A little bit Alice-in-Wonderland. The film features actual built room sets rather than special effect-trickery. It’s nicking a little from IKEA but nevertheless shows what’s possible when you let creativity and ingenuity loose in a small space.

And the music is brilliant!

Ja Ja Jippie Jippie Yeah!

Bob the (rather bronzed) builder

As the deluge outside continues, and Autumn winds bash incessantly at my office window, I thought I'd write a short post about one of my favourite ideas from this summer.

The team that dreamed this one up are Wickes DIY, Skin Cancer Charity Skcin and agency Iris. The idea is to raise skin cancer awareness in the construction industry through a new product, Tradesman's Suncream.

There's a wonderful insight behind this, combining a fact with a bit of target-group psychology:

Construction workers are particularly high-risk for skin cancer, but many don't use suncream because they're afraid of their mates taking the mick.

The solution is beautifully simple: suncream in paint pots , with variants Apprentice White, Plasterer's Pink and Brickie's Bronze.

Stores were used for events and UV skin checks. 

It's a winning combination of ingredients: clever insight, a smart idea that's more than communication - and ultimately does good.

But unfortunately, it's now too late to collect a free pot from your local store: Summer's over.