Rimowa Reveals First Campaign, Signs Roger Federer As Ambassador
Rimowa will unveil today its first global advertising campaign in its 120-year history.
The German brand, purchased by LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy in 2016, has signed tennis legend Roger Federer for the campaign. It marks the start of Rimowa's two-year contract with Federer, who will also participate in various activations for the company. Rimowa declined to disclose the terms of the Federer deal.
Joining the world number-two player in the campaign are designer Virgil Albloh, model Adwoa Aboah, jewelry designer Yoon Ahn and chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
Titled “No One Builds a Legacy by Standing Still,” the campaign sees its protagonists on various journeys, exploring how travel can enable success, knowledge and savoir faire.
In mulling how to tackle its first advertising concept, Rimowa has taken a “non-paid print policy,” becoming the first LVMH subsidiary to do so.
“We want to be a forward-thinking brand and explore different types of media. Our chief executive officer [Alexandre Arnault] believes in the strength of digital and we feel the digital landscape is a better way to tell a story,” said Rimowa chief brand officer Hector Muelas.
The company will not advertise in magazines, and only took a one-off placement in an undisclosed newspaper to mark its campaign launch. Instead, ads — taking the form of still images as well as produced films — will appear on social media, on billboards, in cinemas, on Hulu and YouTube and on traditional media
The brand is the first in LVMH’s portfolio to take a “non-paid print policy” in advertising activities.
companies' web sites. The company will also stage night projections in New York and Los Angeles.
Rimowa chose its 120th year to release its first campaign, partially because of the LVMH acquisition and also due to the global rise of experiential travel.
“There is an increase in the number of travelers, which is resulting in a changing of our behavior. As a consequence, luggage is changing, too. It used to be seen as a functional object and now more people want their suitcases to convey something. Suitcases are now part of the system of communication for a traveler,” said Muelas.
In a June interview with WWD, Arnault said of the brand, which clocked 440 million euros in annual sales at the time of its acquisition: “My vision is to achieve very good profitability within three years. That profitability will allow us to reach the target of 1 billion euros in revenues. So I don't expect to see a very strong rise in sales, but we will have an increase in profitability, together with a healthy increase in sales through our own stores and e-commerce sales, rather than wholesale.”
A U.S. e-commerce platform web site is expected to launch in October.