This is the story of the first European DIY specialist which dared to advance beyond category conventions: HORNBACH “The Infinite House”.Key challenge for the campaign in fall 2010: To find new communicative ways in which to present the brand’s unique positioning as „project DIY store“. Firstly to differentiate the brand more clearly from its competitors. And secondly to increase campaign efficiency in the face of a lower budget.

Therefore HORNBACH focussed the attention of DIY enthusiasts on a 10-minute short film on the internet named “The Infinite House”, that conveyed the brand’s positioning in more detail and more entertainingly than any TV commercial could ever achieve.The detailed aims of this courageous step were:1. To firmly anchor the brand in the online sector.

2. To optimize the efficiency of the campaign performance by exploiting the dynamics of the internet.3. To strengthen the brand profile.And of course:4. To provide a sales boost and thereby increase business success.The results delivered proof, that HORNBACH’s courage paid off right across the board.• “The Infinite House” captures the attention of the audience:Within only three month the short film had been watched over 1.8 million times. Despite the films above average length it displayed a 220% higher View-Through-Rate than average videos longer than 5 minutes (Source: Crossmedia, Düsseldorf // GoViral GmbH, Munich).

• Increased campaign efficiency:Although the creative emphasis of the campaign was on the internet, unaided advertising recall was achieved more efficient than in the previous year. “The Infinite House” worked up to 12% more efficient. (Source: Nielsen Media Research // Ernest Dichter Institut, Frankfurt).• HORNBACH strengthens brand and wins new fans.-The differentiating dimensions of the brand profile „quality, passion and understanding“ were achieved up to 17% more efficient.

-The number of customers naming HORNBACH as their favourite DIY store increased by 2.4% in Germany and massive 25% in the Czech Republic. (Source: Ernest Dichter Institut, Frankfurt).• Not only a heart winning campaign:HORNBACH actually won new costumers: In the essential growth market Czech Republic, HORNBACH significantly increased its penetration to costumers by 6,9%, while the competition suffered losses of over 4%. (Source: Ernest Dichter Institut, Frankfurt).• New costumers made the cash register ring:At the end of the campaign, HORNBACH proudly reported an above-average rise in like-for-like company turnover of 4.3% (Source: HORNBACH-Baumarkt-AG Interim Report, For Three Quarters in 2010/2011).