Be in
your element
Employer branding campaign for Hansgrohe
For the Hansgrohe Group, GRAPEVINE turned the existing employer value proposition (EVP) “Here you are in your element.” into an employer branding campaign that works internationally: “Be in your element!”. English headlines on the theme of water, real employees and a 1.30-meter bath duck make the employer from the Black Forest visible. The campaign addresses trainees and students as well as specialists and managers.
The new employer brand was launched on 13 June 2026 at the employee festival for the company’s 125th anniversary. Since then, Hansgrohe has been rolling out the campaign itself: on the careers page, in job ads, on LinkedIn and Instagram, on a bus wrap, and in promotional items and onboarding materials.
- Client
- Hansgrohe SE (Hansgrohe Group with the brands AXOR and hansgrohe)
- Industry and location
- Industry, sanitary technology · Schiltach, Black Forest
- Target groups
- School students, university students, white collar, blue collar, managers
- Services
- EVP review, target group analysis, creative concept, photo shoot, print files for the XXL duck, bus wrap and photo booth backdrop, style guide
- Channels
- Careers page, job ads, LinkedIn, Instagram, anniversary event, bus wrap, promotional items, onboarding
- Period
- Since February 2026, launch on 13 June 2026
The Challenge
How does a good reputation in the Black Forest become an international employer brand?
Hansgrohe has a good reputation as an employer in the Black Forest. Even so, it is getting harder for Hansgrohe to win qualified specialists and young talent and to keep them in the long term. At the same time, the Hansgrohe Group is growing internationally. The employer brand therefore has to work across countries and target groups and be easy to transfer to other regions.
The trigger was the revised corporate identity of the whole Hansgrohe Group. The employer brand was meant to become more modern and more appealing to its target groups as well: emotional, authentic and usable internationally. The aim was to raise awareness of Hansgrohe as an attractive employer externally and, at the same time, to increase the identification of its own employees.
The content foundation was already in place: since 2018, Hansgrohe has had a well-founded EVP with the core line “Here you are in your element.” GRAPEVINE’s task was therefore not to invent a new employer brand. It was to turn a solid EVP into a campaign that people talk about. The launch was set for the 125th company anniversary.
The Idea
Be in your element! How an EVP becomes a creative concept
From the EVP “Here you are in your element.” GRAPEVINE derived the campaign claim “Be in your element!”. It sums up the employer promise and is an example of how an EVP becomes an employer claim that works in every country. Under this umbrella, we created short English headlines in the imperative, each linked to the element of water: “Go with the Flow”, “Make a Splash”, “Find your Flow” or “Drop in”. They are deliberately simple, so they are understood even without perfect English.
The body copy unpacks the headline and is written in the local language. It always opens with a reference to the EVP: “Be in your element …” for professionals, “Find your element …” for young talents. This keeps every ad recognizable, even when the target group and the language change.
Why a bath duck?
Hardly any object stands so directly for bathroom, water and well-being, and so for what Hansgrohe is about. The duck is likeable, understood at once and known worldwide. As an XXL version, 1.30 meters tall, it becomes a talking point: in the photo, at the event and in the comments under social media posts.
Execution
From the EVP workshop to the anniversary party: how the new employer brand came about
Hansgrohe’s employer brand came about in five steps, from a workshop with employees to the launch at the company anniversary. GRAPEVINE was responsible for the first three steps. Hansgrohe handled pre-launch communication and the launch itself.
After the kick-off in February 2026, 13 Hansgrohe employees reviewed the existing EVP from 2018 in the EVP workshop. Together with a study-based target group analysis, this produced the core messages for each target group.
The creative concept defines the headline mechanics, design elements and target group adaptations, matching the new corporate identity of the Hansgrohe Group.
In April 2026, 11 employees stood in front of the camera over two days. GRAPEVINE also supplied the print files for the 1.30-meter fiberglass XXL duck and for the bus wrap.
Before the launch, Hansgrohe built up anticipation itself: with a making-of from the shoot and “coming soon” posts on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Hansgrohe launched the campaign at the anniversary, with a photo booth, roll-ups and give-aways. GRAPEVINE supplied the photo booth backdrop. After that, Hansgrohe rolled out the careers page, job ads and social media itself.
One message per target group
Trainees look for something different from managers. That is why each target group got its own visual with its own headline and body copy. In blue collar recruiting in particular, different things count than for office jobs: for industrial employees, pride in tangible, high-quality products is what matters most. There is also one overarching visual for professionals and young talents.
| Target group | Focus | Core message | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|
| School students | Training | Good career prospects thanks to high-quality training, support on an equal footing | Find your Flow |
| University students | Work experience | Part of a large network, experienced guidance, challenging tasks | Drop in |
| White collar | Team | Performance is recognized, team spirit instead of a sharp-elbowed culture | Go with the Flow |
| Blue collar | Products | Direct influence on the quality of tangible, high-quality products | Be in your Element |
| Managers | Leadership | Noticeable influence on company success, society and the environment | Make a Splash |
Real people, real duck
Instead of stock photos or AI images, 11 Hansgrohe employees stood in front of the camera in April 2026, over two days, together with the 1.30-meter fiberglass duck. Alongside the campaign visuals, portraits for the careers page were shot. A style guide sets out how headlines, colors and visuals are used. This lets Hansgrohe roll out the brand itself, including through teams abroad.
Launch at the 125th anniversary festival
The first contact with the new brand took place where employees came together: at the festival for the company’s 125th anniversary on 13 June 2026 in Schiltach, with more than 5,000 employees and their families. In a photo booth with a backdrop by GRAPEVINE, colleagues from different sites could take photos and GIFs with the duck. Hansgrohe produced the duck key rings, flyers, stickers, postcards and the teasers on Instagram itself.
Success
What the campaign achieved
With “Be in your element!”, Hansgrohe has a modular employer brand that adapts to the new corporate identity and works internationally across different target groups, channels and formats. Nine key visuals, the employee portraits and a style guide form the basis. With these, Hansgrohe rolls out the brand itself: on the careers page, in job ads, promotional items, onboarding materials and social media, consistently at home and abroad.
The response was clear from the launch: at the 125th anniversary festival, more than 400 photos and GIFs were taken in the photo booth. On LinkedIn, the campaign post got 229 likes, more than twice as many as an average Hansgrohe post with around 100 likes. The number of new followers also rose noticeably during the campaign period.
The best effect was not paid for: employees share the campaign on LinkedIn and Instagram of their own accord and make the duck a talking point, internally and in the social media community. That is exactly what employer branding is about: people enjoy talking about their employer. And the XXL duck stays: as an eye-catcher for trade fairs, recruiting events and internal events.
400+
Photos and GIFs at the launch
229
Likes for the campaign post on LinkedIn
9
Key visuals for all target groups
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Frequently asked questions about the Hansgrohe case
GRAPEVINE, the employer branding agency with offices in Munich and Wiesbaden, developed the employer branding campaign “Be in your element!” for the Hansgrohe Group. GRAPEVINE reviewed the existing EVP together with employees, developed the creative concept, ran the photo shoot with the XXL duck and delivered the style guide and the print files for the XXL duck, bus wrap and photo booth. Hansgrohe itself handled the promotional items, social media and the launch for the 125th company anniversary.
Hansgrohe’s employer value proposition is “Here you are in your element.” It is an example of how a company bundles its employer promise in a single sentence. Hansgrohe developed it in 2018. For the campaign, it was reviewed in a workshop with 13 employees and translated into core messages for five target groups. The international campaign claim “Be in your element!” is derived directly from it.
Like hardly any other object, the bath duck stands for bathroom, water and well-being, and so for Hansgrohe’s core business. It is understood worldwide and is likeable. As a 1.30-meter fiberglass duck, it becomes a talking point: in the photo shoot, in the photo booth at the anniversary and as an eye-catcher at trade fairs.
The headlines are written in simple English and play with the element of water, for example “Go with the Flow” or “Make a Splash”. The body copy is in the local language. A style guide sets out how visuals, colors and texts are used. This allows sites outside Germany to roll out the brand consistently too.
Each target group has its own visual with its own message. For trainees, the quality of training is the focus; for university students, work experience. White collar employees are addressed through the team idea, blue collar employees through pride in the products. Managers learn how much influence they have on company success and the environment.
An employer brand is only credible if the people in the visuals really work there. That is why 11 Hansgrohe employees stood in front of the camera for two days for the campaign. The effect shows after the launch too: many share the visuals in their own networks of their own accord.
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About GRAPEVINE
For more than 20 years, we have been developing employer brands that inspire, for mid-sized companies, large corporations and the public sector.
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