Whoever thinks, sales simply mean selling things, might be pretty misguided. Especially when it comes to Harry Eichholz, sales representative at Envases Öhringen and responsible for Southern Germany, Austria, Italy, Eastern and Central Europe, Asia, Japan and Africa. He joined Envases in 1994 and he defines his job mainly as serving his customers and working hard to push their brand forward – always in close collaboration with his clients. Party Keg Marketing: a chat with Harry Eichholz!
Party Keg Marketing: the customer’s brand is king!
„What can I do for my client’s brand with the help of the party keg? – this is the question I ask myself before a meeting and this is what brings me joy since many years”, Eichholz enthuses about his job. „Our mini kegs offer the biggest advertising space amongst all beer containers. You can use them in many different ways, and they offer the possibility to create emotions with their designs. That is why sometimes a simple proposal letter from Envases already comes with a rendering for a possible keg design.“ In fact, this is the sales approach Eichholz’ clients appreciate. First, we ask them about their story, the added value for their brand.
Harry Eichholz likes to think back to the day a young student of brewing science called him to discuss the idea of making beer in a 5-litre-keg. At first, it was very hard to imagine, but he kept an open mindset and engaged in this thought experiment. After lots of discussions and experiments, a new product was born: a self-brewing kit in a mini keg, named BrauFässchen, that has become a top seller nowadays.
“Very often it is the small breweries that dare to experiment with more progressive design innovations”, comments Eichholz. “Bigger companies tend to have very strict CI-guidelines and most of the time their logos occupy 70-80% of the advertising space. That is a pity, because the party keg is not a primary packaging and therefore could be used to be a little more adventurous and run more emotional campaigns. A mini keg is the most upscale packaging for beer, it would just be logical to go for a little fancier design.” Experience shows that customers appreciate it. Especially during lockdown and closed gastronomy party keg sales have increased.
Party kegs as advertising material
Not all clients of Envases are breweries, but companies that use party kegs as advertising material for their customers. “For these kinds of enterprises, but of course also for breweries, we offer to elaborate the first design concept for their kegs ourselves. A unique 3D-tool on our website simulates by just one click how a design could look on a keg”, Eichholz explains. “I can’t help it but to come up with my own ideas from time to time how we could optimize a brand’s appearance. This is what I love doing, and this is what we do best at Envases: Party Keg Marketing.”
Variety is key!
Harry Eichholz has spent his whole career at Envases, former HUBER Packaging. He started with a commercial training. Afterwards he completed his civilian service and returned to Envases as a salesman for various divisions, toy and music industry inter alia. When the party keg with integrated tap was developed, the ambitious salesman was promoted to the beverage sector and has worked there ever since. From 2004 until 2007 he completed his part-time studies aside of his job at Envases in order to earn a degree in business administration VWA. Eichholz speaks several languages, which helps him to take care of his ample network of national and international clients.
„What keeps fascinating me about my job, are the different personalities I get to deal with on a daily basis. I am working with unconventional, young craft beer makers, down-to-earth Zoigl brewers, hard-working tavern brewers whose families have been doing this for generations, but also large corporations who have their own big marketing departments. In addition to this, I receive customer requests from all over the world and at the same time I get to deal with many different cultures and mentalities. This makes for a very multifaceted job and I can truly say not one day is like the other.“
This variety of tasks is what keeps Harry Eichholz excited about his job since many years. Especially since he is responsible for the entire project, from the first request until the completed product is delivered to the customer. Even the organization and execution of international trade shows occasionally happen to be part of his job. This is what keeps things exciting and does not leave any room for boring daily routines. „It is the variety of the customer service I can offer, that fascinates me”, says Eichholz. “I love looking for and finding solutions for my client’s demands. The more unconventional they are, the better. I am very excited to see what future brings. There is just one thing that I know for sure: I am looking forward to it!”
