CHRISTIAN SCHWARM (38)
In 2003, Quelle wants to emphasize its leadership role in the German online retail business.Dorten exploits the coincidental fact, that the “Q” key on German PC-keyboards also hosts the “@” symbol, and thus creates a new brand symbol for Quelle – the“Quelle-Key”: the world’s first interactive brand mark.
Christian, this idea has often been called “simple but ingenious”. What does that mean?
Well, an obvious solution to the original task would have been to create a new shop category or a campaign or something of the like. We were looking for something different that could be a strong lever for communication. With that in mind, it was conveniently brazen to occupy a space on the keyboard for Quelle’s brand message. It was an elegant coup.
The idea of the Quelle-Key actually lives onuntil today.
To be honest, we think the way the symbol is used today is in no way capitalizing its full communication potential. In times of reorganisation and economic turmoil, I suppose the idea got kind of lost at Quelle. Too bad the Quelle-Key is now no more than a tool to call up regular sales promotions.
And the lessons learned for you, looking at what happened to the idea?
We all know how it is to work for the waste basket. It’s always a shame and at times frustrating, but that’s normal business. It’s a real pity when an idea is developed to a certain point, launched and then gets stuck in mid air before coming back down. That should never happen. So we try not only to develop good ideas, but also to protect them!
