Victorinox's CMO on celebrating its 140 years of legacy with evolved brand strategy

In celebration of its 140 years of legacy, Swiss premium brand Victorinox is ready to enter the next phase of growth with its evolved brand strategy, "Made to be prepared".

In an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Veronika Elsener (pictured), chief marketing officer, Victorinox said this trend resonates with Hongkongers' demand for premium and high-quality travel gear given the growing interest in travel within Hong Kong post-pandemic.

In fact, Victorinox’s travel gear is highly regarded, accounting for nearly 70% of its total sales value in Hong Kong and Asia, according to Elsener. “Specifically in Hong Kong, the Spectra 3.0 collection is our top seller, and we aim to expand our presence in both travel gear distribution and our own retail locations."

Committed to equipping consumers to tackle everyday challenges, the brand believes that life is better when people are well-prepared with smart solutions, same as the idea behind its latest brand strategy, developed since 2020.

“It is really a moment to communicate what we stand for, what we promise and what we believe to drive Victorinox forward. We are proud to create tools consumers can truly rely on, but reliability goes beyond just the products we make – it applies to every part of our business. We deliver carefully thought-out solutions that serve their purpose expertly,” added Elsener.

Globally, our evolved brand strategy aims to build on our premium brand positioning and create higher emotional engagement with our consumers.

While the brand does live up the legacy of doing things the Swiss way, with patience and expertise, it also came across various challenges this year when implementing its plans. 

"Change is the only constant these days and it has necessitated a greater focus on flexibility and agility in our marketing. We built a brand campaign which allowed our markets to execute with flexibility based on their own needs, so I wouldn’t say we had drastic changes to our plans, but more adaptations as we went along," she added.

Victorinox's strategic approach to marketing and brand positioning

To create effective marketing campaigns in today’s constantly changing world and stiff competition, it is essential to highlight the unique selling propositions and clearly communicate what defines your products, according to Elsener.

Taking Victorinox as an example, Elsener said Swissness is a key selling point and differentiator for the brand, both domestically and internationally. This aspect remains in the company’s strategy across all products through its strong roots in Switzerland.

With its global brand strategy, Victorinox aims to increase brand awareness and sharpen its image while taking local conditions into account, according to Elsener. “We work closely with our local offices to determine exactly what this go-to-market strategy looks like from country to country, and they are responsible for implementing it. In this way, we ensure local relevance and acceptance.”

With our ‘Made to be prepared’ campaign, we want to celebrate the mastery and craftmanship of our products and draw our customers' attention to what Victorinox always did – and always will – stand for: With our products, you are always best prepared, smart and masterful.

For continued success in marketing, Elsener said it is important to uphold brand values, maintain clear messaging, and understand market positioning. Brands should be flexible enough to adapt to changing consumer needs, she added. 

"We are proud of our Swiss heritage of over 140 years of manufacturing expertise and part of our brand DNA has always been innovation, which has propelled us forward and allowed us to adapt. At the brand’s core, we know that being best prepared makes life better, and we ensure to communicate this not only with our marketing, but through our products," she said. 

Engaging customers amid rising expectations for personalisation

Having begun her career at Victorinox in 1991, Elsener has held various marketing leadership positions within the company. Since 2018, she has served as the CMO, overseeing the marketing team. As the company has evolved and expanded, both Elsener's role and her marketing team's responsibilities have grown accordingly.

When discussing the most significant change in customer behaviour she has observed in recent years, Elsener said there has been an increase in expectations for personalised experiences and seamless service. As a result, personalisation and customisation play a key role in Victorinox’s product offerings.

Our Swiss army knives have been available for customisation for a while, and we’ve extended this to our travel gear and watches – with personalised name tags for travel gear and tool free changeable straps for our watches.

Moreover, social shopping has gained importance, according to Elsener. Users and potential customers can discover, review, recommend, and purchase products while browsing social networks. “Through social media, we make sure to reach younger demographics. We actively engage with our following on social media and aim to improve the online and in store shopping experience by addressing customers’ needs and deepening our understanding of the ever-evolving consumer journey," said Elsener. 

Another evolution is that customers are increasingly prioritising values such as sustainability and social responsibility, influencing their purchasing decisions, according to Elsener. "At Victorinox, the issues of environmental protection and sustainability are high priorities. We see environmental management as a corporate duty and social responsibility and as a family run business, have always thought generationally rather than quarterly, which reflects strongly in our operations," she said. 

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