On January 1, 2023, Bosch Home Appliances – the premium home appliance brand of the BSH Group (wholly owned by Bosch Group) officially launched in Vietnam. For over 85 years, the name Bosch has been known as a symbol of quality and reliability. Entering a new market, what did Bosch do to maintain its dominant position in the home appliance industry?
Market Context:
Officially launching in the Vietnamese market, BSH Vietnam Company (BSH) aims to build a classy lifestyle to European standards with world-class home appliances and services. However, at the current time, Bosch Home faces the challenge of competing in a market flooded with products of unclear origin, including parallel imports. Genuine Bosch products lack a strong presence because customers still perceive that only Bosch products brought in as hand-carried goods are available in the Vietnamese market, not officially distributed products.
According to the Q1/2023 industry report, the domestic home appliance market share decreased by up to 30% compared to the previous year due to reduced customer demand. Meanwhile, facing fierce competition from rival brands, Bosch has not fully utilized the potential of online commerce channels, which contribute 70% to the main business revenue. Therefore, Bosch needs a differentiated, modern IMC campaign with a clear positioning to boost sales from the early days.
Objectives:
Communication objective: Increase brand awareness (from 4 to 10%). Also, establish brand connections with other categories of home appliances, besides maintaining the inherent strength of the dishwasher category.
Business objective: Increase the number of Vietnamese households using dishwashers by 20 times by 2030.
Insight:
In a survey of Vietnamese customers’ perceptions of electronics and home appliances, German-origin items ranked highest with a score of 4.3/5, higher than Japan, Sweden (<4/5). According to the 2021 dishwasher industry report by Euromonitor, Bosch achieved the top position in the rankings, with high product quality and durability (4.4-4.7/5) and a premium rating (4.2-4.5/5).
From the data extracted from the report, it is evident that the majority of Vietnamese people, especially the target audience and distribution agents, have strong confidence in brands originating from Germany. This can be easily explained by the advantages that German products offer, such as superior quality, innovative technology, and long-lasting performance.
Creative & Communication Strategy:
Based on the understanding of the priority given by Vietnamese customers to “made in Germany” products, Bosch Home can leverage the advantages of German products to provide value to Vietnamese consumers. The brand-building story, national attributes, and cultural essence associated with a product not only bring rational benefits but also translate into emotional values.
Therefore, Bosch decides to implement the strategy: FROM KEY TO MASS, FROM GENUINE (From Key To Mass), targeting core audiences such as distributors and Bosch product enthusiasts in Vietnam and moving towards expanding to the general public. Clearly, leveraging the German origin to assert its established position in the minds of existing customers as well as potential customer groups is a clever and wise decision at the current time.
Execution:
Creative Idea
BOSCH – TRULY GERMAN QUALITY
Bosch launches an integrated IMC campaign with the focal point being the event “Bosch – Truly German Quality”.
At the event, Bosch’s home appliances impress with their exquisite, elegant designs that still harmonize with the culture and style of Vietnamese people. The unique features of each product are depicted from a unique perspective of artistic arrangement, contributing to embellishing an exquisite, classy “German quality”. Especially, when attending the event, customers have the opportunity to experience various modern technologies through an emotional upgrading journey.
Upon entering the event space, customers learn about the formation history of the BSH Group with an interactive wall combining interactive screen technology, witnessing outstanding performances with an infinity LED screen, and experiencing virtual reality photo opportunities as if walking on the Oscar red carpet with Glamcam 360 technology,…
In the central hall, customers continue to experience the “Bosch quality” virtual reality apartment with interactive virtual reality (VR) glasses. Through this, they can easily walk through a 360-degree model apartment space. This is something customers cannot do outside of a showroom, especially in the context where Bosch does not yet have showrooms in the Vietnamese market. Not stopping there, the VR Kitchen Bosch also allows users to interact and change the interior design according to 3 styles: Luxurious/ Minimalism/ Cozy and explore the unique features of Bosch products, thereby easily visually perceiving the distinctive “German quality” of Bosch products.
In addition to the virtual reality room, the AR business card – a creative sales solution “Bosch quality” is also a special technology highlight, leaving a deep impression on customers. Bosch Home is the pioneering brand in producing “virtual” business cards as a technological gift to thank distributors and dealers. Each business card serves as a token of appreciation, affirming that Bosch is always ready to accompany and support dealers with the most modern tools in the journey of conquering the Vietnamese market.
The product experience event imbued with “technology DNA” played a crucial role in the success of the campaign. The technological element embellished the full German essence, leaving customers astonished and creating impressive, unforgettable experiences.
With the aim to optimize the customer journey across multiple touchpoints, BSH Vietnam implemented a multi-channel communication strategy to maximize coverage, contributing to making Bosch Home’s debut in Vietnam a sensational start:
Social Media
Targeting core audiences such as distributors and Bosch product enthusiasts in Vietnam, Bosch Home established the “Bosch Home VN Community” group on Facebook as a platform for users to share, exchange, and ask questions about the products. The group also organized challenges or entertaining game shows to enhance interaction and foster community cohesion.
Throughout the campaign, the Bosch Home VN Fanpage consistently posted teasers, provided interesting information, and highlighted technological innovations exclusive to the event. Additionally, interactive ads and mini-games with prizes for event check-ins were organized to attract community engagement.
After the event, the fan page continued to maintain a content stream revolving around the “Standard German Quality” message by leveraging the intelligence and advanced technology features of Bosch home appliances.
PR
The PR series was also a prominent activity of the campaign. Even before the event started, information about the event was continuously published on various major newspapers both domestically and internationally, including Dân Trí, Vietnamnet, Thanh Niên, CafeF, etc.
By extensively covering various information channels, Bosch Home aimed to enhance brand image and promote the “welcome” of Bosch Home to the Vietnamese market.
Results
The campaign has had a significant impact on the market, especially in establishing the strong presence of Bosch Home in Vietnam.