Respekt, wer Verantwortung übernimmt

06.11.2026

“Respekt, wer’s selber macht” is no longer praise at toom for a self-built garden shed, but a call to take responsibility. For the 37th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November, the DIY chain uses its film “Berlin, 1964: Der Tunnel” to tell the story of Achim Neumann. Together with friends, he dug tunnels under the Berlin Wall and helped 89 people escape. In the subtitle, toom calls him a Selbermacher, a do-it-yourselfer. With this one word, the claim grows beyond the DIY store.

Marketing expert and keynote speaker Thomas Daamen, who speaks about decisions and responsibility at annual kick-offs and leadership conferences in his keynote “Entscheiden heißt Verzichten UND Gewinnen”, sees this as a bold step in brand management. Where other DIY stores celebrate pride in one’s own home, toom carries its customers’ attitude over to society: not waiting for someone else to do it, but rolling up your sleeves. “Those who do it themselves take the initiative, assume responsibility and follow their own moral compass,” says Daamen. The brand thus stands for something bigger than its business and bigger than the moment at the checkout. The film shows no offer and no price. At the end, Neumann stands with his spade in today’s Berlin, traffic flowing past him, and simply looks into the camera.

This course is not entirely new. Back in 2025, toom put the activist Irmela Mensah-Schramm in the spotlight. She removes Nazi propaganda with tools from the DIY store. With the second film, a single case becomes a course. For Daamen, this is the stuff a Love Brand is made of: a stance that people can rub up against and identify with at the same time. Achim Neumann still tells his story today at readings and in talks as a contemporary witness, so that no one forgets that freedom and democracy cannot be taken for granted.

“A spade is a tool. What you do with it is a stance,” says Daamen.

Image credit: toom Baumarkt
This article also appeared on openPR .

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About Thomas Daamen

Thomas Daamen is a marketing expert and keynote speaker from Munich. For more than 20 years he has led and sold brands in the consumer goods industry, from 2017 to 2021 as Marketing Director of Campari Germany, responsible for Aperol, among other brands. His topic is Love Brand Building: how a brand becomes one that people don’t just buy, but love. He speaks about this at annual kickoffs, sales conferences and leadership events – and about what motivates teams for a brand.

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