Want Your Ad to Break Through? Learn to Market #LikeABosch
This appliance company’s latest marketing campaign is capturing customer attention #LikeABosch.
The catchy song and dynamic visuals that define the #LikeABosch campaign all serve the core concept of telling a relatable story about the brand to its audience. Already a major success around the world, the campaign’s recent stateside launch represents a new era in Bosch marketing in North America. TRD sat down with Anne-Marie Nealy, the Head of Marketing for Bosch RNA, to get a peek behind the scenes at what makes the #LikeABosch ads tick.
Know Your Audience
Industry veteran Nealy emphasized the importance of zeroing in on your campaign’s intended customer in order to create ads that resonate with them.
“It comes down to really, deeply understanding your audience,” she explained. “The key is looking at it through the consumer lens.”
Bosch has a loyal consumer base who appreciates how the brand’s quality appliances make their lives easier. From refrigerators and dishwashers to a forthcoming line of countertop coffee machines, every Bosch appliance delivers perfect results every time. With this concept in mind, the Bosch team built the creative to showcase relatable moments in the kitchen.
“These people are the heroes of their homes to their family and friends,” says Nealy. “They’ve built their life around being entertainers.”
Another critical component to the campaign strategy was defining the brand positioning in the market. Nealy described Bosch as a “masspirational” brand, one that brings a luxury feeling to everyone. As such, the main characters in the #LikeABosch ads are relatable and memorable who showcase the benefits of Bosch appliances, all without taking themselves too seriously.
“What makes them fun is that they’re not perfect,” explains Nealy. “They’re quirky, they’re energetic, and they’ve got charisma. Even as a serious brand, you always want to have that little wink back at the audience.”
Bringing #LikeABosch To North America
With the consumer profile in mind, the rest of the campaign’s creative elements fell into place. When #LikeABosch launched internationally, the ads focused on Shawn, a mustachioed everyman with a penchant for outsized physical comedy and Bosch-themed rap lyrics. Set to a club-ready beat, every ad featured a cast of relatable, often suburban characters going about their daily chores with the help of the brand’s many appliances.
With the stateside launch, Nealy and her team utilized a remixed soundtrack with a smoother acoustic bassline and introduced a diverse cast smoothly demonstrating the features of various Bosch kitchen appliances as they cook and clean.
“You’ll notice that the setup for every commercial shows you the consumer benefit,” explains Nealy, “but also really dramatizes it in a larger than life moment.”
For example, an ad focusing on how Bosch’s latest fridge keeps veggies fresh longer so you’ll be “throwing out less” features the star dropping a sprig of greenery into a comically tiny waste bin. In another, to show off how fast an induction cooktop heats water, the star flings dry spaghetti into the air and brings the water to a boil before the pasta can fall into the pot.
“They’re all kind of over the top,” says Nealy. “There’s a ton of clever, memorable moments that were definitely orchestrated.”
In a short about Bosch’s air fryer, a father cooks corn dogs for his wife and daughter without using oil. His reward? A county fair-style prize for “Most Crispy” pinned on his apron as he stands triumphant with corn dogs held high.
Sensory Overload
While the most easily identifiable element of each ad is undoubtedly the catchy #LikeABosch beat, Nealy explains that every aspect of the commercials is designed to appeal to the senses.
“When we talk about something being dry, we show a cactus,” she says. “When we talk about something about being quiet, it’s so quiet there is a cat sleeping on top of your appliance.”
But the music is what holds the campaign together, which was especially important given Bosch’s worldwide reach. “One of the challenges that the brand faced was that it wasn’t just a campaign for one market,” says Nealy. “Music was the common ground we found, globally.” The remixed soundtrack for the North American ads ties them into the existing campaign while giving them a fresh sound all their own.
Variations on a Theme
As a global brand with innovative products across many lines, creating a single unifying ad campaign was an incredibly daunting task. But now, after years of success, the campaign has become central to how the brand presents new products to its dedicated consumer base, leveraging the campaign’s internally-consistent shorthand to catch and hold consumer attention.
“If you think of it from a marketing perspective, with all the different touchpoints that you have, you can create quick sound bites that are very memorable,” says Nealy. “This is a world that we’re creating.”
From a banner ad to a full-length video, #LikeABosch has given the brand a vernacular that many consumers not only remember, but, according to the YouTube comments and sheer number of views, enjoy immensely. Nealy points out that, since launching at CES in 2019, the campaign has won more than 40 international ad awards. Now, the campaign having arrived stateside in late 2023, it’s time for American audiences to feel #LikeABosch.