Europäische Schule RheinMain
Bad Vilbel
Finalist for the region South-East
OMNIA – the Marketing Consultant App
THE PROBLEM
The current pandemic has taken its toll on the German economy. While some sectors have not been affected severely, the retail industry has had to adapt to the overall decrease in demand. This sector needs to invest in marketing, particularly online marketing or else risk their decline. Small businesses are in need of help more than ever, and they usually spend on a combination of campaigns, e.g. posters and magazine ads. However, due to market asymmetries, the companies do not know which campaign consumers have responded to. In addition, due to cost pressure, companies have to find an efficient campaign. Since small retail businesses are not able to identify which campaign is yielding them returns and may not wish to spend large sums on marketing experts, they may spend money on the wrong campaign, making their funding allocation very inefficient.
OUR SOLUTION
Omnia is an app which works as a marketing consultant – but free of charge. The user can measure the value of marketing (i.e. expected revenue per € spent) of each of their campaigns using an algorithm which the app suggests, specific to each campaign. With the help of this algorithm, small businesses can use their capital efficiently and increase revenue, even during a time of pandemic. The user can either calculate the ROI of their marketing directly through our app or they can seek help from our trusted marketing consultants that will charge a minimal fee. The app would also suggest marketing strategies optimized to that specific business.
Marketing experts will be consulted in the further development of the app.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
We have constructed an interactive prototype of our app which small businesses can test. They have to fill in a survey to provide information regarding their business and past marking successes/ failures (if any). Based on this, the app generates accurate suggestions for marketing strategies and predicts their success.
TARGET AUDIENCE
This app is mainly designed for small retail businesses as they have to face the most severe repercussions from the economic recession as a result the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMPETITION
This app is different from its competitors as it is not a business launched to make profit. Instead, this is a concept which will be sold to the Industrie- und Handelskammer and made available to their members. The suggestions made by the app will be well researched by experts who are pre-approved by the IHK.
Their YES! topic
How can we measure the value of marketing? What is a brand worth?
by Simone Wies, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE
Too often, large companies wake up to the fact that they make multi-million marketing decision with fewer data and discipline than they apply to thousand-dollar operation decisions in other business areas. The need for increased marketing accountability is strong, yet marketing leaders struggle to measure the value of marketing.
ROI – return on investment – is the holy grail of any business discipline, including marketing. We are in a world of endless marketing channels, innovation, and products, with more being added every day. Influencers on Instagram and Youtube, interactive customer engagement on WhatsApp and Snapchat, and real-time information on Twitter. However, simply using new technologies without a long-term strategy to build strong brands does not create value. What is more important is to understand how efforts across these channels add to the bottom line of the company.
What is marketing’s ROI? Can firms measure their return on marketing? Do firms own marketing assets? Can they measure marketing assets, and if so, how? Has it become easier for firms to do so over time? How should firms report about their most important marketing assets? For instance, Apple Inc.’s brand is worth more than $200 billion; however, it does not show up in the firm’s financial statements. Why does it not show up on the balance sheet, and should it be reported there?
