Uncovering the Franz Billich Story
The Approach
MER were quite shocked when Automotive industry marketing specialists WDA initially suggested that they aren’t really selling car care products, they’re actually selling a shiny car, personal pride and investment protection, in other words the product experience NOT the product itself. With lots of competition in the category (especially on the shelves of main retailer Halfords) WDA Automotive Marketing’s goal was to create a distinctive, emotive and desirable new positioning for MER, one which clearly differentiated around a believable and engaging proposition and which MER could not just claim, but own.
In-depth Automotive industry marketing research uncovered a whole MER back story waiting to be told, rooted in the brand’s German origins, and its inventor Franz Billich. As the basis of a positioning this discovery was key since no other brand was using what was clearly a very strong driver within other parts of the Automotive market. Championed by aspirational premium car brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, German manufacturing has long been revered globally for automotive engineering excellence through the appliance of technology, with traits of the German people perceived to be clinical, meticulous, considered and thorough. WDA proposed that we could elevate the premium status of MER by leveraging these things through the technical performance benefits of the product and appeal directly to the ‘inner perfectionist’ of those consumers looking for cleaning excellence.
