Our Art Director Chantal Heimo has been supporting WIRZ with her creative streak since 1999. Since 2016, she has been co-responsible for the collection mania around the Migros promotions. In 2010, WIRZ launched the first of the modern Migros large-scale promotions. It involved collecting, tumbling, stacking and swapping. Chantal Heimo analyses the successful "Nanomania" campaign from today's perspective.

How did you come up with the idea of nanos?

Our briefing was to create a collective promo with the magnetic capsules. For this, Wirz-Kreation invented the Nanomania world and was also responsible for the design of the figures. Each of the 48 Nanos had its own character with a creative name. They formed six thematic clans and originally came from the smallest planet in the Milky Way. The inspiration for the toy itself came from an external promotional agency. As specialists in family promotions, they visit toy fairs to spot new trends.

Which nano was your personal favourite?

Magwor, the white one-banded Nano. Although almost his whole face is covered, you can feel his character. A good example of "Reduce to the max", reduced to the minimum and still a very emotional character.

Did you like the promotion back then? Would you personally have approached the task differently from today's perspective?

I thought the promotion was very cool and above all independent - even today many people know Nanomania. Everything was just right: the design, the thematic worlds and the communication. Of course, the capsule exerts a certain fascination because it moves funny and as if by magic.

Nowadays, however, a capsule made of plastic would no longer be in keeping with the times, because the sustainability aspect has been an issue in promotions for quite some time. Not only with regard to the material, but also with regard to the content, the idea of sustainability must be in the foreground. One thing is clear: a promotion should not simply generate waste. Furthermore, the promotion would be translated even more into the digital world, especially with a presence in social media.

Does a collection promotion even make sense nowadays? Nobody thinks it's cool anymore, it's just annoying.

No one is forced to take part in the collecting mania. Collecting is in our DNA. The prospect of a reward through a collecting item or a bargain makes the buyer feel happy.