The home improvement market in the German-speaking world is crowded and full of fierce competition. The regular winner of the raging marketing battles is Hornbach. While its competition focuses largely on efficiency and prices, Hornbach relies on the appeal of a brand with a distinctive profile and quirky commercials. Its success proves Hornbach right. For years, the No. 3 in the German DIY market has regularly won awards, not only for creativity but also for the effectiveness of their campaigns. In 2018, Marketing Manager Karsten Kühn was voted CMO of the Year. What are the principles behind the often whacky charm of the Hornbach brand? Let’s drill down a bit.

Credit: 360b / Shutterstock.com

(more…)

Founded in 1943, IKEA has been the largest furniture retailer in the world since 2008. For years, the Swedish company has also been ranking among the most valuable brands. After all, IKEA stands not only for do-it-yourself furniture, but for a modern, yet homey lifestyle; the furniture stores have become a destination for the whole family including comfort food and a kids’ play area. In 2018, the first IKEA store opened in the traditionally DIY-averse Indian market. The company has now expanded its presence to 433 offices in 52 countries. What are the foundations of its growing success? And what can up-and-coming companies learn from IKEA?

(more…)

Construction workers, cowboys and knights. When the German company Brandstätter launched its first Playmobil figures in 1974, the success was just as modest as the available range of figures and themes. About 3 billion produced toys later, the company, now owned by the geobra Brandstätter Foundation, supplies 100 million figures and their 40 theme worlds to 100 different countries every year. With ingenuity and a great deal of nostalgia, Playmobil has defied the crisis that has been rattling the traditional toy industry for years. What opportunities has the company seized? And what challenges are still to come?

(more…)

Digital transformation confronts enterprises and their marketing divisions with almost overwhelmingly complex tasks, with ever more diverse target groups requiring ever more concerted and concentrated collaboration across the company as well as with external partner companies. Marketing resource management systems, which we already took a general look at in our article on MRM systems, are here to help square the circle. In this article, we will give you an idea of how MARMIND® not only helps organize your marketing in a centralized way, but also of how to transparently manage it in everyday life, and the advantages you can benefit from.

(more…)

Since its introduction in 1964, the Birkenstock sandal with its cork footbed and leather straps was considered sensible, but ultimately unfashionable footwear only donned by square family fathers, hospital personnel and anti-consumption hippies. When, in 2012, the tide turned, a hype erupted around the chunky shoe with its comfortable footbed. Since then, Birkenstock is found in all walks of life, in trendy city districts as well as on international catwalks. The latest highlight in the 245-year company history – but what are the foundations of Birkenstock’s recent success?

(more…)

As a platform for digital asset management and content management, CELUM enables the centralized creation, management, distribution and monetization of content. The CELUM Marketplace also allows customers to add specific functions to their system to integrate seamlessly with third-party solutions. With MARMIND® Connect, a connector for MARMIND® is now available in the Marketplace for the first time. Upgrade your Digital Asset and Content Management with comprehensive Enterprise Marketing Management (EMM) that seamlessly integrates CELUM media assets into a central marketing plan. And that’s just for starters …

CELUM Partners Day, Cologne 2019

(more…)

An interview with German Marketing Association President and co-author of the Marketing Tech Monitor study 2019

While the concept of digital transformation is now familiar to decision-makers, most companies are still hesitant or desperate when it comes to facing the challenge. A sobering conclusion drawn by Ralf Strauss, co-author of the Marketing Tech Monitor study 2019. In our interview, however, he also reveals which paths lead through the labyrinth of applications, agencies, data silos and walled garden solutions – step by step.

Dr. Ralf E. Strauß, President of the German Marketing Association (DMV), Managing Partner Customer Excellence GmbH, Managing Partner MarketingTechLab GmbH

(more…)

Rotkäppchen (the German name of the fairy tale heroine Red Riding Hood) sparkling wine is the ultimate success story of an East German brand that has managed to emerge strengthened after the many ups and downs of 125 years of corporate history. After a low point in 1990, when the fall of the Berlin Wall also brought the traditional GDR brand to the brink of collapse almost overnight, Rotkäppchen bubbled up again within a few years to become the most popular East German champagne brand. Today, they are the leading company in the whole of Germany. How did the Freyburg company do it?

© Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien GmbH 2019

(more…)

Guerrilla marketing, sports sponsorship, content marketing. For over 30 years, Red Bull has been setting numerous milestones in marketing and branding and has become a blueprint for start-ups eager for marketing success. Why add another to the many articles that are already in circulation about Austria’s most famous brand? Rather than reproducing the usual details of the marketing genius that has made Red Bull one of the world’s most recognizable brands, we wanted to take a look at universal principles that give wings not only to the energy drink maker but also to any startup that wants to rise to the top.

(more…)

Ten years after its foundation, Californian start-up Beyond Meat drew a lot of attention in May by staging the most successful IPO in 2019. After the first quarterly figures exceeded the expectations of the analysts, despite losses, the manufacturer of vegan meat products’ shares shot up to three to four times their initial value. While the company has yet to prove that it can survive this unprecedented hype, Beyond Meat is the pioneer of a whole industry and disruptive in the best sense. What makes Beyond Meat so successful? And what principles does the company share with other successful start-ups?
(more…)