Title	#HELDENKRANZ / CROWN OF GLORY
Brand	HORNBACH
Product/Service	DIY HOME IMPROVEMENTS SUPERSTORES
Category	D02. Use of Co-Creation & User Generated Content
Entrant	HEIMAT Berlin, GERMANY
Idea Creation	HEIMAT Berlin, GERMANY
Production	COBBLESTONE FILMPRODUCTION Hamburg, GERMANY
Additional Company	LOFT TONSTUDIOS Berlin, GERMANY

Name	Company	Position
Guido Heffels	HEIMAT Berlin	Chief Creative Officer
Guido Heffels	HEIMAT Berlin	Creative Director
Teresa Jung	HEIMAT Berlin	Creative Director
Tim Holtkötter	HEIMAT Berlin	Agency Account Supervisor
Franziska Lequen	HEIMAT Berlin	Agency Account Manager
Jonas von Schwedes	HEIMAT Berlin	Senior Art Director
Gunther Osburg	Gunther Osburg	Senior Copywriter
Corbinian Hennies	HEIMAT Berlin	Senior Copywriter
Marie Legat	HEIMAT Berlin	Art Director
Kerstin Heffels	HEIMAT Berlin	Agency Producer
Nico Beyer	-	Director
Michael Mieke	-	Director of Photography
Olaf Blecker	-	Photographer
Juri Wiesner	Cobblestone	Executive Producer
Simone Eichhorn	-	Costumes
Nadine Wagner	-	Mask
Christian Meyer	-	Music Producer
Andrea Baracca	-	Grading
David Arnold	LOFT Studios	Sound Designer
Thomas Schnaitmann	Hornbach	Client Marketing Director
Julia Ziegelmann	Hornbach	Client Marketing Director

The Campaign

The statistical evaluation of more than 600 hours of surveillance footage in HORNBACH stores showed that 36,7% of HORNBACH clients suffer from hair loss. We wanted to pay tribute to this well-known phenomenon and underestimated hair style of DIY-enthusiasts.

Creative Execution

In its TV spot, HORNBACH calls on the "affected" men to wear their Crown Of Glory with pride. And to front this insane world head on with their widening crown. In addition, online and social media were used extensively to activate the campaign, which included compiling user content that was displayed on the daily #Heldenkranz tagboard. Within a week #Heldenkranz became one of the top twitter trends in Germany and the name became part of general German linguistic use.

Within a week #Heldenkranz became one of the top twitter trends in Germany and the name became part of the German language. Additionally, it achieved a huge level of brand engagement. As research shows, during the campaign a 12% increase of brand awareness in comparison to the same time period in previous years was noticed. Men all around Germany celebrated their bald head and posted selfies to show it with pride, which were gathered on a tagboard. A wave of self-believing gripped the country. The campaign’s success is reflected in 2,6 million views 52% of which was gained organically, with a clickrate of 33% (whereas HORNBACHs click rates lie around 19-23%) and over 4000 comments. The relevance of the topic and the orchestration of the different media channels also led to the +10% improved view rate. In total the campaign reached 41, Mio brutto contacts and gained 251.000 social engagements.

We started with a TV spot during the Euro Soccer Championships. HORNBACH called on the "affected" men of male pattern baldness to wear their „Crown Of Glory“ with pride. And to front this insane world head on with their widening crown.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The European Soccer Championship lures millions in front of the TV and second screen usage increases notably during sports events. HORNBACH identified that soccer fans and the HORNBACH target group (36,7%) have one thing in common: male pattern baldness, the Championship became the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to this phenomenon. Starting by bestowing it with a fitting name: Heldenkranz (“Crown Of Glory”). In its TV spot and on social media HORNBACH calls on the “affected” men to wear their “Crown Of Glory” with pride and post it under the #Heldenkranz. Building on that, user content was collected daily on socialmedia and displayed live on the #Heldenkranz tagboard. A digital CLP at one of the busiest commuting hubs in Berlin, showcased the live version of the tagboard, reaching more than 58,000 people daily. By this HORNBACH managed to stand out and get these huge audiences to engage with the brand.