Rodenstock uses Uptempo to steer marketing in 85 countries
The Rodenstock Group is a global innovation leader in the field of eye health and Germany’s leading manufacturer of spectacle lenses and frames. Founded in 1877 and with headquarters in Munich, the company employs approximately 4,900 people worldwide and is represented by sales offices and distribution partners in more than 85 countries. Rodenstock maintains production facilities at 14 locations in 13 countries.
“Our goal was to simplify our marketing processes and to create, implement, and distribute marketing assets quickly and easily worldwide. We wanted to achieve greater transparency in the marketing activities of our subsidiaries and campaigns internationally, and to manage them more efficiently and cost-effectively. Our high expectations of the Uptempo system in terms of transparency, speed, and efficiency were met 100%.”
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After a selection process among various providers, Rodenstock decided in 2017 to work with Uptempo to increase transparency, speed, and efficiency in marketing. Today, the Rodenstock Marketing Portal, based on Uptempo technology, ensures efficient collaboration with the company’s international subsidiaries. Because of Uptempo’s comprehensive marketing operations management solution and broad expertise with global marketers, Rodenstock had adopted Digital Asset Management, the Brand Management, Marketing & Campaign Planning and Finance & Budget Management to collectively control all marketing budgets and campaigns.
Global Marketing at Rodenstock develops campaigns, provides brand guidelines and marketing materials that can be adapted by their international subsidiaries and distributors. Uptempo Marketing & Campaign Planning is used in conjuction with the Global Marketing Plan to maintain and control the corresponding measures, campaigns, and schedules for the individual markets. The decentralized marketing units have the ability to check their action plan in the system and adapt it to their specific market requirements. There is also a section for local measures, in which stores can plan additional local initiatives.
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The selected campaigns are provided with an annual budget by the countries. InGlobal Marketing, the plans of the subsidiaries are aggregated and discussed with the respective country. Based on the results, the plans are revised in Uptempo and the result is agreed upon with management. An Excel-based SAP interface is used to generate a monthly statement of actual expenditures and to compare the distribution of the budget with the planning. The Uptempo Finance & Budget Management enables a high level of transparency at the granular level of detail of the individual projects. Whether it is a global varifocal lens campaign, a sunglasses promotion or the promotion of basic products, all expenditures can be viewed at any time with just a few clicks and can be continuously adjusted. Budget responsibility for implementing the individual campaigns lies locally with the subsidiaries.
Both the regional teams and the distribution partners in a total of 85 countries work with the Uptempo Digital Asset Management in a convenient one-stop store where users can access approximately 12,000 marketing assets. Global Marketing develops marketing materials on relevant topics – including campaign material, brochures, press releases, and direct mailings – and makes them available in the Uptempo Digital Asset Management. The assets are stored both as PDF and as open files in English and/or German. The marketing staff of the subsidiaries can download them and work in the open files, i.e., translate them and adapt them to their local needs. In this way, Rodenstock ensures a uniform global brand presence with one-voice messaging while ensuring that campaigns can be adapted quickly and cost effectively. The companies do not need to hire their own agency, but can instead draw on the campaigns developed in Global Marketing. In 2020, the Global Marketing Team offered the country organizations and distributors 10 main topics/campaigns in the eyeglass and eyewear sector via the Uptempo Digital Asset Management. This resulted in an average of 4,000 downloads per month worldwide.
During the implementation, Rodenstock was supported and coached by the Uptempo Consulting Team. Together, topics were discussed and solutions were found. There were also some “workarounds” for functions that are not available in the Uptempo standard and were adapted especially for Rodenstock. The implementation time for the first phase was about six months, while the Marketing Shop within the Uptempo Brand Management, with IT interfaces and server, was launched about six months later. Rodenstock is extremely satisfied with the jointly-created solution and its scope, and would like to expand individual functions even further. Conclusion: Good launch, good result!
Rodenstock’s Marketing Shop is used actively by the regional units. Employees use it to order marketing material such as displays or give-aways for trade fairs and events. As a one-stop store, all materials and information, including availability, are accessible for the first time through a central location. Marketing is also able to make volume inquiries and estimates for the subsidiaries’ orders at an early stage. Instead of the cumbersome use of Excel spreadsheets as in the past, planning is now automated via the Store, enabling Rodenstock to plan with much greater precision.Furthermore, the Marketing Shop at Rodenstock fulfills the function of a comprehensive product catalog. Thanks to the clarity of the store, the simple search function and the attractive preparation of the contents with images, employees can quickly and easily access the required product information. “At the beginning of 2021, the Store will also be available to distributors. For this purpose, Uptempo has developed a technical solution for differentiated content management – and we can make the Store function available to partners in 85 countries. Not only our business partners – but also our colleagues in customer service are pleased with the more efficient process.”