Group #3

Aiyanna Bree McLellan, Ashley Anderson, Thomas Donohoe, Gregory Repicci, Eric Jha, Randy

Pang

Maersk Line Questions: The case describes the launch of a social media platform by the largest

container shipping company in the world. You can evaluate the campaign. The case provides

details on the various platforms used, the nature of content provided on each, and the associated

budgets (including headcount). The budget figures permit a analysis around the social media

m
program’s ROI.

er as
co
eH w
1. Why do you think Maersk Line was so successful in social media? What do you

o.
rs e
think are Maersk Line’s key drivers of success?
ou urc
Many B2B companies overlook the idea of utilizing social media because they don’t see
o
aC s

any point in it. In reality, social media can help with brand image, as well as connect companies
vi y re

with customers, prospects, and industry influencers, which in turn will influence sales.

Wichmann was aware of these opportunities and Maersk Line’s social media is so successful due
ed d
ar stu

to all the work he put into it.

is

Wichmann made sure to study other B2B companies like Dell and GE, who were
Th

successful in developing their brand image on their social media platforms. He saw that Dell

incorporated different elements to their Facebook, such as blogs and message boards. They also
sh

opened a Social Command Listening Center, where employees would handle customer service

issues over social media with a 98% success rate. GE was successful in creating posts that were

This study source was downloaded by 100000760305119 from CourseHero.com on 08-08-2021 05:43:08 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/18410734/MaerskLineCase/
 informative, and professional in a fun way. Wichmann looked at all of these elements and found

effective ways to incorporate some of these ideas to Maersk Line in a unique way.

Wichmann’s goal was, ultimately, to bring Maersk Line’s customers together using

different forms of engagement. He thought it was important to approach their social media in a

spontaneous and flexible way, as opposed to being structured or planned. He felt that this would

impact consumer behavior, and cause them to perceive Maersk Line as a more humanized

company.

m
er as
Along with building up social media, Wichmann had to focus on key elements, such as

co
eH w
communication, customer service, and internal usage. He spent all his time at Maersk trying to

o.
rs e
improve and perfect the social media experience to for the consumers. This, along with
ou urc
consistent interactive posts, definitely added to their key drivers of success.
o

2. Evaluate how Maersk Line executed on its social media plan and platforms.
aC s
vi y re

Maersk Line knew exactly how they wanted to use their social media accounts. It was
ed d

important for them to rank the accounts to see which were most important and needed most
ar stu

attention. Knowing exactly who their target market was another key factor to their success on

social media. Maersk’s focused on their customers, employees, and the experts in their industry.
is
Th

By developing content that would be interesting to their target audience and encourage them to

engage helped them to reach goals for their digital marketing on social media.
sh

Jonathan Wichmann is the person behind the success of Maersk Line’s social media

accounts. What he was able to do gained him the name “social media megastar”. “Social media

is defined as the way in which people interact to create, share, and/or exchange information and

This study source was downloaded by 100000760305119 from CourseHero.com on 08-08-2021 05:43:08 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/18410734/MaerskLineCase/
 ideas in virtual communities and networks.” No one thought Maersk would be successful with

social media because their consumers wouldn’t interact. Wichmann says, “When I started, as far

as social goes, we were at zero—absolute zero. People would tell me, ‘We’re not right for social

media, we’re boring, no one’s going to like us, and who will support us?’ A lot of people inside

the company as well as outside just didn’t think it would take.” Something like this may have

discouraged other people but not Wichmann. He saw this as “a really interesting task because of

that and because it’s a really conservative industry.”

In the first 11 months of updating social media, Maersk Line had gained 420,000 fans on

m
er as
Facebook. This helped them to receive the Community Presence in social media award and

co
eH w
Social Media Campaign of the Year award. “The company’s social media program has changed

o.
rs e
the face of Maersk Line and is an example for other B2B companies to follow.” Going forward
ou urc
Nina Skyum-Nielsen will take the role of Wichmann. She was originally a part of the team and I
o

feel she will continue to keep Maersk Line’s social media accounts ahead of the game.
aC s
vi y re

3. How do you think Jonathan Wichmann calculated the 1,500 percent ROI on
ed d

Facebook? Do you agree with his calculation? Why or why not?

ar stu

Jonathan Wichmann single handedly took Maersk's social media exposure from
is

essentially zero and crafted it into something that would make similar companies envious, and
Th

would serve as a success story to many companies to follow. He needed a way to calculate how

much revenue his initial $100,000 budget had paid off for the company financially; the problem
sh

was that there is no real way to quantify social media popularity, so he had to get creative to

furnish a figure.

This study source was downloaded by 100000760305119 from CourseHero.com on 08-08-2021 05:43:08 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/18410734/MaerskLineCase/
 The 1500% ROI is essentially a guestimate that Wichmann arrived at after gathering data

from different sources, and reviewing the success of Maersk's social media growth versus the

money he was allotted to achieve it. Wichmann devised a formula that measured engagement on

Facebook to compare to other large companies, he reported all of his data to his leadership so

that they could constantly keep track of online activity. Wichmann’s efforts was even able to

reduce costs in customer service via outreach in social media.

There was a lot left in the open as to how Wichmann’s 1500% was calculated financially;

but one would assume that his accolades were able to grow and add to their customer base.

m
er as
Sometimes the personal touch of a company can be the difference in that customer repeating

co
eH w
business with them.

o.
rs e
ou urc
I personally could not disagree with his calculation as there is not enough financial data

to suggest otherwise. It seems as Wichmann really turned Maersk into a new and refreshed
o
aC s

company that is now ready to continue to take its unique place on social media.
vi y re

4. How do you think Maersk Line’s competitors will react to the company’s success in
ed d
ar stu

social media?

Competitors would be wise to follow in the footsteps of Maersk Line, just as Maersk
is
Th

learned from Dell and GE. What was perceived as a boring industry, a statement made by

Maersk themselves, turned out to have an extremely large following. However, it was their
sh

honest and passionate approach that captured the hearts of those both within the shipping

industry and those on the outside. Through social media, Maersk was able to connect with their

customers, share updates, build their brand, and interact with the community. Most remarkably,

This study source was downloaded by 100000760305119 from CourseHero.com on 08-08-2021 05:43:08 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/18410734/MaerskLineCase/
 they were able to achieve all of this with a budget of just $100,000. That being said, and

recognizing how effective the tactic was, competitors should be able to reallocate spend to build

up their own social media presence and brand awareness. The biggest takeaway here for other

companies is that there is an audience out there, they just need to engage them. They just need to

make sure it’s done with the same authenticity and care Maersk used.

5. What are the challenges facing Maersk Line in social media going forward?

Some challenges that Maersk Line faces of the future of their social media would be

m
er as
figuring out the next steps. Maersk’s immediate concern was whether to support Wichmann’s

co
eH w
proposal for scaling up the social media groups. They have to make a decision on whether

o.
tripling the total budget would actually help scale the social media groups. Another challenge
rs e
ou urc
that they face is that they are still struggling with Google+ and Pinterest. They would need to

find a way to connecting and increase the followers on Google+ and Pinterest. A major challenge
o
aC s

that Maersk faces, is that they need to keep up with the trends of social media. Keeping up with
vi y re

trends includes the company focusing on the right time to engaging with the clients, capturing
ed d

limited consumer attention, finding more ways to prioritising engagements and metrics for
ar stu

measuring success of their social media, and keeping up with social media trends in

increasing/decreasing in popularity.
is
Th

6. What should Maersk Line do next? What areas should the company focus on and

why?
sh

Maersk Line Should focus on expanding their social media presence by increasing the

social media platforms they use. Since 2014, social media platforms have matured and expanded

This study source was downloaded by 100000760305119 from CourseHero.com on 08-08-2021 05:43:08 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/18410734/MaerskLineCase/
 their presence. Maersk Line currently has 56 thousand instagram followers, more than double the

amount reported in the case study. Since 2014, instagram has added many features such as videos

and stories, borrowing from snapchat. Stories are a great way for Maersk Line to engage with all

of their followers by sending content directly to them, so they get exposure even if their

followers don’t view their posts directly. Speaking of Snapchat, it is an up and coming platform

that companies are starting to use to reach their customers in a fun way. Snapchat is essentially

self destructing photos and videos that can be combined with fun filters. Youtube is the number

one online provider of videos, and it would be wise for Maersk Line to consolidate their vimeo

m
er as
videos to their youtube channel. If necessary, they can create a second channel for the internal

co
eH w
restricted videos. All of these social media enhancements will further expand Maersk Line’s

o.
reach to customers, and that’s always a good thing. Going forward, it may be beneficial for
rs e
ou urc
Maersk Line to invest in more fuel efficient diesel electric or turbine powertrains, as well as

more aerodynamic ship designs. While this will require a significant investment on Maersk
o
aC s

Line’s part, it will cut down on costs in the future. Maersk Line is the leader in sea shipping and
vi y re

logistics, so they can afford to take the risk of switching ship design and powerplants.
ed d
ar stu
is
Th
sh

This study source was downloaded by 100000760305119 from CourseHero.com on 08-08-2021 05:43:08 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/18410734/MaerskLineCase/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)