How Serviceplan and Bitburger Showed an Authentic Image of Germany’s Football Fans
Euro 2024 is just around the corner, and the continent cannot be more excited! Gardens, pubs, workshops and kitchens are about to be filled with screaming fans and, more importantly, European floors are about to get sticky with beer again.
Tapping into the buzz, the official German sponsor of UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany, Bitburger, has created a new campaign – ‘Bitte Let's Celebrate What Brings Us Together’ – helmed by a film that shows us a cross section of Germany’s football fans and the space the game occupies in their hearts.
The brewery collaborated with Serviceplan Germany to give the brand a new face and strengthen its relevance through the campaign, but most importantly to remind the German people of the ‘Sommermärchen’ in 2006 - the great atmosphere during the last Football World Championship that the country hosted.
Christoph Everke, creative managing partner at Serviceplan, tells me that beer drinking has reduced in Germany recently and people have been feeling rather disheartened, but football has categorically remained Germany's favourite sport.
This is why the campaign centred entirely around real football fans, across all parts of the country. Serviceplan and production company Stink Films followed various fan groups, for one day each, for a total of eight days, to create the touching and atmospheric film.
Here, he reveals more about the making of the unique campaign and the power of ‘bitte’.
LBB> For our non-German readers, tell us a bit more about the Bitburger brand and what importance the brewer plays in German and football culture.
Christoph> Bitburger is one of the best-known traditional beer brands in Germany. It was founded over 200 years ago and is still owned by the founding family. Beer has always played a very important role in Germany. A little fun fact: Monks, who originally brewed the beer, declared it as food (and not alcohol) in the Middle Ages. They used this as a little workaround during lent when alcohol normally was forbidden.
Also important to know: the German beer market is very fragmented. Almost every town, or at least every region, has ‘its own’ beer brand(s) with very loyal customers. And these habits are hard to change. As you can imagine, tradition is one of the core values for a German beer brand, but also one of the biggest challenges to reach new target groups outside their region, in different age groups or with different drinking-habits. On top of that, beer has become less popular in Germany over the last few years. Football, on the other hand, is still THE one sport that appeals to more or less everyone in Germany. Football is something that unites us, where we come together to suffer or celebrate.
LBB> Why was this the best way to approach this year's Euros campaign and did any data insights stand at the root of this idea?
Christoph> The Euro 2024 as a major event reaches a lot of people in a (hopefully) positive way. We know from various surveys and studies that the current mood in Germany is generally not very optimistic, but rather depressed. Also, many people feel increasingly lonely. We wanted to set a counterpoint to that.
LBB> What makes this film so special are the real fans cast in it - what went into making this creative decision and how did you execute it?
Christoph> We definitely wanted to create something real, something that would stand out from the same old. There were various ideas how to realise this. Ultimately, it was the uncompromising clarity, honesty and empathy in the vision of director Eliot Rausch and our production company Stink Films that convinced us to go all in.
We accompanied different fan groups, each for one day. The shoot lasted a total of eight days. The experiences we had there were absolutely unique and very surprising. We witnessed a great deal of unexpected openness, real enthusiasm, real community, real euphoria. This was a once in a lifetime shoot. I can say I have never been part of something like that before.
LBB> How did you pick the locations to film the fans in and why were they the ones you picked? Was it difficult to achieve authenticity when there were cameras around, and what helped the fans relax and be themselves in front of the camera?
Christoph> I can only thank Stink Films and the great production team for that. The research work they did beforehand was absolutely brilliant. Based on photos of the locations and interviews, we were able to find and choose wonderful places and people. We wanted to show a representative cross section of Germany and therefore we selected locations all over the country – in the north, south, west and east.
The interesting thing is, it was much easier to achieve authenticity than we thought. We took our time and Eliot, our director, had an incredibly empathic yet motivating way to accompany the non-professional ‘actors’ through the scenes. We all felt very together in this experience. We were allowed to take part in people's lives for a few moments which was a great honour. And the whole crew was not only behind the camera, but really part of the scene. I think this helped our protagonists a big way to open up. It made everything more authentic and created togetherness.
LBB> Tell me about the usage of the word 'Bitte' in the copywriting.
Christoph> The word ‘Bitte’, which means ‘Please’, is in the centre of our brand strategy for Bitburger. It has always been part of their claim “Bitte ein Bit”, which translates to “One Bit(burger) please”. In pure iconographic terms, it is also part of the logo.
We wanted a clear reduction to the essentials and a new idea that connects everything. We found that in the thought – a ‘please’ makes everything possible. In a friendly, disarming and direct way – even a euphoric European Championship, which brings everyone together.
LBB> Tell me more about the cabin speech and its importance in the creative execution?
Christoph> The cabin speech is a fundamental idea behind the film. We wanted to give a speech to the nation, a wake-up call, something encouraging and liberating. As we are in the context of a football championship, the form of a cabin speech came about. We picked a voice that sounded warm and familiar but honest and direct at the same time.
LBB> What was the most fun part of creating this campaign? And what about the most difficult?
Christoph> The best things were filming in the different parts of Germany, the unusual twist and the client's unwavering trust in us.
The most difficult thing was to give up control. We're not used to that. We normally plan every shot, each nuance to a T, starting with picking a professional cast. The process of letting go accompanied us through the whole filming process and the more we succeeded the better it went.
LBB> What else should we expect from Bitburger in the runup to the event this year? Can you give us a teaser?
Christoph> I can say this much: the word ‘bitte’ and how far it can get you will go on to play an important role. It is really incredible how much such a little word can achieve. I am already looking forward to everything to come.
