SPRING
Danish Marketing Production Agency enters Germany successfully
“BDG has supported our entrance into the German market and we have been very satisfied with their services. A close cooperation especially with Thim and his colleague Ute made several door-openings and sales possible and we look forward to continuing the relationship to them.”
Lars Bo Hansen, CEO at SPRING Production / Partner at SPRING Group
SPRING Production has offices in Aarhus, Odense and Copenhagen in Denmark as well as offices in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Manchester in the UK and Hamburg in Germany. Today, the company has 230+ employees and is a true crossborders and -cultures oriented digital marketing production provider on the fast track to further success. With an impressive list of clients such as LEGO, Arla, Maersk, Aldi and Velux, SPRING was recently given the prestigious Børsen Gazelle 2020 award to honor the positive growth path of the company.
BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
SPRING originally started as a classic Danish marketing agencyback in 1995. Over time, a solid portfolio of retail clients was built up and the company became front runners in applying new technologies to add values in the digital repro/prepress process. In 2009 a new office was opened in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to cater to the increasing demand and competitive market.
Through this special structure, SPRING had the ability to offer wide ranging marketing production services and wished to explore its chances in the German market, hence turning to BDG to facility and conduct a market entry process.
APPROACH TO THE TASK
BDG was requested from SPRING back in 2016 and drafted a first concept after understanding all the required objectives. In 2017 the first project phase was initiated following an agile approach and collecting as much information as possible. Throughout the year, several preparatory investigations, German marketing communication etc. together with a first virtual office solution was
prepared. By the end of 2017 not only the formal set-up was ready, but also first sales attempts had led to show some interest in the German market.
From the beginning of 2018 an ambitioned sales goal was defined and BDG assigned a dedicated senior with professional lead generation in the desired target groups. In addition to this, a fortnightly sales reporting was set up and a continuous preparation and investigation of client-potentials was made.
Today the set-up in Germany is complete with an own legal entity (GmbH) and an office in Hamburg to support the German operations. BDG is supporting SPRING Production till the day.
GOALS & OBJECTIVE
The first phase of the project aimed to verify that SPRING had a case to make in the German market. Therewith, firstly an investigative preparation and analysis of prospects and costs was required. Following this assessment, a thorough review of client-behavior, potential, competitors and similar needed to be completed before approaching German decision makers for a direct pitch and validation of interest.
The second phase of the project was to set-up a German virtual entity and to generate first sales results whilst shaping a German profile and collecting information on how to optimize the presence.
The third phase of the project was to roll-out sales services and to define a lead generation process of sizable magnitude. Finally, the goal of the overall project was to prove and implement SPRING in the German market as a reliable and credible marketing production partner for big German companies.
OUR SERVICES
Supporting a market entry process of this scale into the German market requires numerous services that vary over time, especially if a results-driven, agile approach is chosen. The following is only an excerpt of services that were provided throughout a project now in its 5th year:
- Initial workshop at client sight with strategic decision-making and roadmap planning
- Thorough market research of client potentials, relevant trends and target groups
- Marketing setup including text editing, translation and adaption for the German market
- Office support and hiring initial staff including payroll services and some degree of compliance services
- Research of client potentials and vast compilation of sales prospects
- Sales and lead generation with dedicated senior communication person
- Ongoing support and reporting on the development of a complex and high-end oriented client-database
- Arranging of 100+ meetings with C-level or executive decisionmakers in larger to enterprise level companies in Germany
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
Today, SPRING is well established in Germany with a beautiful office in central Hamburg and is servicing large German SMEs and enterprises throughout the country. Therewith the market entry process has become a success and the future presence on the German market is guaranteed.
