Whirlpool: CELEBRATING THE 100TH YEARS ANNIVERSARY

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Live Events and/or Stunts

Advertiser: WHIRLPOOL EUROPE

Product/Service: FUTURE CONCEPTS OF APPLIANCES

Agency: KETCHUM PLEON

Managing Director: Laura Maini (Ketchum Pleon)

Senior Consultant: Annalisa Leuce (Ketchum Pleon)

Media placement: Sensing The Future Event - - 17 May 2011



Summary of the Campaign



We developed a European media relations campaign to celebrate Whirlpool's 100 Years Anniversary, leveraging on the new concept 'sensing the future', showcasing the company’s enduring mission to interpret future living trends and drive the evolution of design, food and sustainability to anticipate new desires and emerging lifestyles. The campaign leveraged on trends and influencers thanks to the creation of Whirlpool Europe Lab, an international panel of international top influencers, including the Whirlpool Global Consumer Design team, 6 top design and food experts and PeclersParis, a trend agency with the aim of investigating the future prospective scenario of the next 5-10 years.



After examining all the most influential trends on the evolution of domesticity, home technology, and sustainability the Whirlpool Living Lab identified 'sensing naturality', 'sensing functionality' and 'sensing creativity' as the 3 main themes and directions that will have a strong impact on the future to come. These trends gave birth to 2 Sensing the Future Concepts developed by the Whirlpool’s Global Consumer Design team: Fireplace, a common area for relaxing and sharing real experiences around food and fire and Freshconnect, an innovative food preservation concept, integrating products and services that lets consumers live a true and sustainable fresh food experience. Paris Sensing the Future Event unveiled an experiential multimedia path to guide international press, top opinion leaders and consumers through the Whirlpool’s Future vision of the world.



The Situation

For the 100th anniversary of the Whirlpool Corporation, 'Sensing the Future' is the theme at the heart of the European celebration. The top European event in Paris is designed to kick off the anniversary, with the presence of the top management and some of the most renowned food and design opinion leaders in Europe. Sensing the Future European event is one of the biggest events taking place all over the world.



The celebration is designed to recognise Whirlpool’s heritage, reinforce its core values and focus attention on the Whirlpool’s vision, 'every home, everywhere, with pride, passion and performance', a vision that has always driven Whirlpool’s technological and business development, and fuelled the company’s passion to provide innovative solutions to meet its customers’ unique needs.



The Goal

The goal of the campaign is to position Whirlpool as home care leader in the industry for the next years, as the company having the deepest understanding of consumer needs at the basis of its innovation power. Alongside product innovation, Whirlpool is celebrating the principles of integrity, perseverance and social responsibility that have always guided the corporation’s history.

The challenge is to guarantee a constant feeling of well-being through new and innovative products and services. This exhibition celebrates Whirlpool’s power of innovation with 2 future concepts that are the result of the Global Consumer Design team’s research in collaboration with a Panel of top European influencers, the Whirlpool Living Lab.



The Strategy

The project was developed in the design, food/lifestyle and sustainability areas, leveraging on trends and influencers to build a newsworthy contents platform around the Sensing the Future Concept. In particular there was the involvement of:

- The trend agency, Peclers Paris, with the carrying out of an international trend research on the future of domesticity;

- The Whirlpool Living Lab, an international panel of the most authoritative opinion leaders in the above-mentioned fields, composed of 3 female architects (Monica Forster, Inga Sempè and Miriam Mirri), 1 food designer (Martì Guixè), 2 star chefs (Massimiliano Alajmo and Jean Francois Piege);

- Whirlpool Global Consumer Design, the company’s multicultural team of designers, usability experts, anthropologists, behaviour psychologists, colour experts and interactive designers.



Following the regular analysis of industrial, technical, social, behavioural and fashion trends, Whirlpool is able to project the direction of future social design trends and deliver projects that respond to the emerging needs of consumers.



Execution



The European Trend Research is at the heart of the entire project and was carried out with the consultancy of Peclers Paris and the creative contribution of Whirlpool Living Lab through periodical sessions of brain storming and round tables. After sharing all the most influential trends, naturality, functionality and creativity were identified as the 3 main themes with a strong impact on the future to come. These trends nourished the 2 Sensing the Future Concepts developed by the Whirlpool’s Global Consumer Design team: Fireplace and FreshConnect. The research results were presented during a big international press conference in Paris (Maison des Métallos), on the 17th of May, with the presence of top interiors and national newspapers. International press had the chance to live an experiential multimedia path through the biggest innovations of Whirlpool from the past to the future, to come and interview the management and all the members of Whirlpool Living Lab. The exhibition was then open to the public for 1 week.



Documented Results

1. 115 journalists coming from 11 countries and then exhibition open to the public for 1 week;

2. More than 300 articles in national and local newspapers, thanks to international press office activities (from January to December);

3. An international media coverage with an equivalent Euro Value of 1,938,931.37



The campaign has had a very positive outcome and contribute to create buzz and word of mouth in the design community, strengthening the Company’s enduring mission to develop innovative home solutions through elegant, cutting-edge design, in a way that empowers consumers and simplifies daily life while contributing to the creation of a more sustainable world.