Edeka Baur: Advertising campaign for reopening after renovation
After two years of renovation, Edeka Baur on Romanshorner Platz in Friedrichshafen reopened. When a renovation takes this long, a visible campaign is needed to raise awareness of the reopening in the city. This includes poster advertising, print advertising, radio advertising, social media advertising, as well as creative, unexpected advertising. We had the pleasure of working with the wonderful Edeka Baur marketing team.
Services:
Campaign, advertising, texting, graphic design, photography, motion design, print design
Customer:
Edeka Baur
The starting point for this project was complex. For various reasons, the renovation had taken a long time – yet the citizens of Friedrichshafen remained curious about what was happening and, above all, when it would be finished. One quote from the briefing particularly stuck with us:
“Many people are asking us: When are you finally going to reopen?”
Because it was clear that there would be a reopening. The renovation process was also being communicated through the press.
The public looked forward to the new store, which had been given a completely new character through its interior design. The Edeka branding is intentionally understated here; once inside, visitors experience Edeka only as a wordmark, with no further visual or colour-based references to the corporate identity. Instead, the store design features subtle nods to the proximity of the lake.
Our analysis revealed that, in the perception of customers, there is no other “pure” Edeka in Friedrichshafen. Two other providers belonging to the Edeka Group do not position themselves as such. Furthermore, the stores in the suburbs of Fischbach and Ailingen are not perceived as being part of Friedrichshafen itself. As noted: this is purely about perception, not rational facts. Romanshorner Platz is well known due to its central location and the bus station – it requires very little explanation. The primary goal of our assignment was to communicate the reopening and announce the date and location, i.e., when and where.Our analysis revealed that, in the perception of customers, there is no other “pure” Edeka in Friedrichshafen. Two other providers belonging to the Edeka Group do not position themselves as such. Furthermore, the stores in the suburbs of Fischbach and Ailingen are not perceived as being part of Friedrichshafen itself. As noted: this is purely about perception, not rational facts. Romanshorner Platz is well known due to its central location and the bus station – it requires very little explanation.
We began by analysing the existing landscape of brand communication. It was striking that the Edeka Meta Corporate Design was immediately recognisable in all successful examples: white, yellow, black, touches of blue, the characteristic typography, the imagery, the yellow heart, the black chalkboard, and the logo. It is worth noting that adherence to this Meta Design is by no means universal, as individual retailers enjoy a high degree of autonomy. Edeka Baur, for instance, shows a keen sense for the most appropriate visual positioning in Konstanz and elsewhere. However, for the reopening campaign, our recommendation was to lean fully into the established Edeka look – ensuring that the target audience would immediately recognise the sender.
Our design relies on a high contrast between a dark background and light typography, ensuring excellent long-distance legibility. Short headlines with a clear typographic hierarchy guide the viewer, while the combination of real people and clear messaging proves most effective: Jürgen Baur and his team act as authentic brand ambassadors. Our conceptual approach uses Out-of-Home advertising as the campaign’s starting point – being maximally reduced, the idea can easily be extended across other channels. To break through habitual visual patterns, we reduced the sender to its smallest conceivable element: the iconic “E”. We interpreted the “E” as a placeholder for the entire shopping experience that has been missed for so long. The primary message is unmistakable: Edeka in Friedrichshafen is finally back, from 14 October.
Without the “E”, Friedrichshafen simply isn’t complete – after all, the letter appears twice in the city’s name. The long wait is implied by the one-word headline “NDLICH” (the German word for “finally”, stripped of its initial “E”). The resolution follows immediately, clarifying that this is no typo: “FRIDRICHSHAFN gets its E back.” Below this are the brand logo and the details regarding time and place. A neat side effect: the name BAUR is actually spelled without an ‘E’ anyway – a pleasant coincidence. However, the key to breaking visual habits is the word “NDLICH”, as the correct spelling begins with the very letter that has been missing for so long.
