Briefing 7: Case Study (Maersk Line)
Traditionally, B2C (business to consumer) companies widely use social media. This assignment focuses on an untraditional usage of social media by a B2B (business to business) company. The purpose of this assignment is to investigate how this B2B company uses social media. You can type your answer below each question within this briefing document. If needed, use evidence from the case and outside resources to support your ideas. This briefing should be completed individually, saved to your computer, and submitted online before the due date. The total score of this briefing is 3 pts.
1)
Overview. Summarize and evaluate Maersk’s social media campaign, at the time of the case.
Why do you think Wichmann started with Facebook? (.75 pts)
Maersk’s social media campaign was ahead of its time meaning in today’s world most if not all companies use social media to engage with their consumers rather than simply pushing products out to them. Maersk chose to think outside of the box and be different from how other large companies tended to use social media. I believe this was a great strategy and as we can see the difference in how companies promoted their products then versus now Maersk
was spot on.
Wichmann started with Facebook because of the impact they had on Facebook earlier on which I believe he knew there was a chance to do it once again. As it states, “..but then he discovered Maersk Line’s digital archive with 14,000 photos of ships, seascapes, and ports, which no one had been using”. To me, this means he knew he used these photos and turn them into something bigger which is essentially what he did.
2)
ROI
. What is the return on Maersk’s $100K investment so far? Can we quantify it?
(.75 pts)
The return on Maersk’s $100K investment was 1,500% and we can quantify it based on the 2012
study and the overall engagement on social media. 3)
Now what? How to move forward? Should Wichmann’s plan be accepted by management? (.75 pts)
Moving forward, Wichmann’s plan should be accepted by management. Wichmann has the previous knowledge and experience when it comes to working with social media and has the proof to show for it. In the article, it states, “Wichmann’s proposal recommended the development of a dedicated cross-functional social media team with 1 Social Media Lead, 1 Community Manager, 1 Social Media Manager, .5 CCM Manager (customer communications manager), and .5 Social Collaboration Agent (industry Ph.D.). …The proposal also called for a $250,000 budget achieved by decreasing print advertising, web banner advertising, and sponsorships. The budget would be used for advertising on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
