The global pandemic that forced a worldwide travel hiatus created an existential moment for a brand defined by its “Never Still” ethos - and the travel category as a whole.

We were tasked with developing a global, culturally relevant campaign that expressed what “Never Still” stood for in 2021. One that would reestablish ourselves as leaders in the luggage segment, and reawaken the entire category of travel.

To do this, our objectives were threefold:

(1) Put a stake in the ground for a new era of travel with a distinctive, far reaching campaign.

(2) Spark cultural conversation around the power of being ‘Never Still’ now more than ever.

(3) Reignite desire for our products as the perfect companions in a new era of travel.

In essence, we needed to inspire people everywhere to move once again, and bounce forward from the slowest stretch in the company’s 123-year history.

Travel has changed forever. Amidst a time of global uncertainty, we turned our brand line of “Never Still” into a message of hope and optimism for what’s next.

An original musical poem by Patti Smith and Jamie xx became an anthem for our collective will to keep moving forward.

Alongside fellow RIMOWA owners Rihanna, LeBron James and Roger Federer, we ushered in a new era of travel. Throughout the campaign, all four global icons bring completely unique perspectives on how our relationship with travel has evolved for modern times.

“Never Still” welcomed our return to life through a co-created piece of entertainment with one of the world’s greatest living artists.

RIMOWA has been an innovator in the luggage category for 123 years, rooted in the relentless drive to perfect and continue improving the brand is truly "Never Still”.

“Never Still” has always been about ceaseless ambition and upward mobility in the lifelong journey towards mastery with travel as a key part of this climb.

Research revealed that the pandemic was triggering people to reappraise everything, including how and why they traveled. Our audience had a new level of consciousness around their movement, now pursuing travel with more purpose than ever before.

Thus, our strategic approach was rooted in the insight that travel will never be the same. But that means that we all have the opportunity to now redefine it in our own way.

“Never Still” would not be solely about moving up, but rather our collective will to move forward.

Our original musical poem by Patti Smith and Jamie xx, co-created exclusively for this campaign, anchored our global roll-out.

It was the score for a hero piece of branded entertainment, a visual poem, that appeared across the social channels of our various icons.

Excerpts from our poem also echoed around the world, coming to life in a series of unexpected global locations. From a projection on the Berlin Wall featuring the line “to break through barriers”, to the legendary Café de Flore in Paris where Patti and writers from all generations have congregated. Placements also appeared in Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles and New York.

When pieced together, each local and digital activation became part of a global inspiration to continue moving in whatever form possible.

The campaign was launched in September 2021, and ran until November 2021. Following its success, it was relaunched in March 2022 for another window.

Through our Never Still campaign, we reestablished RIMOWA as a leader in the luggage category, and in culture more broadly after a long pause due to the pandemic. We put a stake in the ground for a new era of travel with a distinctive, far-reaching campaign.

- Ad recall was on average 2-3 x industry benchmark in key markets

- 732M total impressions

We sparked conversation around being ‘Never Still’ and grew the cult.

- Earned impressions doubled during campaign period (vs previous 3 months) and we earned €8,000,000 in media value.

- Our mentions on social media were 95% positive.

- We had strong followers growth on key channels - Instagram +6.8%, WeChat +11% ,TikTok +60.5%

Finally, we reignited the desire for our products.

- Website traffic increased up to 50% during the campaign period.

- Website revenue saw 35% increase during the campaign period (vs previous 3 months).