3 rather unique Ritter Sport employees give us a glimpse into the family-owned company’s HQ.
We LOVE chocolate… who doesn’t? We also love brands that believe in sustainability and employee welfare (like we do). So, when we were approached by Ritter Sport, a family-owned German company that takes chocolate, sustainability, and employee welfare very seriously (they are German after all) it was like the ultimate trifecta for us! Ritter wanted our help launching some new ranges in the US and driving purchase in selected retailers, and we were more than happy to oblige.
This confectionary company is a big believer in doing the right thing to make their really good chocolate. And for them, it doesn’t take much: the best ingredients, recipes reduced to the essentials, produced in harmony with people and nature. They’re also 100% convinced that the chocolate they make, can only be good if everyone involved in its production is happy and well. Needless to say, they’ve been one of the best employers in Baden-Wurttemberg for the past 3 years, and even won the “Great Place to Work Award” in 2018.
Making chocolate is a serious business for Ritter, but they also believe in the fun of making it and the joy it brings. And right there was our challenge: how do we tell the story of moreish, high-quality chocolate made to precision by serious Germans who also want to show their fun side…?
All markets are crowded, but the market in the USA is absolutely jam-packed, especially online. It’s also a very different market to that of Germany. We needed to create a campaign that cut through the digital crazy to achieve those thumb stopping moments on social that all brands are vying for. But we didn’t just want to stop the infinite scroll, we wanted to reward our audience for watching by putting a smile on their faces whilst also delivering our message.
Ritter Sport is such an incredible company, and the people who work there really do love what they do. So we decided to create a campaign that gave the audience a tongue-in-cheek glimpse inside the Ritter Sport HQ to ‘meet’ some of their rather unique employees, Wolfgang Taschmann – 1:1 Accuracy Consultant, Helmut Schirkular – Chief Nut Compliance Officer and Fanni Kunigunde – Biscuit Optimization Expert.
We used the premise of an ‘interview’ to showcase just how fanatical Ritter Sport is about making their chocolate in a way that allowed us to accentuate the ‘fun’ side of this not-so-serious German company. Over a 2-day shoot we brought to life the characters and the very interesting roles they each play at the head office to create a suite of digital assets. Each video encouraged the viewer to download a money-off voucher which they could use when buying a Ritter chocolate in any Raley’s store.
The digital campaign launched this week on all Ritter’s social channels and is supported by instore POS, sampling and influencers. It will run until 30th June, so keep an eye out for funny Fanni Kunigunde and her colleagues.
Anette Larson from Ritter Sport had this to say, “We were looking for a different way to communicate our brand values, where the focus was on our key colours, the sustainable ingredients we use, and the sheer joy we get out of making our delicious chocolate. Because took our brief and delivered an extraordinary campaign that ticked all our boxes. It was great teamwork from the start with a lot of laughs along the way, and we have absolutely fallen in love with Wolfgang, Helmut and Fanni.”
The humorous digital campaign borders on the ridiculous, but demonstrates how Ritter’s employees really and truly believe (as we do) that ‘it’s either Ritter or it’s wrong’. It’s a claim one can only make if they’ve been perfecting their craft for 120 years, expertly manufacturing their chocolate in a climate-neutral factory, with all sustainably sourced cocoa and selected ingredients. But that’s not all, they also vehemently say ‘Nein to Wischiwashi, Krimskrams and Labberig!’ But you’ll have to take a look at the content for more on that…
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