Telling brand stories in an interesting way that captivates audiences is hard to do in a world where there is such demand for consumer attention. Yet, this was the brief when Feldschlösschen Brewery commissioned EFMP Swiss Partner, USP Partner AG to tell the story of their founding father, Theophil Roniger.
Feldschlösschen is a brewery steeped in history. It was the largest brewery in Switzerland for decades when it was acquired by the Carlsberg Group in 2000, to become the leading Swiss beverage company.
In 2021, Feldschlösschen celebrated its 145th anniversary, and to mark this significant milestone they launched the "1876" beer as a tribute to the founding father, Theophil Roniger.
As part of the brand launch a TV commercial mapped Theophil’s many years on the road from Säckingen in 1867, where he began his two-year apprenticeship, to the three-year journey in 1869 that led him to Munich, Ulm and finally to Grafenrheinfeld. During this time, he mastered his brewing craft and ultimately developed the founding recipe that laid the foundation for the establishment of the Feldschlösschen brewery in 1876. It is this same recipe which today serves as the basis for Feldschlösschen 1876 beer.
To follow on from the TV campaign, the task for USP Partner was to bring Roniger’s story and his journey to life.
No easy task.
But what better way than to gamify the experience. The USP team conceptualised the staging of an ‘Escape’ Room framework that challenges visitors to solve thematic puzzles which are laid out systematically over three elaborately themed worlds. The ‘Escape’ Rooms immerse the visitors in a fun, highly engaging, brand story. They, like Roniger during his travels, need to solve various challenges to progress in their journey and to get through to the next themed room and ultimately, their final destination.
The competitive structure of the puzzles to be solved in the ‘Escape’ Rooms and the need for visitors to learn all the facts to succeed, is a truly novel and interactive way of telling the brand story and cementing the brand, and Roniger, in the minds of the target audience. No better way to pay tribute to the founder of Feldschlossen Brewery.
To deliver a creative project of this complexity takes tremendous effort, determination, and teamwork. As part of the project, USP brought in two expert partners to help realise the vision for this project. Stammkraft GmbH, who helped to construct the ‘Escape’ Rooms true to concept and with great attention to detail, and Shelock GmbH, who own ‘Escape’ Rooms in the Basel area, and who were brought in to supported USP with the planning of the puzzle development and to operate the rooms.
USP, who are the experiential marketing experts. were responsible for the overall project management. They managed everything from the initial concept to the final handover of the keys, as well as for the training of the game masters.
In addition to the development of the detailed concept, USP's conceptual work also included submitting a business case for the feasibility and implementation of the ‘Escape’ Rooms at various different locations, with various operating scenarios. Ultimately, it was agreed that the ‘Escape’ Rooms would be set in the beautifully scenic ‘Brauwelt’ of Feldschlösschen, thereby creating a very innovative attraction for the newly created Visitors Centre at the Feldschlösschen Headquarters in Rheinfelden.
The ‘Escape’ Rooms successfully launched on the “Day of Swiss Beer”, which is the last Friday in April. An appropriate date for the event, as it is the day which signals the start of the beer brewing season in Switzerland.
Once again, USP Partner showcase their superb creative thinking for not only bringing Roniger’s journey to life, but for doing it in such an original and engaging manner. The perfect way to celebrate the 145th anniversary of the brand that he created!
All information about the ‘Escape’ Rooms and bookings can be found on the website of the Feldschlösschen brewery world: https://brauwelt.ch/de/escape-room/.