Ravensburger gives traditional quarterly marketing a fresh twist:
Instead of painstakingly distributing posts on by one, the Ravensburger team uploads ready-made content into a central media library, from which retailers can post and advertise with a single click. The result: 100% brand-compliant content, lightning-fast activation, and minimal support effort. This interview walks through how the concept came to be, why it was immediately embraced by retailers – and which levers a brand can now pull to achieve similar effects.
Laura Kuhn
Product & Marketing GSA | Ravensburger
You’ve been responsible for trade marketing at Ravensburger since late 2024, including the collaboration with socialPALS. What were your first impressions when you got started?
When I took over trade marketing via socialPALS for Ravensburger, I was immediately impressed by the possibilities. Of course, it takes a moment to get familiar with a new platform, but socialPALS is very user-friendly, and the how-to tutorials make it easy to get started quickly. It’s not just simple for us, but also for our retailers. From day one, I could tell that the socialPALS team is genuinely committed to making life easier for both us and our partners.
Why did Ravensburger decide to start working with socialPALS back in 2019 – and why is it still relevant today?
I think it was already clear in 2019 that brick-and-mortar retail would need to strengthen its digital presence more and more. Today, if you’re not embracing digital, you risk falling behind because so much now happens online. socialPALS was – and still is – a great way for us to communicate our brand locally while supporting our partners. It’s a true win-win.
Voices from Retail:
socialPALS impresses with the automation of web campaigns, providing high-quality images and videos. The platform’s great advantage is that we receive large-scale advertising without needing to take action ourselves. The personal support was extremely professional, committed, and tailored to our needs. An all-around positive experience!
Jürgen Ziegler
Owner
You joined the company with a fresh perspective: was there a moment that really confirmed the concept works?
Absolutely! This year we launched our new media library concept on socialPALS, and I was thrilled to see how well it was received by our partners. I had expected many more questions from the retailers, but hardly any came in. This is proof that the platform is intuitive and that socialPALS’ customer service really takes the pressure off when questions arise.
How do you currently use socialPALS in your day-to-day – for example, in planning your quarterly campaigns, using the media library, or working with paid ads?
We set up a campaign for each quarter, filling it with content. In addition to organic posts, we also prepare paid ads, and we provide retailers with a budget to ensure strong visibility. During annual planning, we decide on themes and tailor the content accordingly.
How do your retail partners experience onboarding with socialPALS – and what helps them most when getting started?
From what I’ve seen, our retailers handle onboarding very well. The platform is intuitive, and we provide tutorial videos for all the important steps. The biggest advantage is that campaigns can be launched with just one click – the ready-made posts we’ve scheduled are automatically published without the retailers needing to do any work themselves.
What are the biggest challenges for brick-and-mortar toy retailers – and how do you help them address these?
As mentioned earlier, digitalization and the resulting online retail landscape don’t exactly make life easier for physical stores. On top of that, customer expectations are constantly rising – it’s no longer enough to just offer good products. People want experiences, inspiration, and excellent service. That’s why we do everything we can to support our retailers with high-quality content and close collaboration. That way, we help keep brick-and-mortar retail attractive.
Why socialPALS is unique:
- Fully automated campaign distribution
- No additional effort for retailers
- Individual support & onboarding
- Transparent success analysis in the dashboard
- 00% brand-compliant content
You’re juggling university, day-to-day business, and strategy – what’s the most challenging aspect of your role? And how does socialPALS help you with that?
Of course, balancing all of that can be a real challenge at times. There are days and weeks where a lot happens at once and I have to plan work around my lectures. That’s exactly where socialPALS helps me a lot – once a campaign is launched, it runs by itself. Most of my work with socialPALS happens before a new quarter begins, when I make sure the media library is filled and retailers are invited. This allows me to focus on other tasks during the quarter.
When evaluating a campaign’s impact, which KPIs matter most to you?
We look at classic KPIs as well as those that are important from the retailer’s perspective: reach, engagement, and link clicks to retailer websites. For paid ads, impressions and CPM are also important to assess how well our content is performing.
What makes socialPALS unique for you – especially compared to other solutions?
For us, socialPALS is unique because it allows us to easily support local specialist retailers with digital marketing. We can prepare our campaigns and give each retailer the ability to run them simultaneously. It requires minimal effort, and the content is ready to go. I also really like that we can distribute not only paid ads but also organic content via socialPALS – allowing us to cover a wide range of content.
If someone asked you today, “Is this worth it for us?” – what would you tell other brands?
Many retailers lack marketing expertise or resources, which often leads them to neglect it altogether. With socialPALS, they don’t need to be pros, because we create the content and they can publish it with just a few clicks. For us, the benefit is that we retain control over how the content looks and ensure it conveys the message we want to send. So I’d say: socialPALS is a game changer for Ravensburger. 😉
Finally: what makes working with socialPALS special for you?
I really enjoy working with the socialPALS team because they’re incredibly friendly and always make time to help with anything. They’re also proactive in making sure everyone feels comfortable in the collaboration – both us as a brand and our retailers. It truly feels like we’re all pulling in the same direction.
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