PETERBOROUGH-BASED Merloni Elettrodomestici has unveiled a multi-million pound rejuvenation campaign for its Hotpoint brand.
Macro Milani, chief executive officer for the UK headquarters based in Peterborough, hosted a major presentation in London on Wednesday for more than 500 trade customers.
Hotpoint, Britain’s long-established number one home appliance brand has been given a distinctive new brand direction and comprehensively re-engineered with a whole new range of products.
It will also be subject to a £11 million marketing campaign and a major financial commitment to become one of the leading sponsors of the children’s charity ChildLine and its ‘Safely to 18’ campaign.
At the launch Mr Milani said: “In the last two years we’ve been working hard and providing the investment to chart a clear and successful future for Hotpoint. This is the biggest initiative the UK white goods industry has ever seen; we’re passionate about the challenge of transforming attitudes towards the sector.”
The outcome of a year-long development project includes a new logo and brand identity, as well as advertising themes devised to position Hotpoint at the heart of real British homes.
As UK Marketing Director Neil Tunstall explained: “Our new identity expresses clearly and simply that our products have been designed for the real world. It’s a break with the past, signalling modernity and change, but unequivocally confirms our association with strength, reliability and real consumer benefits. We see this as a confident statement of leadership, in which the consumer can continue to trust.”
In addition to £27 million invested at its headquarters site in Woodston refrigerator production and a state-of-the-art customer service centre, Merloni Elettrodomestici has spent £6 million at its washing machine factory, near Rhyl in North Wales, to begin manufacturing an entirely new range of “super silent” appliances.
From PeterboroughNow
I can only hope this will help retain Hotpoint as the brand leader as its products of late have been poor. I Hope too that their share of the market continues to thrive and Merloni continue to invest heavily in UK based technology coupled with a large UK workforce.
Greater cooperation with the Whitegoods trade in general also should be encouraged.