Hasta La Creative!

Brief: More than 80 years of Danish craftsmanship have turned Bang & Olufsen into an outstanding premium brand for hifi- and tv-systems. Each product meets highest standards in exclusiveness, quality and innovation. In 2009, Bang & Olufsen launched an expanded innovation campaign, including the introduction of various new products. The annual report 2008/09 should also be presented in a new, exceptional mode, to support the campaign and alter the innovative image of the brand. The target audience consisted of special shareholders and customers.

Creative Execution: The audio annual report perfectly reflects the core characteristics of Bang & Olufsen: quality, innovation and design. Listening to the annual report, the customer/shareholder is able to experience all three of these features: they hear extraordinary sound quality, receive facts and data in a completely new way and obtain an annual report in the form of a design object. Therefore, the idea is highly relevant to the products, and the brand.

Creative Solution: In order to achieve maximum attention and high response rates, we produced the first audio annual report worldwide. The most prominent excerpts of the annual report were interpreted and transferred into music by a renowned opera ensemble. An amazing work of arias, overtures and chorales was created. The premium edition, a design adaptation of the B&O-classic BeoSound 9000, was sent to a limited number of special shareholders and customers. The basic edition, an elegant metal CD case, was sent to selected shareholders and customers. In addition, each package included the complete annual report as a PDF.

Results: The audio version of the annual report lead to extraordinary response rates of 37% for the premium version and 24% for the basic version. Customers, as well as shareholders were enthusiastic about the idea and the high-quality production. At exhibitions, in B&O shops and in investment talks the annual report strongly increased interest for the brand and demand for novelties. Due to the highly positive feedback, an audio version of the upcoming annual report 2009/10 is planned for the international market.

Advertising Agency: Serviceplan, Munich, Germany
Chief Creative Officer: Alex Schill
Creative Directors: Christoph Everke, Tim Strathus, Matthias Mittermüller
Copywriter: Juliana Hirsing
Art Director: Monika Steiner
Account Supervisor: Ralf Hussar
Production Company: just gmbh
Producer: Christian Geisler
Sound Design: Michael Armann