SDV STUDIOS GmbH & Co. KG

Description

With the SAWTEQ S‑300/S‑400, HOMAG brings a panel sizing saw to market that combines high performance, speed, and dependable technology with digital, self-learning features. The payoff for operators: more power, less energy consumption, and better ergonomics. For the campaign, SDV didn’t just work at a desk—it ran intensive workshops with HOMAG team members from development and marketing. That kept the communication authentic from the very beginning and closely tied to the product, rather than talking past the machine.

Solution

SDV didn’t just make the technology “bigger”—it gave it an emotional layer. At the heart of the campaign is the slogan “Saws new standards,” a wordplay on a familiar German idiom that sticks thanks to the reference to the saw. For the English market, the message was reimagined rather than translated literally, because that German wordplay can’t be reproduced in English. The sense of lead and quality stays the same, while the execution adapts to the language. The key visual deliberately breaks with the classic HOMAG layouts, yet keeps the brand identity. The focus isn’t on a purchased model, but on a real HOMAG employee from machine development working at the saw—confidently looking ahead and satisfied with a day at work without hassles and back pain. That kind of authenticity can’t be achieved with stock footage. The story is told emotionally in the image film “Story of Hans.” A man with a white goatee tackles a bread crust at the breakfast table with a knife—an image of the saw’s precision and power. Instead of dry numbers, data, and facts, the film reaches straight for the emotional side. This is supported by a 16-minute keynote that explains the machine functions in practical terms, while dynamic camera moves keep attention locked in. Behind it all is the full production package: storyline and script, storyboards, coordinating actors and locations, working with external video professionals, post-production including editing, German and English voiceover, plus a behind-the-scenes documentation. The campaign was rolled out across print (ads, brochures), digital (YouTube banners, videos), and the trade show presence—consistently across all channels.

Results

From four months of project time, a campaign has emerged that holds together: a slogan that lands, a key visual with a real face instead of catalog optics, and an image film that tells you what the machine can do—without just listing its features. Emotion and clarity work together for an audience that can tell the difference. Rather than trying to win over an already convinced customer with even more technical arguments, the campaign gives progress a face and a story. The impact carried beyond the project timeline, and in the end it became a remarkably well-rounded launch—positioning the new saw exactly where it belongs: as the next logical step.