MaCS was founded in 1994 as a full-service communications agency with a focus on Germany and Europe. We act as a business-to-business marketing communications partner for IT companies. With 35 permanent employees in Germany, all core communication requirements can be catered for by our own internal resources. Our operations are supported by an efficient IT system that includes a dedicated 4 MB/sec Internet connection and online reporting tools (Extranet) for our customers.
Additional employees at our San Francisco and London offices support customers there with local expertise. MaCS is independently owned and manages a flexible network of communications service providers and freelancers to help us fulfill any customer requirement e.g., foreign language adaptations, localizations, overseas activities, etc. We also have active contacts with partners and other agencies in all major European countries.
The close relationship between marketing and sales provides a clear focus on direct marketing and “Lead Generation” programs. The measures conceived by MaCS don‘t just target end-users, but are also aimed at direct and indirect sales forces, the channel, distributors and independent partners.
MaCS is also an active member of the following organizations: BITKOM (the German Federal Association for the Information Economy, Telecoms and New Media), the California Association of Germany (CAOG), the German Direct Marketing Federation (DDV), the California German American Business Association (GABA-CA), the [micro]electronic cluster, NorCal BMA (Business Marketing Association) and the European Technology Forum (ETF).
One of the most important principles at MaCS is “Value-Adding”: We want to make important contributions to the marketing value chain that actually create profits for our customers. That‘s why MaCS offers more than “just” the implementation of communications measures.
IT companies benefit from our comprehensive expertise in every aspect of marketing communication, as well as our detailed knowledge of the IT market: Key players, sales and decision-making processes, market trends, industry requirements, relationships, architectures, operating systems, standard software, … right up to the communication strategies of the largest providers.
Our 100% customer focus is also obvious in the open and partner-style relationships we have with our customers – an atmosphere MaCS also maintains internally. If the customer is looking for maximum support, MaCS is also prepared to take responsibility and be measured against agreed-upon goals.
MaCS aims to be creative – with every project and in every possible way. That can mean an appropriate headline, a visually striking design, or an ingenious use of the marcom-mix, that leads to a new project or retains a customer. The overriding objective is always the same: The campaign must work and be realizable at a reasonable cost. In addition, MaCS supplies the expertise and develops innovative and effective measures.
MaCS values profitability and efficiency as they enable the growth of the agency and the development of our resources. Our profitability is guaranteed by our efficiency, great partnerships, innovative production procedures and intelligent purchasing – resulting in cost savings that we pass on to our customers.
MaCS addresses the following areas through its own resources:
Customer consultation, marcom conception
Project completion and control (project management)
Campaign conception
Graphic design
Ad text (German and mother-tongue English)
Editorials (for Newsletters and PR, German and mother-tongue English)
Internet concepts, web design, ASP/PHP programming
PR in German-language zone (elsewhere in Europe via partners)
Production control, purchasing
Our goal is to fulfill critical functions for the customer via our own resources to achieve the customer’s goals as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.
These include:
Inquiry generation
Sales support/sales promotion
Preference promotion
Product awareness
Customer relationship strengthening, up-selling
MaCS maintains six in-house units:
The Account Team is responsible for customer support. There are eight team members in Munich, and one each in London and in the USA looking after the needs of local customers.
The “Web” Unit consists of a project manager, a programmer and two HTML/PHP web designers. This team is managed directly by the Account Team.
In the Concept and Text area, there are three copywriters/concept developers (one of whom is a native English speaker).
The Graphic Design/DTP Unit has five media designers and qualified graphic designers respectively.
The Production & Admin Unit contains four employees responsible for purchasing and project costs. Project-related cost calculations and the administration of the entire organization are also handled here (Reception, Office Admin, IT).
Editorial text for PR and newsletters are developed (bilingually) in the Editorial & PR Unit. PR customers and customer-relevant editorial projects are also handled here by a total of four employees.
The “Seventh Unit” is the MaCS Management team. They are usually only visible to customers when very specific problems or strategic issues need to be discussed. It’s essentially a virtual team made up of four people – who are also all involved with various customer projects via the other Units.
Employee turnover at MaCS is extremely low with very few changes in the last few years. This has been achieved via an employee-oriented management approach, that has led to the development of a unique company culture.
From the above specified services, our day-to-day business involves executing the following types of projects for our customers – all focused on promoting sales within a b2b environment:
Direct Marketing activities (online/offline) for product promotions, product launches, exhibitions, etc.
Generation /adaptation/localization of corporate literature (brochures, flyers, datasheets, sales guides, whitepapers, success stories – and online material).
Newsletters and customer magazines for continual communication with the installed base, prospects and sales teams (direct and channel). Distribution takes place both online and in hardcopy forms.
Exhibition support (planning, design, content, on-/offline pre-marketing, printed material, lead generation activities during the event, sponsorship, public relations).
Customer meetings with all appropriate communications measures such as invitations (online/offline), landing-/registration pages, development of registration logistics, event planning and implementation. We are also frequently involved in defining content for events and presentations.
PR: Press releases, exclusive articles, success stories, press events, features, statements, etc.
The biggest benefit we provide customers is, without doubt, time saving during project realization. In our experience, this is essential. This is because sales support communication projects have extremely short lead times in today’s dynamic IT market.
These extreme dynamics place heavy demands on the marketing departments and agencies involved – and there is often no time for a detailed briefing or successive layout phases. It must be done right first time!
A MaCS consultant with current IT and market knowledge is assigned to assist you with your projects. Through this, MaCS comes to grips with customer needs immediately, and quickly creates proposals that fulfill all the briefing requirements.
Depending on customer requirements, MaCS can assume responsibility for every aspect of a project, really helping to “balance the (work)load” for customers, and enabling them to devote resources to other tasks.
Whatever the task: MaCS can – if required – become the single marketing partner for all the customer‘s communication requirements. This means the customer doesn’t have to brief several different external suppliers for each project, which helps minimize project management costs. MaCS thinks, reacts and does whatever it takes to get the best possible results for the customer.
MaCS believes the responsible handing of your budget is as important as the strategic planning and creative implementation of your marketing communications. Clear cost models, detailed cost estimates for each project and timeframe and budget control – all these elements secure the highest levels of cost transparency and efficiency for you. Each project stage is transparent because MaCS works with modern process control and development technologies.
An important “Plus” for you: We work both on a retainer and project basis. Our goal is to convince you to work with us again, not to tie you in to a long term agency contract. This gives you flexibility. MaCS compiles an individual pricelist for each customer that is oriented precisely to that customer’s needs. The price list covers the cost of communications/advertising materials such as brochures, adverts, direct mailings, online content, etc. The benefit: The cost of collateral can be estimated during the planning phase and there won’t be unpleasant surprises later.
Autodesk – the world's leading software and services company for the manufacturing, building, infrastructure, wireless data services and media and entertainment fields
Barracuda Networks is the leading provider of enterprise-class spam firewall solutions for comprehensive email protection with over 30,000 customers around the world.
BITKOM (German Federal Association for Information Economy, Telecoms and New Media) –the voice of the IT, Telecoms and New Media industries. Nearly all global players and big service providers, as well as 500 high-performance medium-sized companies, are members.
Franklin Electronic Publishers – global leader in the handheld information area with over 8,000 titles in 16 languages under license from leading publishing houses.
Good Technology offers mobile push email and data security software and services for enterprises.
Hewlett-Packard GmbH – technology solutions for private customers, large, medium-sized and small companies as well as public organizations.
Kroll Ontrack provides consultancy, services and software for the collection, processing, investigation, production and presentation of electronic and paper-based evidence.
ORACLE Germany – leading worldwide provider of information management software and second-largest independent software company in the world.
Red Hat Inc. – world's leading open source and Linux provider of operating system software along with middleware, applications and management solutions.
Strato Medien AG – is one of the market leaders in European Internet service provision with two million domains and around a million customer contracts.
Utimaco Safeware AG – leading provider of professional IT security solutions. Utimaco Safeware develops security technology and solutions that protect companies valuable electronic data and prevents unauthorized access.
VeriSign Europe – delivers crucial infrastructure services that make the Internet and telecoms networks more intelligent, safer and more reliable.
WACOM Europe – global market leader in Pen Tablets and a pioneer in the development of the pen as a computer input device.
WebEx Communications Inc. – the world's leading provider of collaborative web meeting applications. WebEx applications improve collaboration and increase productivity in sales, support, training, marketing, engineering and product design.
ZoneLabs – a Check Point company, has an outstanding reputation in the Internet security industry. ZoneLabs is known worldwide for its ZoneAlarm personal firewall.
In March 2005, MaCS formed the MWM Europe joint venture with UK agency Wilson Miller for the optimal support of pan-European marketing campaigns for IT and Telecoms companies with a B2B focus. MWM Europe Ltd. is headquartered in Uxbridge near London.
This joint venture strengthens the partnership between MaCS and British agency Wilson Miller – also a specialist in B2B communication for ITC companies. Other agencies in important European markets with which we have existing relationships, will also be linked via MWM Europe. This enables MaCS and Wilson Miller to strengthen their support of pan-European manufacturers and service providers, and drive business development.
In addition, the respective local marketing, market and ITC expertise of each partner can be combined in the development of pan-European B2B marketing campaigns and their local implementation.
Wilson Miller brings 13 years of experience and the skills of over 30 employees to the joint venture. MaCS is backing MWM Europe with 11 years of B2B marketing and IT know-how, plus expertise from its offices in Munich, London and San Francisco. MaCS has a 50% share in MWM Europe Ltd.
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CustomerHewlett-Packard Germany
ObjectivesThe objective was to determine the up-sell potential and generate leads from the installed base (test configuration to generate demand)
Target audienceIT Directors
Solution
Specification from HP: standard direct mailer with a simple letter and fax-response for pre-qualification and feedback
MaCS analyzed the process and came to the conclusion that in this case an integrated “Mail – Web – Call” campaign would meet target group expectations and better facilitate short response times
This also ensures greater efficiency as prospects would complete the registration details via the response process rather than by hand.
MaCS developed a “new” 3 step process:
Mail
Letter with integrated password and teaser flyer
Web
Landing page with greeting and login
Detailed formation / Call to Action
Qualification form
Call
Verification and qualification (personal data / test installation / appointment)
Success
8.7% response rate from 1,000 addresses; 38 concrete projects (over 3 to 12 months with budget >100,000 Euro)
The process in brief
The direct mailer is sent to customers to promote the product benefits and the test campaign (with URL)
Customer enters landing page via pass word log-in
The home page gives further informations and links related to the product and leads the customer to the 2 part questionnaire
Part 1 = pre-loaded personal data questionnaire and customer is ask to verify his data
Part 2 = pre-qualification questionnaire. The questions help HP to pre-qualify the customer and to see whether he should get a test product, or not (threshold = budget, purchasing plans, etc.)
The filled questionnaire is filed in the data base accessible for the Telemarkting agency who does final qualification and date set-up with customer
Telemarketing agent is notified by email as soon as a new entry is in the data base and can start immediately to get in touch with customer
CustomerORACLE Germany
ObjectivesBuild awareness and generate leads for Oracle e-Government solutions in the Public Services area
Target audienceVerified address list from Oracle Telesales with 880 public service decision makers. Targeted individuals were to be found in five different specialist areas (finance / procurement / citizens advice office / personnel / IT) all with different needs in terms of e-Government solutions.
Problem: Target group is extremely heterogeneous and cannot be addressed in detail by a single all-encompassing mailingApproach: “save” could be misinterpreted in terms of reducing personnel, equipment and important resources
Solution: Mail – Fax/Web – Call – Mail
Slogan “Richtig sparen: intelligent sparen – Die Oracle e-Government Umfrage“(“Save right: save intelligently – The Oracle e-Government questionnaire”)
ImplementationIntegrated vertical campaign with a total of five different industry-specific mailings, each with:
Specific letter including integrated password, questionnaire (fax-response) and giveaway (piggy bank)
Landing page / questionnaire as alternative to fax
Follow up via telephone by telemarketing team
Results report at the end of the campaign (print / e-mail)
Results: response rate of 42.7% measurable questionnaires (= Leads)
Customer
Hewlett-Packard
Objectives
Gemerate 300 attendees per stopCreate awareness for 2007Position event as the top event of the year
Target audience
HP Clients and prospects
Solution
Div. Invitation collaterals, web banners, flyer
HP Days Live reportage website for the event
Video interviews on the highlights with HP, partners and participants
Newsletter for event participants after the event they attended + review newsletter as follow up after the roadshow
Special editions of HP Computer NEWS / HP Smart Business News after each event + review newsletter
Newsletter to prospects after each event + review newsletter
Promotion of the video podcasts on German podcast portals
Success
Newsletter mailings achieved incredible average opening rate of 40.43 percent
4th mail shot achieved average opening rate of over 30 percent
In total, the available video files were accessed 4,169 times
Up to end of September 2006, the total volume of streamed data amounted to 75 hours of video or 15 GB
24 pre-registrations for “HP Days” 2007
CustomerNexsan, USA
ObjectivesAs part of Nexsan’s initial launch into Europe, establish the company’s name within the UK and German markets
In the long term, undertake projects and activities to further support Nexsan’s growing presence within Europe
Target audienceTrade press, potential partners and prospects/end users
Solution A PR campaign that incrementally increased the profile of Nexsan within the UK and German markets in the six months preceding CeBIT culminating in a ‘big bang’ presentation
MaCS servicesMaCS structured the tempo of press releases so that they reached a crescendo in the period leading up to CeBIT - in all, MaCS delivered information about Nexsan to more than 60 different media outlets and conducted intensive discussions on Nexsan’s behalf
In addition, MaCS organized a press tour that introduced Diamond Lauffin, the senior executive vice president of Nexsan, to the press
MaCS helped Nexsan select booth space at CeBIT, install the stand and advised as to which activities would generate traffic at the booth - within the shortest possible time and under tight deadlines, MaCS created a successful presence for Nexsan at CeBIT, Hall 1
MaCS created a partly localized version of the Nexsan website including continually updated local information such as press releases, clippings, events, and marketing programs - MaCS also translated and adapted an existing Nexsan brochure
Results
Nexsan significantly increased awareness within the target market through comprehensive and ongoing press coverage
As a result of CeBIT, Nexsan has contracted with eight additional and industry leading resellers in Germany and now has a solid reseller network
More than 200 qualified sales leads established at CeBIT, helping to result in burgeoning European sales for Nexsan
Known as an international company, Nexsan is now also accepted as a local player within the UK and German markets
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Customer
Red Hat Europe
Objectives
Build awareness for Red Hat as world wide leading supplier of Open Source- und Linux products for enterprises
Product introduction campaign for RHEL 4 – the latest version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Lead generation
Target audience
IT Managers, IT Directors, IT Administrators
Solution
E-marketing campaign with
Stand-alone-emails
Text ads in Linux relevant newsletters
Search engine marketing
RHEL 4 landing page as fulfillment
Information to RHEL 4
Capture new leads
Download of RHEL 4 test version
Results
30.886 contatcs
CLR for email and text ad: 2,13%
737 landing page visitors
Background information:
Microsoft IT administrators and sys admins from KMUs in EMEA need to be convinced about the simplicity and advantages of Red Hat (RH) Linux solutions and services. To this end, the target group should be driven to a local landing page containing a range of information and contact details (case studies, references, guided tours, partner locator, contact sales, etc.) via banner ads and standalone e-mails.
Goals:
Leads and/or page visits to the landing page as well as downloads of the collaterals provided on the site (case studies, guided tours, etc.)
General awareness building for RH Linux solutions and services
Positioning of RH Linux as the easy, efficient and best value alternative to Microsoft environments
Target groups:
IT administrators, system admins, IT managers (mainly Microsoft users) across all industries from KMUs in EMEA
Target countries:
DE, FR, SE
Message:
“Don’t worry, Linux is easy!”
Campaign timeline:
End of January 2006 – end of April 2006
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Customer
Red Hat Europe
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Customer
Red Hat Europe
Objectives
Increase sales of RHEL 4
Target audience
Red Hat Channel partners in Europe (DE, ES, FR, IT, UK, RUS)
Offer
Buy RHEL4 and get a free management module with every RHEL4 subscription + Special satellite server promotion (50% discount on a satellite server)
Solution
Creation of a set of different marketing materials which all are customizable in an easy way for the partners.In detail it was a landing page, an online ROI calculator, a PDF flyer and two different animated banners which have been offered on a dedicated download page to the partners
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Customer
Red Hat Europe
Objectives
Inform ISVs about benefits of Red Hat partner program
Target audience
ISVs
Customer
Red Hat Europe
Objectives
Increase sales of RHEL 4
Target audience
Red Hat Channel partners in Europe (DE, ES, FR, IT, UK, RUS)
Offer
Buy RHEL4 and get a free management module with every RHEL4 subscription + Special satellite server promotion (50% discount on a satellite server)
Solution
Creation of a set of different marketing materials which all are customizable in an easy way for the partners.In detail it was a landing page, an online ROI calculator, a PDF flyer and two different animated banners which have been offered on a dedicated download page to the partners
Customer
STRATO AG
Objectives
Generate leads for B2B offers
Promotion of new B2B offers
Support Telesales Team
Target audience
Prospects of SMB and big enterprises
Solution
Promotion Email
Web banners
Landing page
Customer
Zonelabs, USA (now Checkpoint)
Objectives
Launch new ZoneAlarm 4.5 within the German market with widest possible dissemination and highest possible conversion to purchasable, professional version
Target audience
Skilled SoHo PC users and PC professionals
Solution
Launch campaign that integrated PR and marketing communications elements into a comprehensive and effective strategy
MaCS services
MaCS created a multifaceted strategy ranging from public relations to specially-negotiated print and online advertising.
MaCS arranged for ZoneAlarm 4.5 to be made available for download on the most popular download websites, so the product would receive the maximum number of hits and downloads.
In addition, MaCS:
• Created PR opportunities
• Developed an extensive Online Media Plan
• Identified special advertising packages to the benefit of Zone Labs
• Developed creative banners, newsletter insertions, buttons, etc.
• Created local German-language landing pages for ZoneAlarm and ZoneAlarm Pro
Results
Within the first month of the German launch, Zone Labs realized revenue from converted freeware users.
ZoneAlarm 4.5 freeware was downloaded more than 300,000 times in Germany in the three months following the launch.
The new ZoneAlarm 4.5 Pro version was extremely well accepted in the market.
Zone Labs achieved a significantly higher awareness within the German market
CustomerVeriSign Europe
ObjectivesBuilding awareness and image for VeriSign as the (world wide) Market Leader of data transfer security solutions
Lead generation and lead qualification
Customer and lead retention for VeriSign (loyalty)
Target audienceIT Managers, IT Directors, General Managers in Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain
SolutionCompetence / know-how transfer via Web – Web campaign: WebAcademy with Webinars about Security; eMarketing measures as event invitation
Set-up and establishment of VeriSign WebAcademy with free of charge live internet seminars and IT Security and Security Strategy related subjects
Seminar subject development (e.g. Live hacking seminars)
Speaker selection aid
Positioning of VeriSign WebAcademy as very exciting interactive tool
Promotion of VeriSign WebAcademy with the help of online media (search engine ads, eMail marketing, banner)
Realization
Helpdesk for VeriSign and speakers
Success VeriSign positioned as competent and leading Internet Security company
Extremely successful lead generation and qualification with >2.000 registered participants (= leads) at 25 Internet seminars
Customer
VeriSign Europe
Objectives
Increase customer retention and loyaltyIncrease the renewal rates for SSL certificates
Increase and create opportunities for up selling (i.e. from SSL to MPKI,
Target audience
Existing VeriSign Clients
Solution
Creation of a quite complex online bonus reward system where customers can get bonus points for different activities like i.e. download whitepapers, register for web seminars, renew or buy certificate, give personal quotes, register for the VeriSign Secured Seal program etc.
With their bonus points customers can order valuable gifts in the integrated gift gallery.
Success
Program has been completely created but for VeriSign internal reasons never published
Customer
VeriSign Europe
Objectives
Lead generation by promoting a 10% discount for 10 weeks because of the 10th birthday of VeriSign
Target audience
IT Managers, IT Administrators in EMEA
Solution
eMarketing campaign for DE, DK, ES, FR, UK, SE consisting in
Skyscraper
Content ad
HTML email
Promotion landing page