In the caravan segment, brick-and-mortar retailers are the central sales channel and at the same time the biggest lever for visibility, brand presence and sell-through. Fendt-Caravan does not sell directly to end customers. This makes it all the more important to support retailers in marketing in a way that ensures measures are actually implemented in day-to-day business.
In this interview, Thomas Kamm talks about how Fendt-Caravan has been working with socialPALS since 2021, why clear campaign plans help retailers allocate their budget effectively, and which measures truly engage the network.
Thomas Kamm
Leitung Marketing & Kommunikation | Fendt-Caravan
Thomas, who are you and what is your role at Fendt-Caravan?
I have been working in the industry and at Fendt-Caravan for 28 years. Together with a dedicated team, I am responsible for marketing and communication. A central part of my work is supporting our retail partners in a meaningful way — pragmatically, close to real practice, and with solutions that work in everyday business.
Since when has Fendt-Caravan been working with socialPALS?
We have been working with socialPALS since 2021. We started with an initial campaign and realized relatively quickly that the approach fits our retailer structure very well. Today, socialPALS is a permanent part of our retailer communication.
Did you use other marketing tools for retail before socialPALS?
No. From the beginning, it was important to us to find an approach that does not just work in theory, but is actually used in retailers’ day-to-day business. That is exactly what we focused on during the selection process.
What was particularly important to you personally in retailer communication when you got started?
I have a very close connection to our retailers and see how tightly scheduled their day-to-day business is. Retailer communication must be simple, predictable and repeatable. The goal was to provide our partners with a solution that supports them in social media without turning it into a separate project every single time.
What marketing goals does Fendt-Caravan pursue in retail?
Our goals are clearly defined: retailer support, increasing brand awareness and boosting sell-through. Since we do not sell directly to end customers, brick-and-mortar retail is the central lever for us.
What challenges do you currently see in the caravan trade, also with regard to brand presence and visibility?
We observe that retailers increasingly see themselves as their own brand. In the past, it was often enough to place the Fendt-Caravan logo visibly. Today, many retailers are consciously building their own brand. That is understandable, but it challenges us to keep Fendt-Caravan visible without restricting the retailer in its own positioning.
At the same time, there are always topics where platforms need to be further developed, especially when it comes to practical functions in the daily handling of content. That is why close exchange with partners is particularly important.
Which socialPALS functions does Fendt-Caravan specifically use, and what is your focus?
Our focus is clearly on paid ads. It is not about retailers having to build campaigns themselves. Rather, they should be regularly supplied with content and be able to strengthen their measures specifically through media budget — with as little additional effort as possible.
What role does socialPALS play in retailer activation across your network?
socialPALS helps us activate retailers on a regular basis and give them a clear structure for their marketing measures. Fixed processes and recurring campaign cycles create less ad hoc stress and more routine. That is often what determines in retail whether measures are implemented or not. And we see that this setup does not work in just one country: retailers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are now using the socialPALS platform, which for us is an important step toward international expansion within the DACH region.
Voices from the trade:
“socialPALS has made it much easier for us to implement our advertising campaigns, including those for Fendt-Caravan. The platform is very clear and saves us a lot of time in day-to-day business. What is particularly positive is the very friendly and fast personal support, which means we only have minimal effort ourselves. The content is ready to use quickly and can be published without complication. We clearly felt the impact locally: more attention for our campaigns, greater reach and increased feedback from customers. We very much enjoy continuing to work with socialPALS.”
Seltenhofer Caravaning
Regensburg
Julian Liebscher
Head of Sales, Deputy Operations Manager
What have been the highlights of working with socialPALS so far?
It was very valuable for us that the collaboration does not take place only digitally. At retailer days or trade fairs, we were able to approach retailers together directly and bring them on board — that worked very well. Personal touchpoints such as the Caravan Salon or our in-house fairs also play an important role. Retailer activation is not driven only by tools; it is also based on relationships and trust.
Why does Fendt-Caravan work with fixed campaign plans, and how does that help your retailers?
We work with two clear campaign cycles, namely August to December and February to August. This structure helps retailers plan their budget sensibly and gain a better overview of the business year. As a result, there are fewer spontaneous one-off actions and more continuity.
Many brands know the issue: retailers often use their marketing budget at the end of the year via a brand-owned portal to purchase classic advertising materials or merchandise. What was the challenge for you, and why is it more important to you today that the marketing budget is actually translated into measurable visibility?
In a portal model, we mainly see what was ordered in the end, but we hardly get any sense of what actually has an impact in the market. Whether an advertising material is really used, how visible it is and what effect it has usually remains difficult to track. That is why it was important to us to tie the use of the marketing budget more closely to impact — in other words, to promote measures where we can track what reach and which contacts were generated in the local environment. That is exactly how a budget pool becomes an instrument that works predictably and whose value we can also assess through KPIs.
How do you measure the success of your retailer campaigns, and where do you want to develop further?
A central KPI for us is reach. In addition, we look at the activation rate across the retailer network. Currently, retailer activation is around 70 percent. For 2026, the goal is to increase this rate to around 86 percent. What matters here is not a one-time effect, but sustainable development over several years.
How does socialPALS generally support Fendt in activating retailers and bringing them along?
From our point of view, retailer activation does not work through a single channel, but only through the interaction of several measures. socialPALS supports us on different levels: through presence at trade fairs and retailer days, through joint webinars, and through formats that make it easier for retailers to get started and use the platform.
At the same time, at Fendt-Caravan we also consciously use our own channels, for example our field sales team or our retailer portal. Together, this allows us to play the full range of retailer activation: personal, digital and structured. The goal is always the same — to get activation as high as possible and take retailers along for the long term instead of informing them only selectively.
You work in a very hands-on way. How does that influence your marketing strategy and the requirements for tools and partners?
I do not have unlimited resources, so everything has to work efficiently. Solutions must be set up in a way that allows them to run without major additional effort. Through the close exchange with retailers, I get very direct feedback on what works and where processes are too complicated.
How would you describe the collaboration with socialPALS?
For me, it is an open exchange on equal footing. We speak honestly about what is going well, but also about the points that still need to be further developed. Exactly this openness is important in order to make retailer communication successful in the long term.
Why is retailer activation more important today than ever before?
Retailer communication is not a nice-to-have. Retailers are fighting for attention, brands for consistency and visibility in the market. Anyone who really wants to activate retailers needs a setup that is simple, predictable and repeatable. That is exactly what we are continuously working on.
Voices from the trade:
“What I particularly like about socialPALS is the user experience: the platform is really easy to use, intuitive and clearly structured. Without hidden functions or complicated detours, you can quickly find your way around and get started right away.
The support is consistently friendly, helpful and personable. You receive feedback quickly and the exchange always takes place on equal footing.
The external impact of the socialPALS campaigns is important to us. This makes us clearly recognizable as a Fendt retailer within our target audience and strengthens both our local visibility and Fendt’s brand presence in the long term.”
Caravan-Center Dahnke
Stralsund
Kathleen Tredup
Chief of Staff & Head of Marketing
Act now and use MDF more effectively!
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