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Internal product campaign · STIHL PWS 2016

Be a Hero.

STIHL was launching a new entry-level line – cordless tools for home users and a compact pressure washer – and wanted to present it to its own sales force with momentum. We made four films for it: a cinematic intro spot for the stage and three short consumer spots under STIHL's motto »Be a Hero«.

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The job of these films

STIHL wanted to show its new entry-level line – its first cordless tools for home users plus a compact pressure washer – to its own sales force. Not in an ad break, but internally: at the 2016 Product Workshop (PWS), the big presentation to the international sales team. We made four films for it – a cinematic intro spot to open the presentation and three short consumer spots, each putting one tool center stage.

The bracket over everything was STIHL's campaign idea »Be a Hero«: each spot shows a perfectly ordinary everyday hero who reaches for the tool and solves a small problem – with pace, wit and a wink. Exactly the kind of brief we love: show the product, but tell a story.

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Inside the spots

Real stills from the four films – the same ritual every time, three everyday heroes and the orange »Be a Hero« finale. Plus a few moving moments in between.

The annoyed hero on the sofa – before the chainsaw comes into play
Ritual before the job: lacing up STIHL cut-protection boots
A blob of ice cream runs down the freshly polished paint
The battery slides into the tool – detail
STIHL RE 109 – pressure washer from the new entry-level line
STIHL HSA 56 – cordless hedge trimmer in detail
Manicured garden with pool and trimmed boxwood spheres
A determined look – the hero of the garden care spot
Living room with a red sofa and floor-to-ceiling windows
Child with an ice cream cone next to the freshly cleaned car
STIHL product world: cordless chainsaw in the intro film
End card of the intro film: PRODUKT WORKSHOP 2016
»Be a Hero« finale: selfie collage on STIHL orange

One principle, three heroes – and a shooting schedule like clockwork

Every consumer spot follows the same rhythm: a person, a problem, then fast close-ups – lacing up protective boots, clicking in the battery, reaching for the tool – and the solution. Bernhard fells the spruce that steals his view and his light. Laura washes a blob of ice cream off the paint with the RE 109 – courtesy of her kid. And Jessi trims the one little branch sticking out of the perfect boxwood sphere – the gag: cut to the mirror, where a beard hair sticks out just as defiantly.

We shot for two days at a villa near Ludwigsburg, a few kilometers from STIHL's Waiblingen headquarters – garden, driveway and living room became three sets. Along the way we sharpened the concept together with STIHL: the originally planned Porsche became a midsize car, and the garden care spot got its hero. The music was allowed to get Austrian – Jessi's spot runs on the Blue Danube waltz, royalty-free and still grand.

Approvals ran through frame.io, and in the end STIHL wanted the finished spots in WMV format for its presentation system – a small adventure for a Mac-based studio, solved in the middle of the night with a hastily sourced Windows laptop. Four films from one shoot, precisely planned, on stage on time: exactly the discipline that counts, internally and externally.

The four films

One intro for the stage, three heroes for everyday life – click in. (Full spots, exactly as they ran at the Product Workshop.)

Product films that sell – internally and externally

Whether it's a sales kick-off, a trade fair or a product launch: a good product needs a presentation that sticks. We package features into small stories, shoot with wit and timing, and get a whole series out of a single shoot day – from the cinematic intro to the 40-second spot. If you want to bring a product line, a new release or an entire campaign to the stage or into the feed, you're in the right place. We're based in Austria's Salzkammergut and shoot across Austria, Germany and beyond.

Corporate & Product Films →STIHL LogBuch – the digital forest →Event & Live Production →

The job at a glance

Client
STIHL (ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG, Waiblingen)
Occasion
PWS 2016 – internal product workshop / sales presentation to the international sales team
Products
New entry-level line: cordless chainsaw, HSA 56 cordless hedge trimmer & RE 109 pressure washer
Brief
One intro video for the stage plus three consumer spots, each putting one tool in the spotlight with a wink
Campaign
STIHL »Be a Hero« – everyday heroes, fast gear-up close-ups, a wink
Scope
Concept, direction, camera, lighting/sound, edit, grading, sound design & title design – incl. VFX (screen replacement)
Deliverables
4 films: one 60-second intro (German & international) and three 40-second consumer spots
Timeframe
Fall 2016 – two shoot days (plus travel & backup)
Location
Villa near Ludwigsburg (Baden-Württemberg) – close to STIHL's Waiblingen headquarters
Music
Royalty-free / GEMA-free – including the Blue Danube waltz for the garden care spot
Team
B&T Film: Florian Maderebner (Director & Camera), Manuel Köllner (Production), Simon Zauner (Camera), Stefan Brandhuber (Lighting & Sound), Lisa Polt (Set)
On STIHL's side
Organization & support: the STIHL team around Mara Rasper (Waiblingen)
Partners & context: STIHL ↗

Who was on set

Crew

  • Florian Maderebner – Director, Camera & Edit
  • Manuel Köllner – Production
  • Simon Zauner – Camera
  • Stefan Brandhuber – Lighting & Sound
  • Lisa Polt – Make-up, Set Design & Props

In front of the camera

  • Bernhard – hero of the chainsaw spot
  • Laura – hero of the pressure washer spot
  • Jessi – hero of the garden care spot

Keep exploring

STIHL LogBuch – the digital forest STIHL LogBuch – the digital forest Garmin Edge 820 – Perfect Timing Garmin Edge 820 – Perfect Timing Corporate & Product Films Corporate & Product Films

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