Ehinger Kraftrad – The Archaeologist
Ehinger Kraftrad
Issue 44 | September 2017
Agency
serviceplan campaign 3 GmbH
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Alex Schill Global Executive Creative Director Timm Hanebeck Executive Creative Director Christoph Everke Creative Directors Katrin Oeding, Basma Attalla, Lorenz Langgartner, Franz Röppischer Senior Copywriter Henrik Pfeiffer Art Director Pedro Gropo
Production Team
Project Manager, Studio Oeding Johanna Bähner Designer, Studio Oeding Javier Fernandez Copywirter, Studio Oeding: Fabian Bill Editor, Designstube Hendrik Sommerfeld Photograph Bernd Westphal Dummy Producer, AWF (Special Effect Munich) Wolfrik Fischer
Other Credits
Grabke-Mirtschink GbR PFEFFERMINZFILM GmbH
Date
March 2017
Background
For decades, Uwe 'The Archaeologist' Ehinger travelled the world buying and selling rare Harley Davidson motorcycles from the 1930s and 40s.
His shop, Ehinger Kraftrad, was unique, selling rare and hand-crafted rebuilds of vintage motorcycles from the 1930s and 40s.
The task was to find a promotional item that drove Ehinger's equally rare customers to the shop in order to experience the brand and spend time with the man himself. At the same time, it was important to convey Uwe's obsession with craftsmanship and quality in every detail.
Idea
A gin was crafted that contained original parts from the old machines. It was bottled together with the machine parts and each bottle was labelled with the mind-boggling story of the part's origin.
Every element of the hand-made packaging consisted of colours and materials that were used in the 30s and 40s. Fans could finally actually taste the spirit of vintage Harley Davidsons and let it become a part of them.
Results
The first limited edition of The Archaeologist was a great success with 100% response rate for units sent to potential customers.
All Uwe's boxes were sold out online in just two weeks.
There was a significant increase in visitors to the shop. The order book is now full. And Uwe is on the road again to collect ingredients for the next edition of 'The Archaeologist'.
Our Thoughts
The craftsmanship of this campaign is amazing. Putting aside the packaging and the typography of the letter, each glass bottle had to be blown around the part it contains. The agency's obsessive attention to detail speaks volumes about their client.
Expensive? You bet. But think about it. The marketing costs associated with selling a single car can be as high as 5% of its purchase price. In that context, given every mailing seems to have led to a sale, it turns out to be a surprisingly economical way of acquiring new customers for Uwe's far from cheap products.