Efficient Marketing Processes Instead of a Deluge of Emails and Meetings: Why Mondi Chose Marketing Resource Management
Typical Office Applications Are Not Suitable for Complex Marketing Processes
Instead of continuing to target only large trading partners, Mondi now also focuses on attracting B2B end customers. This evolution opened up many new opportunities, but it also made marketing more complex: New languages, countries, target groups, and channels were added to incorporate as many touchpoints as possible along the customer journey in the different target markets.
Marketers often rely on traditional Office applications, which cannot cope with this level of complexity. Instead of planning budgets and campaigns in Excel and coordinating processes via email, the company needed a central platform for planning, budgeting, and collaboration in marketing.
Mondi is an international packaging and paper enterprise. A few years ago, they were confronted with sinking demand for copy paper.
But instead of seeing the digital transformation as a threat, the company embraced the challenge and repositioned its marketing.
Over the last three years, the marketing department has doubled in size – its success due not only to the company’s innovative spirit but also to the right marketing software.
MARMIND: Developed from Marketing for Marketers
Bernhard Cantzler, Head of Marketing & Innovation at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, explains that they found a solution that met their team’s exact needs in Marketing Resource Management software MARMIND.
“I had looked at various different project management solutions, but these tools are just not made for marketers. MARMIND was developed from marketing for marketers, incorporating the three pillars of planning, budgets, and results – exactly what a marketing team needs.”
Bernhard Cantzler, Head of Marketing & Innovation at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
He adds: “Not only was communication very customer-oriented, but I had the sense that MARMIND really understood our problems. It is obvious that the software was developed specifically for dealing with typical issues that arise in marketing departments. It was clearly just right for us.”
First Process Optimization, then Implementation
After implementation had been given the green light, MARMIND’s team first took time to carefully examine Mondi’s marketing processes.
Bernhard Cantzler says:
“We wanted to introduce the software as quickly as possible, but the team at MARMIND made sure that the first step was to analyze and review both our processes and structures. This was quite a challenge, but it brought more clarity to our marketing.”
Bernhard Cantzler, Head of Marketing & Innovation at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
This stage also highlighted inefficiencies that could be worked on and improved.
“It wasn’t the tool itself but the implementation that prompted us to rethink our processes. A tool alone is never the answer – it is all about working smarter. But none of this would have been possible without MARMIND,” says Cantzler.
“The Quickest and Most Unproblematic Software Project I’ve Ever Experienced”
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, explains that implementation still progressed surprisingly quickly.
“This was probably the quickest and most unproblematic software project I’ve ever experienced.”
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
Widmer had hoped that MARMIND could provide an off-the-shelf solution that covered 80 to 90% of the marketing team’s needs. And he got just that. “The product is ideal for our use case,” summarizes Widmer.
He also highlights an additional reason for the project’s success – MARMIND’s marketing knowledge. “Our point of contact ensured we didn’t take any wrong turns and told us exactly what to bear in mind and which aspects our team needed to think through again.”
The Magical Excel File in the Cloud
It was not difficult to show his colleagues how useful MARMIND is or to facilitate user adoption of the new software.
“I always say that MARMIND is the magical Excel file in the cloud in the sky – with the difference that it is easier to operate, can be used by everyone at the same time, and nobody loses sight of the big picture.”
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
There is no longer any need to collect and consolidate data from different colleagues – each team can now keep their data up to date in MARMIND themselves. This means that all information is centrally available and every team member can take a look at the broader context whenever needed.
This wasn’t possible before MARMIND. Markus Widmer explains that coordination became simply too time-consuming – particularly when Corona forced the company to switch to working from home.
“Without a central marketing plan, you spend a lot of time on coordination and keeping each other up to date. We wanted to make better use of this time – but there is only so far you can get without a clever tool like MARMIND.”
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
Greater Transparency in Marketing and Simpler Coordination Processes
A few months have gone by since introducing the Marketing Resource Management platform. So how are things progressing?
Widmer explains that there is now greater transparency and day-to-day tasks are easier. “I create new campaigns in MARMIND and then mention the responsible colleague from Brand Management so she is informed about the start.”
He continues:
“It sounds so simple, but when there are a lot of bitty tasks with responsibilities distributed between different people, coordination without a platform like MARMIND results in a deluge of emails and meetings. MARMIND’s great strength lies in these small moments, which come together to provide the big picture.”
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
Efficient Management of Recurring Tasks
A further advantage is the option to manage recurring tasks efficiently using to-do checklists. Widmer explains:
“We hold a lot of webinars and preparing for them always involves the same steps. Instead of having to think about what needs to be done each time we just use a template. So we always know what needs to be done when to make sure we can hold a webinar on a specific date.
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
A Central Marketing Plan Means a Better Overview and Greater Clarity
Every team member can see whether a planned webinar is going to be held. “When a webinar has been included in the plan and is given an “approved” status, everyone knows that it will be held on the given date,” says Widmer.
That means that colleagues no longer need to ask about the current status of projects – they can check MARMIND and find the information themselves.
Widmer also explains that it is now much easier for teams to present what they are working on over the next few months.
“No exaggeration, I used to take at least three to four meetings and 15 emails for that sort of presentation and would have hunted through 10 different plans for the information. Now I take 20 minutes to filter the relevant information in MARMIND, create two slides, and I’m done.”
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
Media Files Are Saved Centrally and Automatically Versioned
Automatically versioning media files was another aha moment. “We had to give feedback on illustrations for a short video tutorial. It would have taken at least two meetings and a lot of emails to reach a decision without a tool for centrally saving the file, adding changes directly, and automatically versioning our work. Using MARMIND, we only needed a few weeks to finish the video and we had fun creating it.”
More Time for Creativity and New Ideas
In the long term, Markus Widmer thinks that MARMIND will help bring about further process optimization:
“I think we will see more standardization of processes – not in a negative way, the very opposite. When certain processes are kept the same, we have more time and energy for creativity and new ideas – which we can work on together as a team using MARMIND.”
Markus Widmer, Head of the Customer Experience Team at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper
When asked how the software could be further developed in the future, he suggested creating an app with limited functionality. “It wouldn’t make sense to include all features in the app, but there are tasks that can easily be completed on the go such as approval processes.”
