The Counterpart Group uses Kohle-Manufaktur to spark an attitude towards life

From the entire brand development to advertising, PR, content marketing, social media, digital and event expertise

Barbecuing is a passion. And for some, it even means spending their free time working on developing the perfect recipe for barbecue coal. The result: Kohle-Manufaktur’s smoke-free premium barbecue briquettes – one hundred per cent ‘Made in Germany’. The Counterpart Group’s challenge: brand development and positioning – including the logo and packaging – to the brand launch and successful establishment. Based on these requirements, the Cologne-based agency develops a sophisticated content strategy and supports the Kohle-Manufaktur with a team of experts from the fields of advertising, creativity, PR, event management and social media. Counterpart continually enables the brand’s commercial acceptance and successfully anchors the brand in the target group’s relevant set.

Advertising

Counterpart advertising agency designs holistic branding for Kohle-Manufaktur

The Counterpart Group’s work begins with a single briquette, with the brand’s outstanding properties making it quickly clear that the future brand should be positioned in the premium segment. And since there’s no other products in the portfolio other than the barbecue briquettes, all branding is centred around the symbol of charcoal, thus giving way to the brand name: ‘Die Kohle-Manufaktur’ (The coal manufactory). Logo, packaging and sales kits are specially tailored to meet the demands of a quality-conscious target group.

Packaging Design

Award-winning package design

There can be only one premium package for a premium brand. In addition to creating a unique package that looks like a shopping bag and features carrying handles as well as a practical pourer, Counterpart conceives high-quality design that is unique to the industry. The renowned jury of the Red Dot Award honoured the packaging design with an award in the category of Communication Design.

Digital

Counterpart digital fires up the Kohle-Manufaktur website

Mission: To make a statement for the Kohle-Manufaktur.de website. To bring the product to life. Challenge accepted and served ‘hot’. Starting on the homepage, visitors can scroll through the process coal takes straight out of the package and into the fire starter, with informative content provided in four languages covering the categories: recipes, news and the POS finder as well as Counterpart’s successful ‘How to light’ film. The QR code on the award-winning product packaging connects smartphones to instructions on how to perfectly light the briquettes.

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PR

The Counterpart PR agency supports trade press launch

After Kohle-Manufaktur’s successful launch on the German retail market, it was time to introduce the trade press to the brand and help support sales. Capitalising upon the product’s unique features, the POS advantages and design aspects, Counterpart successfully places Kohle-Manufaktur as a premium brand in all important trade media through press releases and its media contacts and attracts attention in the process.

Successful positioning in general media

Using crowd-pleasing teasers, media collaborations and background information, Counterpart advertises Kohle-Manufaktur as a stylish Premium product for quality-conscious buyers by emphasising its unique product advantages. Not only does this mean a significant increase in brand recognition, but also the proper positioning of the product with the right target group. The PR division of the Counterpart Group passionately develops suitable content and uses its wide network of media contacts for the positioning.

Content

Counterpart content marketing excels with target group-oriented content on Facebook

In the context of managing the brand on Facebook, the Counterpart Group oversees the page layout and strategic community work on Facebook. The agency continuously provides content to fans with target group-relevant teasers, creative motifs as well as current topics. Counterpart generates content with real added, for example, by presenting specialist BBQ terms in a creative yet visually eye-catching manner. The agency then shares the existing ‘knowledge’ on the website. The result: a large and highly interactive fan base in only a brief period of time.

Winning over the target group with barbecue events and blogger relations

The Counterpart Group turns barbecuing into a real experience. The Kohle-Manufaktur’s products are authentically presented in person during exclusive events for selected journalists and bloggers in German cities: in addition to the product inventor Frank Stormanns, guests can meet selected barbecue experts as well as enjoy the finest barbecue treats. Enough to make the hearts of barbecue enthusiasts leap for joy!

Comprehensive content design thanks to recipe collaborations

The Counterpart Group concocts recipes for Kohle-Manufaktur in collaboration with exclusive partners such as the gourmet restaurant Remise and perfectly sets the stage for the premium products. Counterpart regularly activates Kohle-Manufaktur fans to participate in recipe competitions. The content generated is then prepared for the channels, brand website and general media and then further shared.