Never-before-seen: Aldi Nord and Süd campaign together

Remarkable news in the German hard discount industry, because for the first time ever, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd will launch a joint image campaign in Germany. It marks the next phase in the price fighter’s metamorphosis.

Change of style

“Einfach ist mehr” (literally “Simpler is more” or “Simpler is better”), is the new tag line for Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd’s marketing campaign, which will launch on Monday 12 September. It is a stylish campaign, designed by the famous Ogilvy and Mather agency, and apparently there was no limit to the cost involved, because there are ads for the television audience, movie theaters, radio, major billboards, … it even has its own song, created by Berlin rapper Fargo.  

It is a radical change of style, because the discounter almost exclusively used print advertising, filled with offers and price cuts. Aldi never aired a television ad campaign in Germany, even though it did do so abroad.

There is a certain logic behind the new strategy: Aldi’s stores have radically evolved over the past few years, with the addition of fresh food, an in-store bakery and name brands. Not only that, it also remodeled plenty of stores and even published a sustainability report recently. That meant that, sooner or later, the company’s communication approach had to change in order to reflect its new identity. 

Altered competition

Television and radio are obvious choices when one looks at how consumers absorb media: papers, Aldi’s preferred ad focus, are on the way out and its competitor Lidl already turned its attention to television commercials a year ago.

The altered competitive situation in the German market is also a reason for change. For a long time now, discounters had been the dominant force in the German market, but now they are reaching their own growth ceiling. They are no longer stealing away market share from the traditional supermarkets and need to do things differently now.

However, this is still a very remarkable move for Aldi, because recent information pointed towards a sour relationship between both affiliate companies following a family feud, but with a joint website for this campaign, that does not seem to be the case…