Scompler receives an investment of millions and becomes the "Content Command Center" for corporate newsrooms, content marketing, editing, SEO and social media.
"If you want to manage content across channels and in a topic-centered way, you can no longer avoid Scompler !"
The second quarter of 2020 is off to a good start for Scompler. Very well. Despite corona. On the one hand, we have closed a million-euro financing round: The Frankfurt "main incubator" (Commerzbank's technology investor) and Bayern Kapital (the venture capital company of the Free State of Bavaria) now each have a ten percent stake in us. On the other hand, we have taken a huge step in the development of the platform: our "Scompler 2020 Release" in February was the biggest feature update since our foundation. This makes it easier and easier to do what is too complex or even virtually impossible with conventional approaches: manage content company-wide across channels and in a topic-centric manner. More than 100 customers are now doing this - with between 5 and 200 employees in the system.
We are also pleased to welcome a whole range of new consulting and technology partners, including SinnerSchrader/Accenture, Mediamoss, Fanpage Karma, pressrelations, Talkwalker, Canva and neuroflash. This has enabled us to significantly expand the Scompler ecosystem and offer an almost unique "whole product" of methodology, consulting and software. After four years on the market, this is a clear proof of concept with which we have now also been able to convince investors. All of this is a powerful boost for our mission: namely to make "SCOM" and Scompler "the content command center" for all communication in the company.
Dear customers, prospective customers, fans, critics and revered skeptics,
The world of communication has changed dramatically in the last five years, and corona has now brought another turning point. Two things have become particularly clear in recent months: On the one hand, only a few companies are well enough positioned technically, culturally and organizationally to adequately manage the complexity of communication in today's world. The keywords here are "new work" and "home office", but also "silos", "digitalization" and "crisis communication". When two of these come together, it usually becomes overwhelming.
On the other hand, companies would do well not only to reposition themselves organizationally, but also to sustainably change the way they communicate, especially if they want to play a role in the lives of their customers in the future. To achieve this, it is no longer enough to simply focus your marketing on visibility, reach, attention or content-free engagement - and certainly not to simply "play on channels". The competition is too strong for that, messages are too interchangeable, content is simply too much, consumers are too critical and generic emotionalization is too omnipresent.
Meaning is the new emotion!
It is much more important to use a clear story to consistently convey authenticity and individual meaning across all channels - both internally and externally. If you fail to do this, it will become increasingly difficult to reach your customers and stakeholders at all. And this applies to every company, whether B2B or B2C, whether small, large or corporate, and whether a commercial enterprise, NGO or political party.
In order to achieve this, we all face a complex and challenging task - every single communication discipline in the company as well as consultants and agencies. However, the solutions that have been increasingly discussed in recent months and years are only of very limited help, especially if they are only isolated solutions: the "newsroom" as well as "content marketing" and "purpose", but also "marketing automation", "artificial intelligence (AI)" and "big data". They must not remain just a technical shell, they must be filled with life and meaning.
"90% of brands will practice at least one form of marketing personalization, but content will be the bottleneck and cause of failure."
(Gartner, Magic Quadrant Content Marketing Platforms, April 2019)
And that means: for a newsroom, it is not enough to set up a room with a high table and a large monitor if the corresponding processes are not practiced and the attitude behind the newsroom is not lived. For content marketing, it is not enough to suddenly design white papers, podcasts and how-tos instead of brochures, flyers and advertisements if you don't actually create benefits with them. Likewise, SEO is useless if you only produce hundreds of keyword-optimized texts that do not generate any authority or credibility. And "Purpose" falls short if you only produce an advertising campaign with a touching or inspiring video, but then only attach a call-to-action "Buy now" (or: "Become a member now").
The collaboration and workflow functions play an important role at Scompler . They replace e-mail and enable transparent collaboration in real time - a factor that is currently becoming increasingly important when employees are working from different locations, including home offices. Please click on the enlargement icon to see the screens in full screen.
On the other hand, the potential for tactical optimization is far from exhausted, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP) and automation will simplify the work of employees in the future and contribute to increased efficiency and effectiveness.
"A fool with a tool is still a fool."
(Internet)
But technology alone cannot perform the most important task, namely providing context, meaning and orientation. Above all, this requires cross-disciplinary communication structures, a clear communication mission that is supported by all employees and a new quality of transparency and collaboration. "Integrated communication" has been a utopia for decades. In the hyper-connected world, however, it is now a necessity - and thanks to new insights, methods and technologies, this necessity can also be implemented.
Scompler contains every type of content that is produced in the company. This makes Scompler the "single point of truth". The many different views, which can be customized using intelligent filters, create both an overview and transparency. In addition, a sophisticated rights management system allows you to define who can see what. Please click on the enlargement icon to see the screens in full screen.
Good songs instead of loud sounds, "La Mannschaft" instead of individual actions
In our opinion, companies are currently focusing too much on improving the individual skills of their individual disciplines, the 'how' so to speak. It's like the members of an orchestra wanting to play louder and louder, or the individual players of a soccer team wanting to play more and more spectacularly. Operational skills are important, but the greatest potential lies in the interaction, i.e. the 'what' and above all the 'why': orchestras not only have to produce lots of loud sounds, but also the right song together. And in soccer today, it is the game systems, i.e. "the team", that win, not the individual players. It is not uncommon for a team of perfectly coordinated mediocre players to be superior to an ensemble of egocentric superstars.
Without professional orchestration, the expectations of communication in terms of a corporate mission can no longer be fulfilled.
Thomas Kötter, Head of Communications Flughafen Düsseldorf GmbH
However, organizing communication as an overall system is not possible with Excel, e-mail and SharePoint. To manage complexity, you need technology specialized in communication management, and this must be supported by an integrated approach. This is the mission and domain of Scompler. Scompler enables companies to manage communication and marketing across the board, both strategically and operationally. And technology and methodology play hand in hand at Scompler . This also changes the role of agencies and consultants, who can then provide more specific ideas and support as coaches and enablers. With the right introduction, Scompler suddenly makes what was previously complex and overwhelming simple and manageable.
Various other tools can be seamlessly integrated into Scompler via SSO (single sign-on), such as Pressrelations for media monitoring or Fanpage Karma for community management. We also aggregate a whole range of data, e.g. from web analytics and performance data from social media platforms. Please click on the enlargement icon to see the screens in full screen.
Scompler has achieved an impressive performance in the last two years under its own steam and from cash flow alone. The software has made great strides forward, both technically and in terms of user experience, and we have acquired highly renowned companies from Germany, Switzerland and Austria as customers. Our customers come from almost all size categories and work with between five and two hundred employees at Scompler , including Deutsche Bahn, Geberit, Nestle, BASF, HRS, Düsseldorf Airport and, more recently, ADAC, Commerzbank and Merck. For these customers, we are increasingly becoming the "content command center" that connects the resources with the applications in a meaningful way, i.e. the expertise of the specialist departments with the communication disciplines and these in turn with each other: from SEO to social media, from brand management and PR to sales and internal communication as well as HR and employer branding.
In the past, we stumbled from concept paper to concept paper. We did not succeed in operationalizing this. Scompler guides us both in terms of methodology and systematics. Day-to-day business is always strategically aligned with the content strategy and communication is transparent for everyone.
Christoph Bitter, Head of Strategic Marketing, Salvation Army Switzerland
Scompler also contains a whole range of tools that make operational work much easier. These include text checks, automatic posting to social networks, image editing and much more. Please click on the enlargement icon to see the screens in full screen.
Stop thinking from the channel
We will invest the money from the investment in the further expansion of the SaaS solution (Software as a Service). We will also strengthen our consulting and support services and expand our network of strategic consulting partners. We have already made a start and are in talks with many more great consultants. Our customers' requirements are very diverse. On the surface, they want and need things to be simple, but the underlying communication processes are complex. Scompler makes these complex processes easy to manage. In this way, we also support and enable the necessary change in the company, which must be accompanied. If Scompler is introduced correctly, our customers are already working productively according to the new processes after just a few weeks and then continue to develop further. In this way, Scompler becomes a catalyst for real change.
One of our most important strategic tasks as a bank is to become consistently digital. 'Consistently digital' is synonymous with 'consistently customer-oriented'. This is not only a technical task, but above all a communicative one, for which content plays a decisive role.
Richard Lips, Divisional Board Member Group Communications Commerzbank
Over the next few months, we will continue to expand our topic management, the strategic core of Scompler, and we will strengthen the social media and publishing features, especially the connection to other platforms. We are also looking forward to introducing further innovative technologies soon, such as the integration of AI to better understand topics. Above all, the many implementations in recent years have helped us to better recognize the actual DNA of communication. We realize that a good topic architecture is the key. It is the game plan, the score, so to speak, for the entire team. And we are getting better and better at operationalizing the strategy and the game plan in everyday life.
We are looking forward to the coming months and believe that we can achieve great things together with our customers and partners despite the current difficulties.
Votes on Scompler
"Scompler has been supporting us in our communication with long-distance and local transport customers for several years now. We have grown with the tool and its constant evolution. At the same time, we had the opportunity to incorporate the needs of the editorial team into its further development. DB Vertrieb GmbH's social media management started with strategic planning through to operational implementation on the high-reach passenger transport accounts. This successful way of working has recently been transferred to the online editorial team of bahn.de and the regional pages of DB Personenverkehr, allowing the editorial teams to grow together."
Svea Raßmus
Head of Online Editing, Social Media and Content Management, Deutsche Bahn
"One of our most important strategic tasks as a bank is to become consistently digital. 'Consistently digital' is synonymous with 'consistently customer-oriented'. And this is not just a technical task, but above all a communicative one, for which content plays a decisive role. In the first step, we will Scompler support us in our operational work in the area of social media. In the future, Scompler will become our strategic content management system, forming the basis for consistently user-oriented, topic-specific and cross-channel communication."
Richard Lips
Divisional Board Member Group Communications Commerzbank
"Needs-oriented communication is our main focus. We have decided to think in terms of content rather than channels, which are strategically aligned with the organization. In the past, we stumbled from concept paper to concept paper. We did not succeed in operationalizing this. Scompler guides us in methodology and systematics and made it possible to digitize marketing communication within 2 hours. We are still learning, but our cross-divisional collaboration continues to grow. Day-to-day business is always strategically aligned with the content strategy. Communication is transparent for everyone at all times and our efficiency has increased. A win-win for everyone."
Christoph Bitter
Head of Strategic Marketing Salvation Army Switzerland
"Corporate communication has been undergoing profound change for years. It is becoming ever faster, broader, deeper and more networked. At the same time, response times are being reduced to a minimum. Without professional orchestration, the expectations of communication in terms of a corporate mission can no longer be fulfilled. Today more than ever, successful communication work is therefore based on maintaining an overview of topics and channels at all times, controlling workflows, managing ideas, planning topics and ultimately aligning them with strategic corporate goals. This is where Scompler provides enormous support in day-to-day work. Support that we would no longer want to do without at North Rhine-Westphalia's largest airport."
Thomas Kötter
Head of Communications Düsseldorf Airport
"We understood early on: we have to create content across all channels with the story as the central element. After the strategy meeting, everyone needs to know what the strategy guidelines mean in concrete terms for their work. This translation of strategy into operations is the domain of Scompler - and in my opinion, that's the crux of whether content marketing works or not. Scompler has led to a whole new visibility, a whole new transparency of topics. That was the starting point for a weekly editorial meeting that now involves all departments: internal communications, PR, performance marketing, the content marketing team and other units."
Juliane Howitz
Teamlead Content Marketing / Content Strategist, HRS Group
"We use Scompler to organize our work in the corporate newsroom. This allows us to orchestrate our content at a national and international level and publish it in a coordinated manner. This includes content from IR, image and corporate communications as well as from the specialist departments and various country organizations. We cover all communication channels in the newsroom, from internal to marketing communication, social media, PR and magazine and website content."
Olaf Grewe
Manager Group PR Corporate Communications Geberit International AG
"In many companies, communication and marketing are at a turning point: The external image must increasingly address the specific needs of their target groups in order to stand out from the competition. We therefore see considerable market potential at Scompler : in the age of digitalization, the young high-tech company is fully in tune with the times with its sophisticated solution. Innovative approaches in a high-growth sector therefore make investments in IT companies such as Scompler particularly interesting for Bavaria as a location for the future."
Roman Huber
Managing Director Bayern Kapital
"Merck uses Scompler for content planning. The entire topic architecture is stored in the software, broken down into topic blocks and
individual stories, formats and channels, including the approval process. This means that everyone knows at all times who is working on what and what the current status is. Scompler is intuitive to use and visually strong, which is important because using a tool like this should also be fun. In addition, Scompler can be docked to the IT infrastructure of the entire Group via interfaces, especially to teams."
Esther Fürstenau
Head of Planning and Positioning Services, Group Communications at Merck Group
The production of relevant content - not data - is both a bottleneck and a success factor for customer-centric communication. In addition, the growing number of distribution channels is leading to increasing complexity and therefore also to a greater need for solutions to deal with this complexity. Mirko Lange and his team have decades of experience as consultants and are familiar with the many challenges faced by large companies when it comes to overarching topic management in communication strategy and have found the right answer with Scompler .
Sebastian Scheib
Investment manager, main incubator
"I have already introduced two other tools in the company and I know very well that user-friendliness is the be-all and end-all for employee acceptance. And Scompler is simply way ahead in this respect. Above all, we wanted to communicate more strategically. And that's what Scompler supports best. So far, we have been asking the team members in the clinics: 'What do you actually do? With Scompler , we start asking: 'Why are you doing this? And how do you do it?' and thus pave the way for a much more strategic approach to communication."
"Communication experts who work in a topic-oriented manner help Scompler helps enormously with planning. Defining topics, specifying post types and posts and moving them later if necessary, or assigning responsibilities within the team, for example. And if a department asks what we have done on a topic, I can filter it out with one click and send an overview graphic. Five videos, one infographic, 27 Facebook posts, 10 tweets on Twitter... We used to pull out Twitter figures, Excel/CSV files or other documents, now everything is included. "
Marcel Hauri
Head of Publishing and Newsroom Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (Suva)
