Our Real Life Cases –

Bridging the gap between business and academia.

Another part of our business relevant education consists in working on so-called „Real Life Cases“. The students work out answers to current questions of companies and present them to the top management. This results a win-win situation for both students and our partner company. Students get the opportunity to apply theories, concepts and methods to management relevant questions which they have learned in our lecture. Companies receive approaches to solutions for current problems. Present partner companies for the Real Life Cases are Porsche, Henkel, L´Oreál Luxe, Grohe, Weber and Vorwerk.

  • What can Douglas do to ensure that stores remain relevant to its customers?
  • Develop a communication strategy for Douglas Collection.
  • What is the next big thing not to miss for Douglas?
  • How to grow direct to consumer sales?
  • How to prepare a 360 concept for the launch of a new product?
  • How to manage a transition to secure the switch between an old and a new product?

"Omnichannel Strategy at Weich Couture Alpaca"

  • What opportunities and what risks has an expansion of the product range in terms of omnichannel sales?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of the direct sales using the own website?
  • How can price parity be ensured across all online and offline channels?

"Omnichannel Strategy at Vorwerk"

  • How can the "Omnichannel maturity level" of a company be measured?
  • How can the existing sales structures be meaningfully adapted to the omnichannel business?

"Introduction of a new perfume"

  • Create a giant PR/advocacy campaign for the new product
  • Develop an engaging concept to make the new product attractive for influencers and their follower

"Water Filtration Case and Sensia Arena Case"

  • Analyze customer groups and sales channels in the European and Chinese B2C water system market.
  • Draft a campaign for a specific product line with the special focus on Europe.
  • Evaluation of options in order to provide other beneficial services.
  • Identification of ways to reduce and / or optimize packaging in the supply chain to increase efficiency and sustainability of the operations.
  • Develop an approach to increase retention of the customers.

"Vorwerk Temial"

  • Elaborate a detailed campaign for Vorwerk Temial in order to promote the omni-channel availability of its products.
  • Evaluate and identify potential partner companies to extend the sales scope of one particular product.
  • In order to increase customer loyalty and to strengthen customer retention, the students were asked to develop a loyalty program.

"Designer Brands"

  • Localize and develop the marketing campaign for the upcoming product launch.
  • Implementation of an Omnichannel trading strategy with a focus on pricing (online and offline).
  • Development of a communication strategy to increase customer loyalty.
  • Design an Omnichannel lead campaign over a timeframe of 6 months
  • Develop an approach for a customer journey management considering that the buying rhythms for the brand is often between 2-8 years
  • Elaborate a communication strategy addressing different customer generations in different regions in parallel

“Digital super brand” 

  • Development of benchmark for digital brand value: How should Weber make the digital super band measurable?
  • Bringing digital super brand to life: Which collaborations, ideas and opportunities does Weber have to create a digital eco-system around the brand, empowering its position as a digital super brand?
  • Analysis of differences between Weber and Weber Dealers: How does Weber's online role as a brand differ from a Weber online reseller?

"Strategic pricing options"

  • Driving incremental sales / increase average price by optimizing packaging sizes of Syoss.
  • Executing a plan to reach strategic price index by 2020 by using core pricing levers.
  • Expanding portfolio to modernize the brand.
  • What new marketing instruments should performance car manufacturers use in an ‘on demand’ era in order to attract new customers?
  • Development of a marketing strategy for an autonomous parking Service.
  • Evaluation of smart mobility concepts.
  • Development of a strategy for transferring the brand Porsche to the digital world.
  • Definition of new premium mobility Services.
  • Evaluation of the overall trend to decreasing car ownership and its impact on Porsche.

“The changing business model from owning to using”

Describe scenario development of the performance car market in 2040 and answer the following questions:

  • What new marketing instruments should performance car manufacturers use in an ‘on demand’ era in order to attract new customers?
  • How should a customer retention strategy look like in such an ‘on demand’ era?
  • What role does the traditional Point of Sale play in this future scenario?

Definition of launch strategy for the brand “ITCosmetics” on the German market:

  • Preparation of a SWOT analysis considering German consumer needs and beliefs as well as the competitive environment on the German market.
  • Calculation of a profitable business case considering the market potential.
  • Creation of a launch strategy focused on communication.
  • Identifying pricing digitalization approaches in different customer segments of the MedTech industry, as well as opportunities for charging a price premium.
  • Development of various pricing strategies.
  • Identification of new pricing technologies and pricing trends.
  • Development of omnichannel retail strategy for a department store chain.
  • Identification of ways to generate traffic and make use of excess capacity in store.
  • Development of a new assortment and services strategy as point of differentiation for the retailer Douglas.
  • Development of a marketing and sales strategy for the retail bank Postbank.
  • Development of premiumization strategies for the brands Gliss Kur, Men, and Shamptu.
  • Elaboration of a disruptive conceptual approach for designing the marketing mix to achieve a higher price-value level.
  • Pitch of adequate price and brand positioning strategies for different scenarios.
  • Co-Creation: Identification and discussion of different forms of Co-Creation. Development of customized co-creation approach for Miele, while pointing out objective, concept design (e.g., type of access, type of incentive etc.), potential risks and Miele’s role in the program.
  • CRM: Evaluation of current CRM trends and Miele’s existing CRM approaches. Development of a loyalty program for Miele, considering state of the art ways for registration (both appliances and consumers), customer benefits and ways of communication.
  • Social Media: Analysis of existing Social Media communication strategies in the household market segment. Development of a Social Media Communication strategy for Miele with special focus on young target groups, considering Miele’s brand positioning and the need to differentiate Miele from relevant competitors.
  • Evaluation of the continuously increasing trend of "sharing economies" such as "Car2Go" for OEMs and for the entire luxury car market.
  • Evaluation of which mobility services will become important in the future in order to acquire further luxury consumers and how to develop an "ecosystem" around the luxury consumers.
  • Evaluation of which additional activities are of great importance in the luxury market in order to enhance the brand loyalty of luxury consumers.
  • Analysis of strategic options with regard to launching a new product in the competitive luxury market.