Unless the 2012 doomsday forecasts are correct, anyone purchasing a product from premium appliance maker Miele Canada in the next month will be able to have it fixed or replaced free of charge until 2020.
In its largest promotion since entering the Canadian market in 1988, Miele has introduced the “Peace of mind. Free this September” campaign, the centrepiece of which is a free 10-year parts and labour warranty for anyone making a purchase this month.
While Miele has offered five-year warranties in other markets, it’s the first time it has offered a warranty of this length, says director of marketing Kelly Lam.
“Miele is a premium brand, and in order to maintain that position we are really looking at providing consumers with [more than] your typical cash discounts or rebates,” said Lam. “We really want them to look at added value.”
The promotion is being supported by a national multi-media campaign, including print ads in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and La Presse, plus consumer magazines including Canadian House & Home, Style at Home and Chez Soi. Other campaign elements include radio, in-store and banner ads on sites including HGTV.ca, FoodNetwork.ca and YourHome.ca.
In addition, consumers scanning a QR Code on Miele’s September flyer–about one million of which will be distributed in daily newspapers across the country–will receive a video from the company’s German-based managing directors and co-proprietors, Markus Miele and Reinhard Zinkann (great grandsons of company founders Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann).
The approximately 90-second video will feature the two men talking about the brand’s history and its values. “We want to make sure that as an innovative brand and market leader, we’re innovating on the marketing side of things,” said Lam. “This allows us to take a consumer from a print execution to an online execution.”
While Miele has focused more on experiential marketing this year, Lam said that “the time is right” for a return to traditional mass media advertising. “The economy has settled a lot, which has impacted our decision to do that.”
Lam said the campaign has two primary tactical objectives: raise brand awareness and provide consumers with an incentive to purchase Miele products. “At the end of the day, Miele in Canada is still a relatively niche brand,” said Lam. “A lot of people don’t know we’re German–they think we’re Italian or French–so part of the objective is brand awareness. At the same time we have sales targets we need to hit.”
Creative for the campaign was developed by Toronto’s Lowe Roche, while Maverick PR is overseeing public relations.
