Henkel is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a novel campaign that brings back founder Fritz Henkel as an AI-generated avatar to tell the story of the company’s 150-year history and highlight the people, innovation, and achievements that have contributed to the company’s success over the past 150 years.
This campaign was built on the insight that audiences connect more strongly with people and purpose than with corporate milestones alone. For regional audiences, local relevance was an important consideration. The campaign combined global storytelling with GCC- and IMEA-specific content to showcase Henkel’s presence, growth and contributions across the region.
The campaign will be launched in conjunction with Henkel’s 150th anniversary celebrations in 2026 and will be rolled out throughout the anniversary year (2026). Several regional initiatives are being phased in, including the IMEA Heritage Timeline and the Henkel Legacy Podcast starting in September 2026. The campaign will conclude with a gathering of all employees and partners at the end of the year.
The campaign also included a dedicated GCC history timeline on Henkel’s site and an employee-led “Henkel Pioneer” series reflecting Henkel’s presence in the Gulf since the early ’90s.
The campaign was led globally and regionally by Henkel’s Corporate Communications team, working with communication agency partners and creative production stakeholders to support content development, media engagement, digital storytelling and localization efforts.
The campaign was executed through a multichannel communications approach that combined global assets with localized regional activations, including:
- Social media storytelling across LinkedIn and other corporate platforms.
- A campaign that puts the spotlight on our employees (“Henkel Pioneers”). We feature employees across job functions, nationalities, and tenures.
- Corporate communications and internal engagement efforts.
- Media relations activities including interviews, features, and executive thought leadership.
- Digital storytelling assets that highlight Henkel’s heritage and innovation journey.
- Regional heritage timeline content developed specifically for GCC and IMEA audiences.
- A dedicated GCC website timeline highlighting key milestones and achievements.
- AI-powered storytelling content, including heritage-focused social media videos. and
- In the upcoming Henkel Legacy Podcast, leaders will share their thoughts on Henkel’s history and vision for the future.
The campaign targeted a wide range of stakeholders including customers and business partners, industry stakeholders, media and influencers, government and institutional stakeholders, local communities in the GCC and IMEA markets, prospective employees and young talent, employees and alumni. The content strategy was adjusted to ensure relevance for both internal and external audiences.
Henkel campaign success is measured by a combination of communication, engagement and reputation metrics, including:
- Media coverage across regional and international publications.
- Total audience reach and impressions.
- Social media engagement and content performance.
- Employee participation and advocacy.
- Website traffic to anniversary-related content.
- Share of voice and brand awareness.
- Stakeholder engagement across key audiences.
- Qualitative feelings about Henkel’s heritage, innovation and future vision.
