1. Success and rapid
expansion left confusion
in its wake
Company: The Geberit Group is the European market leader in sanitary technology and has a global presence
Case: Development of a brand system, a corporate concept, and a renewal of the organisational structure
Result: “Know-How Installed” and a clear brand structure at corporate and product levels
Different names, different brands. The following story illustrates how a name
change led to the development of a corporate concept and created harmony
between many different brand positions.
The Swiss company,
Geberit, produces cutting-
edge technology in the
field of sanitation and
piping systems. With sales
of nearly USD 1.5 billion,
offices in 35 countries and
5,500 employees, the
company is a clear market
leader. Geberit has acqui-
red numerous subsidiaries
in recent years and this
has unintentionally led to a
degree of brand confusion.
Many of the companies
acquired had continued to
operate under their own
corporate brand, and many
products were being sold
under different names,
in various countries. This
confusion was intensified
by the fact that Geberit
subsidiaries and interna-
tional offices had their
own marketing budgets
and market positions.
The group found itself
in a situation where it
was imperative that they
harmonise their branding
and communication
practices so as to optimise
the Geberit brand both
globally and within
individual countries.
One Product, one name
One of the first tasks for
Kunde & Co was the
development of an entirely
new branding system. The
primary objective was to
systemise product naming
on a global scale. Existing
names and brands were
tested in different
countries and the test
results indicated that the
Geberit name had a very
high recognition factor.
The new branding system
gave a clear foundation for
how the new subsidiaries
should be branded – and
all the brands were shifted
closer to Geberit’s overall
corporate brand.
In addition, Geberit
maintained a few, selected
corporate brands where
the need arose. Unifying
the product names across
borders contributed to
strengthening the overall
Geberit brand, and also
put an end to the wasteful
use of resources to build
small brands.
The best got better
Kunde & Co carried out
extensive market analysis
aimed at defining what
made Geberit successful.
A selection of conceptual
directions were tested
in several countries and
the results indicated
that regardless of location,
Geberit was uniformly
recognized as a highly
respected, high-end brand
with expert employees
who stood for easily iden-
tifiable values.
The market regarded
Geberit as a company that
constantly improved its
products and services, as
well as being both evolu-
tionary and revolutionary
in its innovative processes.
This new knowledge was
used to take the Geberit
brand to the next level.
A new strategy and
a complete makeover
Kunde & Co worked on
developing a precise
concept that could
effectively communicate,
on a global level, what it
is that makes Geberit
special. This work led to
the concept “Know-How
Installed”. The concept
was based on core Geberit
elements: quality,
reliability, easy installation
and other attributes
that contributed to their
uniqueness – a combination
of knowledge, innovation
and integration. Geberit
received a complete make-
over with a new corporate
identity in step with the
new concept. The recently
introduced concept-icon is
the visual representation of
“Know-How Installed” and
is used as a distinctive,
unifying campaign element.
Involve the market in
the brand
When Kunde & Co became
involved in the Geberit
project, Geberit had a
decentralised marketing
organisation where each
territory developed its own
marketing strategy and
executed it independently
at a local level.
This was not the best way
to leverage the strong
Geberit brand. So, for the
key markets, a central
brand organisation was
established to manage and
implement concepts and
future campaigns.
This organisation contained
a brand-management com-
mittee, a brand team and
various campaign teams
– all staffed by people of
various nationalities.
Gerberit gets synergetic
If you want a new concept
to be effective in different
markets and to cover an
array of products success-
fully, it has to come from
the heart of the organisa-
tion. Today, Geberit has
a clear brand structure
both at corporate and
product levels.
The new brand structure
has already been used
to influence the naming of
Geberit’s most recent
acquisition, the German
Mapress Group. The first
pan-European campaign
is running in more than
20 countries and the
synergetic effects of the
new branding system are
becoming clear – using
the same pictures and
messages on international
collaterals really saves a
lot of money!
In addition to this, all
new product developments
are launched under the
umbrella of one shared
name, which has been a
huge advantage in inter-
national logistics and
communication.
Kunde & Co is, on Geberit’s
behalf, currently working
on implementing the new
concept in various
international campaigns
throughout Europe.
The Balena name
has now become a
product brand,
adding value to the
Geberit brand.
A new corporate-
design manual was
created to ensure
consistent commu-
nication throug-
hout the world.
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2. The big picture
When research showed that the market knew just a small
part of Geberit’s product line within sanitary technology,
Kunde & Co revamped its catalogue into a magazine-like
brochure shedding new light on its product range and
inspiring much-increased interest amongst the target group.
Old habits are hard to break
Geberit tried to grow its European press-connection business but met
opposition in the form of plumbers’ reluctance to change systems due to old
habits. Kunde devised an integrated campaign aimed at the target group and
introduced the benefits of press connection to them successfully.
Kunde & Co research found
that Geberit customers
valued a full product line as
one of the most important
criteria when selecting a
sanitary supplier.
Additionally, a good product
overview is a future
demand of all Geberit
customer groups, as most
currently lack one. More-
over, product and system
integration was stated as
the most valued
customer-benefit Geberit
delivers to its customers
whom, through testing,
Kunde & Co discovered
knew just particular parts
of the Geberit product
range. What was needed
was a catalogue with a
complete range to inspire
potential customers and
help cross-sell amongst
existing customers.
It quickly became clear that
a traditional catalogue was
not up to the challenge
– Geberit already produces
one, as a selection and di-
mensioning tool. This reads
like an encyclopaedia, and
serves that purpose really
well, but is a tool that
neither inspires potential
customers nor promotes
cross-selling amongst
existing customers. The
solution lay in a 56-page
brochure with a magazine-
like layout showing every
product in new, inspiratio-
nal ways. The brochure
was directly distributed to
18 markets through trade
media, reaching over
500,000 customers but
keeping distribution costs
to a minimum.
Results
Telephone interviews were
carried out in Germany,
Poland, and Switzerland
once the brochure had
been sent out as an insert.
In Germany and Poland,
51% of respondents had
seen the brochure, and
between 60-95% of these
had kept it or passed it
on to colleagues. Of these
again, up to 45% had
spent more than ten
minutes reading it. Upon
asking how the brochure
had changed their
perception of the extent of
Geberit’s product range,
82-95% of interviewees
across the three countries
responded that it had
changed their perception
in a positive manner!
Geberit acquired the
Mapress Group in late
2003 to grow its press-
connection business in
Europe. Mapress has
been the leading brand in
press-connection systems,
where pipes and fittings
are connected by pressure
to form reliable, durable
connections, since 1967.
Through the acquisition,
Geberit grew its pipe-
connection revenue by
around 70%, and entered
new application areas,
such as heating and gas.
Changing plumbers’
old habits
Most European plumbers
still habitually use
antiquated connection
methods such as soldering
and welding. Reliable
pipe connections are vital
as pipes are frequently
placed inside walls or floors
meaning the removal of a
faulty system incurs repla-
cement costs and loses
income. Thus, plumbers
stick to a trusted connection
method, even if better
solutions are available. A
campaign to get plumbers
to adopt the Geberit
press-connection system
was accordingly required.
Don’t stress. Press.
Press connection’s main
advantage is its installation
time at less than half that
of rival systems, freeing
plumbers for more jobs.
However, the system
dates from the 1960s and
installation time alone is
not enough to persuade
plumbers to switch to
Geberit. Many plumbers
recognized the time saving
but doubted the system’s
reliability and durability;
ironically, it is probably the
most reliable on the market.
Kunde & Co needed to
communicate that the
Geberit system could be
used for all applications:
from drinking water, to
heating, gas and industrial
applications. Accordingly,
three key messages were
devised – fast, reliable and
for all applications – and
combined under the con-
cept: “Don’t stress. Press.”
One integrated campaign
The idea was for the target
group to see the message
several times and in diffe-
rent ways. It comprised ads,
an insert, direct mails,
POS materials and cinema
events in selected coun-
tries. At the cinema event,
plumbers were introduced
to the system’s main bene-
fits through a humourous,
short, animated movie.
The result
The campaign’s impact was
measured after four months
and 39% of interviewees
still remembered it in
detail, and between 81%
and 86% (depending on
the message) thought the
communication of the key
messages was clear.
Geberit needed plumbers
to like the campaign to
build involvement and
88% said the layouts were
good or very good. Due to
this success, extra events
have now been planned
for the UK, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg and Austria.
A magazine-like
catalogue was
used to show
products in new,
inspirational
ways and promote
cross-selling.
The three key
messages were
shown in an easy
to understand
and striking way.
At the cinema
event, plumbers
were introduced to
the system’s main
benefits through
a humourous,
4-minute animated
movie.
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