Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG Group

GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT Non-Financial Performance Ind icators 59
benefit for our customers is that they receive the product and
the tradesman’s work from a single source. That helps elderly
customers, for example, in deciding to have their bathrooms
renovated in line with their needs.
The key benefit for customers is that it makes their renovation
projects easier to handle. HORNBACH sees to the organization
and coordination and is also the direct contact partner should
any complications arise. It also offers numerous benefits to
our tradesman partners – punctual, fast payment handling by
our company, no advance financing of goods, and the assumption
of product guarantees by HORNBACH. Not only that,
our partners are relieved of administrative tasks, thus enabling
them to acquire additional customers without timeconsuming
acquisition work, as well as to benefit from further
training opportunities. By offering this unique concept,
HORNBACH has built up a competitive advantage within the
sector. The tradesman service has been available in all regions
since the year under report.
Sense-based brand communications
Our brand communications in the 2012/2013 financial year
focused on the sensual aspects of home improvement projects
– feeling, seeing, hearing, experiencing, testing limits, being
proud of what you did with your own hands, a passion for
something – feelings and sensations that are increasingly
rare. The joy felt by DIY enthusiasts when tackling their own
projects was presented in exaggerated form in the “Nobody
feels it like you do” campaign.
In the first half of the year this message was conveyed by two
very different spots. In “Festival”, a DIY enthusiast completely
absorbed in his project prepares to take a swing with his
hammer and feels that he will hit this nail right on the head.
He experiences this positive feeling in his own world. He feels
as if he is in paradise, on cloud nine, as a star in an arena
full of cheering fans. The “Symphony” spot focused on the
acoustic aspects of a project. In the ears of the DIY enthusiast,
a pneumatic sounds like drums, a paint roller sounds like a
trombone and a saw produces the dulcet tones of a cello. In
the fall, the “Tear” spot portrayed the deep identification felt
by a DIY enthusiast with his own four walls. This message
was brought home by showing the story of a man who suddenly
in the middle of his day-to-day life feels the symptoms
of his “poorly” home right under his skin.
In parallel to these image adverts, the specific project benefits
HORNBACH offers its customers were presented in a
highly memorable and typically unconventional way under the
motto of “Everything for the project”. In Germany, these focused
on advertising the “Order and have delivered” and
“Reserve online and pick up at store” online services. In the
international regions, adverts focused on price. These campaigns
were backed up with accompanying online adverts,
especially advertising banners, moving image advertising,
and search engine marketing. Further marketing activities,
such as print and out-of-home adverts, events, and the company’s
presence on the Facebook and Twitter social media
platforms rounded off the campaigns. Our advertising booklets
and the Project Shows held at our stores made a key
contribution towards honing our brand profile both in Germany
and abroad once again in the 2012/2013 financial year.
HORNBACH adverts hit home and clearly “touch the right
spot” with DIY enthusiasts. That is reflected in the advertising
tracking with which we also measure the strength of our
brand communication, as well as in the feedback received in
specialist circles. Particularly worth mentioning for 2012 are
the results of a survey performed by the “Batten & Company”
institute, which singled out HORNBACH as one of the ten
companies to have achieved the greatest increase in its brand
strength since 2009. HORNBACH is one of Germany’s top 25
retail brands. Not only that, recognition also came from the
advertising industry. As in previous years already, our campaigns
were awarded numerous national and international
prizes.