MRM Focus Papers: Knowledge to go

The BrandMaker focus papers address different sub-disciplines of Marketing Resource Management (MRM). Whether software for marketing planning, brand management portals or Web-to-Print. They impart the entire bandwidth of knowledge – informatively and right to the point. The introductions of concrete fields of application show the practical relevance and define what really matters. Available free of charge and for immediate download. 

• Focus Paper Media Asset Management Part II (PDF | 501 KB )

  Media Asset Management or how to use digital resources efficiently

  In today’s information age, multimedia content plays an important role in marketing communication, since media and marketing materials are increasingly produced and prepared using digital means. Being able to administer and reuse them intelligently is a critical factor for success. A Media Asset Management system (MAM) is an effective and efficient tool that ensures media remains available, provides an over- view of content and guarantees that media can be used in a wide range of formats. This focus paper will show how this can be allowed by the central filing of all media and how the application of a MAM system maximizes economic benefit and contri- butes to sustainable optimization of marketing processes.

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• Focus Paper Efficient Creativity in Marketing (PDF | 255 KB )

  Next generation marketing – 100% efficient creativity

  Creativity is the source of all innovation. Managers demand it from their employees, trend researchers see it as the key component of tomorrow’s world of work, and even politics has embraced creativity. For this reason, the European Union declared 2009 to be the Year of Creativity and Innovation: and nowhere does creativity play such a strong role as in marketing, since creativity is the driving force of advertising. However, the most creative of ideas is of little use if it is let down by inefficient implementation. Inefficiency thwarts creativity. This focus paper will show how inefficiency can be prevented by next-generation marketing and examine the role of the ‘100% efficient creativity’ concept.

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• Focus Paper Job and Review Management (PDF | 424 KB )

  Get control over the creative supply chain and benefit from more efficient and effective creative processes

  Supply chain management postulates that in the future it will no longer be enterprises, but rather supply chains, which compete with one another. Because: The fewer interface problems and breaches an enterprise encounters in its processes, the more efficiently and effectively can it serve its customers. In times of comparable products, extremely competitive markets and global competition, this is a key element necessary to survive in the market. But what is the status of the supply chains in marketing and communications — the creative supply chains? Are they both efficient and effective – i.e. competitive – or are they more like a ball and chain for market communications, in matters of quality, cost, and speed? This focus paper is dedicated to the challenges within the creative supply chain, and demonstrates timely solutions, with the aid of modern IT, which make marketing forceful and agile in regard to processes.

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• Focus Paper Virtual Media Agency (PDF | 784 KB )

  Central control, local communication: Media placement in trade and franchise marketing per mouse click

  The following focus paper discusses the processes in the media planning, media creation and its distribution in trade and franchise marketing. It focuses how special software will enable sales partners to perform their media booking processes faster, more transparent and quality-assured in the future and how the distribution partner and headquarters equally benefit from a successful software employment. Also the question when such a “virtual media agency” is profitable is a topic of this focus paper.

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• Focus Paper Marketing Process Optimization (PDF | 409 KB )

  Marketing Process Optimization: Increasing efficiency per click

  While process optimization and (semi-)automation has been established as standards in other business functions, marketing has for a long time proclaimed creative chaos for itself and has experienced difficulties in standardizing workflows and automating processes. It had a hard time recognizing that process optimization does not impose obstacles to creativity but in the opposite, at times of increasing market pressure and requirements, represents an effective means to create more room for marketing’s essential tasks. This focus paper is aimed at introducing the topic “Marketing Process Optimization”, pointing out where it can be utilized, how it optimizes productivity and its consequences for the marketing department.

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• Focus Paper Web-to-Print Part II (PDF | 153 KB )

  A closer look at Web-to-Print: When is it worth?

  The focus paper "A closer look at Web-to-Print: What companies need to be aware of" provides an initial checklist of items companies should take into consideration when using Web-to-Print, or even better, before using Web-to-Print. This paper looks at when Web-to-Print systems become worthwhile. Using a fictitious company, the Master Holding, this paper gives you a potential ROI analysis for Web-to-Print.

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• Focus Paper Web-to-Print (PDF | 604 KB )

  A closer look at Web-to-Print: What companies need to be aware of

  Web-to-Print - software for individualization of print media - is becoming increasingly popular in the marketing departments of companies. They save on media production costs, speed up their processes and increase the quality of produced media. How exactly companies benefit from Web-to-Print and which criteria need to be considered when deciding in favor of a Web-to-Print system, are the topics of this focus paper.

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• Focus Paper Brand Management Portals (PDF | 457 KB )

  Clear focus on the brand

  Corporate Brand Management Portals provide all functions and tools for successful brand management and are an integral part of an active and successful branding strategy. Brand Management Portals are no profiling tools for marketing departments being smiled at by the rest of the company, they add value across the whole organization: by providing a complete range of brand- and marketing-related information as well as tools and reports at one central place in the company. A Brand Management Portal can thus represent the gate to more transparency and process efficiency as well as better quality of campaign implementation in marketing – on the condition that it is properly positioned within the company from an organizational point of view as well as with respect to its content and processes. This paper analyses the dimensions of an integrated Brand Management Portal and gives information about its ideal content and scope as well as about its implementation.

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• Focus Paper Marketing Process Controlling (PDF | 305 KB )

  From creative chaos to more efficiency and effectiveness with Marketing Process Controlling

  Marketing has always been the realm of creativity, dominated more by chaos than structured processes to come to results. At the same time, those responsible for marketing try to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their departments by clearly defined and optimized processes. Develop good ideas according to a formula? Difficult, but: creativity and increased productivity by workflow management need not cancel each other out. This focus paper provides marketing executives precise information how to attain productivity advantages through process optimization. Under the title “Marketing Process Controlling – From creative chaos to more efficiency and effectiveness” the paper clears all conventional stereotypes about chaotic and unorganized marketing departments and demonstrates what a great contribution to companies’ communications sectors really make.

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• Focus Paper Media Asset Management (PDF | 395 KB )

  Tool-supported marketing production processes for more efficiency by Media Asset Management

  The production of marketing materials is mainly fueled by creativity and inspiration - the process of getting there is largely made up of coordination data transfer, reviews and adaptation of layouts. Whereas personal communication is the source of creation and innovative ideas for marketing materials, the production process tends to be hard work. Once a decision has been made on what needs to be done, this needs then to be executed quickly, cost-effectively and correctly. This focus paper describes how a Media Asset Management system, beyond the management of media objects, offers effective support in the handling with production processes in marketing.

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• Focus Paper Marketing Planning (PDF | 711 KB )

  Marketing planning software: What can it really achieve?

  A study with 226 marketeers, conducted in the Spring of 2007 by IT company BrandMaker (under the former corporate name pi-consult), Karlsruhe, and the University of Pforzheim, showed that approximately one third of those responsible for marketing saw the need for software in their departments, with which they could manage marketing planning centrally. In contrast, only 14% wanted a solution for their direct marketing activities - whereby it should be remembered that only those were interviewed who stated they were not using software in this area. And of those who stated a need for a marketing planning solution, very few were aware of what such software can indeed provide and what the limitations are. In this focus paper you’ll come to know the performance of the software for marketing planning.

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