How Speck Pumpen took advantage of the pandemic to set up its live communication digitally and sustainably. And how they still benefit from this today.
Speck Pumpen
Digitalisation of live communication
Who is
For more than 100 years, Speck has been developing and producing pumps for private and municipal swimming pools as well as for use in industrial and domestic applications. More than 200 employees work for the owner-managed company at its headquarters in Neunkirchen near Nuremberg. Speck was recently honoured with the “Bavaria’s Best 50” award, making it one of the 50 fastest-growing medium-sized companies in Bavaria.
How Speck Pumpen in Neunkirchen used the pandemic to reorganise its communication in a new and sustainable way.
While at the beginning of the pandemic some companies tried to find any digital offers as a trade fair alternative as quickly as possible, Speck thought about which digital channels could be used sensibly for which live content – and which not. The result was Speck’s Wissenswelle 6 months after the start of the pandemic, which is still being successfully surfed today with over 50 live broadcasts from the company’s own studio. In addition to the trade fairs that are taking place again. Because in live communication, too, it’s true that it’s better to stand on two legs than on one.
“The team at fairconcept provided us with strategic, competent and highly flexible support in the conception and implementation of our digital live communication. We produce in our own studio with our teams and regularly offer our customers and interested parties digital live events on our own website.”
Armin Herger
Managing Director SPECK Pumps
Challenge
In marketing and sales, “live” has been the medium of choice at Speck for decades when it comes to generating leads and maintaining relationships. The traditionally craft-based target group can best be reached at trade fairs and via the sales field service. With the onset of the 2020 pandemic, it quickly became clear that Speck wanted to seize the opportunity to sustainably digitise communication. A digital flash in the pan to bridge the pandemic was therefore out of the question.
Clicking questions
- Which elements of analogue live communication can be digitised in which formats?
- How can these formats be brought into a coherent overall strategy?
- How can a permanently high production standard be guaranteed without constantly having to resort to cost-intensive external service providers?
Solution
The sessions are produced live in their own studio in Neunkirchen. 30 square metres, 3 cameras, light, sound, director. For this, employees from many departments were trained by us to work behind and in front of the camera and accompanied during the first sessions. The goal has long since been achieved: Speck produces the live session completely autonomously in-house.
How did we achieve this?
In a 6-week process, we dealt with the following 4 topics and developed solutions for them:
- Content: Which content offers added value without advertising. One thing is clear: more digital reach cannot be generated through advertising alone. Keyword research was used to determine the target group’s search intentions on the web. After prioritisation and clustering, it was checked for which topics content already existed and for which content needed to be created. This resulted in an initial editorial plan with 30 working titles.
- Formats: Not every topic is suitable for a broad audience. The question of clean water in a swimming pond is more likely to be discussed for a broad audience than the question of how to change a mechanical seal in a public swimming pool. This is how “Live Sessions” came about, for which a separate streaming studio was built and set up in Neunkirchen, and “Master Classes”, in which special questions are discussed in small groups of a maximum of 8 participants.
- Tools & technology: Enthusiasm is created by content and formats, not by tools and platforms. In addition, traffic should take place on one’s own website. For the “Live Sessions”, the existing WordPress website was extended and webinar software was integrated. All recordings can be accessed on the website. The master classes simply take place with MSTeams.
- Marketing: Own content needs own reach. For this purpose, the channels on LinkedIn and Facebook were set up and used with the content pyramid: 5 micro content pieces are created from each live session, which are shared on the channels and thus offer added value in themselves. 5 content pieces per year, 20 live sessions = 100 micro content pieces / year
This is what Lars Lockemann says about the project:
“For change and real innovation, industrial companies need 3 things: the insight, courage for the decision and the clear will to implement it. With SPECK, we have a client who made courageous decisions in a difficult phase and accompanied his team through the change. And who stuck to its course even in the face of unavoidable headwinds. The result is one that has made SPECK a pioneer in B2B live communication. “
Live Content
KICKSTART YOUR LIVE CONTENT
You want to go on air, but you don’t know what with, where or how. Do you want everything from a single source, from the definition of goals, content development and planning to production set-up and the first productions?
Analog solutions
CONCEPTION OF DIGITAL FORMATS
If you need live digital formats and want to have them designed in such a concrete way that you can start implementing them directly afterwards, either in-house or with external support, this offer is exactly the right one for you.
Analog solutions
MODULARE DIGITAL TRAININGS
Employees are a decisive success factor in B2B communication. Sooner or later, all communication measures are aimed at talking to target groups. Preparation and support promote the quality and thus the success of these conversations – a World Cup in sport has never been won with a one-off training session. Digital training can be structured in modules and kept short and compact at regular intervals – this promotes the learning curve and sustainability.
Relevant services
Analog solutions
YOUR OWN BRAND STUDIO
If you need live digital formats and want to have them designed in such a concrete way that you can start implementing them directly afterwards, either in-house or with external support, this offer is exactly the right one for you.
Analog solutions
DEVELOPMENT OF THEMES AND MESSAGES
Do you know which formats you want to play out and are you aware that your offers need an overarching story to transport the topics and messages in the long term? That people are interested in “a hole in the wall and not the speed of a drill”. You can get the common thread that holds everything together across all media here.
This is
us
We are Anna Esche, Lars Lockemann and a large, dedicated team. For more than 21 years, we have been designing B2B trade fair participations with brains and passion, where the focus is on people. Bringing products in need of explanation closer to the appropriate target groups, that is our speciality. We work for our clients strategically and operationally, over many years or on a project basis. Or both. Nationally and internationally.
From the very beginning, we have thought of trade fairs differently. Today, we think of all B2B live communication differently: integrative, situational and always people-oriented. Because people buy from people.