'Wagnerian opera' led by Steinofen brand, as pizza packaging relaunch is orchestrated.

German pizza specialist Wagner Tiefkuhlprodukte GmbH, has a new marketing concept: repackaging its pizzas under a Steinofen (Stone Oven) theme.

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"With this packaging and publicity relaunch, we are attaining an even stronger presence at the point of sale, maximizing the attention of the target groups and thereby making more consumers into fans of Wagner products," said Gottfried Hares, managing director of marketing and distribution for Wagner.

"We are not only the inventors of the industrial stone oven, but with the introduction of Original Wagner Steinofen pizza, we have revolutionized the market for frozen pizza in Germany," Hares asserted.

"Effective immediately," announced Anke Barge, director of advertising and publicity, "we are gathering our products together, so to speak, under the Steinofen roof." It's not a brand, but rather a cross-promotional strategy.

That means not Original Wagner Steinofen-Pizza and Original Wagner Steinofen Pizzies (mini pizzas), but Original Balance, Original Piccolinis, Herzhafter Flammkuchen [Hearty Flame Cakes, or Tarte flambee], La Pizza Rusticale, and NaturLust [Natural Pleasure], an organic line, now carry the message that they are "out of the original stone oven."

The unified packaging design identifies all products in the Steinofen family. With just the first glimpse of the now unified brand block, the traditional Wagner blue Steinofen logo (the Bio-Pizza NaturLust has a green Steinofen icon) powerfully signals that the Wagner assortment can be found in the frozen food cabinet.

Under the common promotional design concept, Wagner is not only strengthening its visual presence at the point of sale, but also demonstrating the outstanding importance of the product line for the trade.

According to Barge: "We were able to further increase our market share in the first five months of this year." In 2006, Wagner products had a 24.6% share; for the first five months of the year, that increased to 25.4% at retail grocery stores excluding Aldi, according to ACNielsen.

In the mass media, too, Wagner has been concentrating on its Steinofen competence. "We ran advertisements with all the most powerful television channels in Germany and Austria all year long," emphasized the advertising and publicity manager.

Last August, sales were supported with an entire package of additional promotions. For one, a major contest may be played online at at www.originalsteinofen.de. Large-format signs could be seen, as well, in front of selected consumer outlets, and commercials played on all the major radio stations in Germany.