One of the most important target groups for Mercedes-Benz Transporters are craftsmen. The problem is that they perceive the brand as being rather elitist.In the year of the football world cup 2010, how can one bring this group of people closer to Mercedes-Benz Transporters and evolve from a rather elitist brand to a relevant partner at eye level?

The Viral: January 2010. Former world and European champions come together for a secret training session. A viral film leads to the wildest speculations.

The Challenge: In February a press conference and communication through all channels solves the mystery: Germany’s craftsmen are personally challenged by former football champions to a duel. The Participation: more than 7500 craftsmen and their companies The Stars: 4 teams will playThe Tour: In July meister-v-meister.de reports through the whole country 4 dramatic games become something the craftsmen will never forget. The Movie: In October a one-hour road movie captures the whole tour.

With "Meister vs. Meister" Mercedes-Benz Vans succeeded in directly reaching its main target group, craftsmen, in an engaging and playful way. The campaign strengthened the customer relationship, won new clients and significantly enhanced the traffic at Mercedes-Benz dealers.More than 1,000 handicraft businesses and over 7,500 craftsmen from across Germany applied with creative pictures and breezy slogans. The four matches became the talk of the town with a total of 15,000 viewers and an unforgettable event for the respective regions.

Through media cooperation and extended presswork, the media budget was multiplied by over one million euros. A variety of print media with a circulation of more than 3.1 million covered news on the competition. Radio reports reached out to 26.1 million listeners. Online articles generated more than 41 million page impressions.