Maren Westphal – Strategie, Marke, Kommunikation, Marketing

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Concepts · Completed projects

Ideas that became reality.

Here I present selected projects, my role in them and the way of working behind them. Each project went all the way – from idea to launch.

My concept architecture

Strategically grounded.
Implemented with structure.

The four phases I follow when developing concepts. How long they take depends on the project – the campaign for UKE’s 125th anniversary was created in three months.

1 Understand & bring together
  • Clarify the starting point, goals and target groups
  • Talks with management, specialist departments and partners
  • Analyse the market, competitors and existing communication
 Result: A shared understanding of the starting point and goals.
2 Position & align
  • Develop positioning and key messages
  • Work out the brand identity, mission statement or campaign idea
  • Define touchpoints and priorities
 Result: A clear direction for decisions and communication.
3 Translate & implement
  • Plan activities across all channels
  • Project plan with responsibilities and timings
  • Steer agencies, partners and teams – all the way to launch
 Result: A strategy that becomes concrete and tangible.
4 Embed & make it work
  • Handover to specialist departments and teams
  • Guidelines, training and documentation
  • Review impact, adjust – and later rethink
 Result: Brand work that takes hold in everyday business and keeps evolving.

Selected projects

Responsibility
that becomes tangible.

Brand building, integrated campaigns and internal communications from different stages of my career.

LASCANA-Store im AEZ Hamburg 2006: Wand LASCANA Beachwear mit Bademode

LASCANA store in the AEZ shopping centre, Hamburg, 2006. Photo: Maren Westphal

Brand building / Otto Group

LASCANA: my idea.
My project responsibility.

The idea grew out of my growth strategy for lingerie and swimwear – with the recommendation that OTTO enter brick-and-mortar retail. As initiator and project lead, I developed the brand from concept to market launch: first in the catalogue and as a shop-in-shop on otto.de, accessible via lascana.de, and from 2006 also in its own stores and in shop-in-shop spaces at other retailers.

My responsibilities
  • Naming, positioning, target group and corporate design
  • Multichannel model: catalogue, e-commerce, retail
  • Shop-in-shop, online and store concepts
  • Store design concept and visual merchandising for its own stores and shop-in-shop spaces
  • Press relations and internal communications
  • Management of all marketing and communications activities, team, agencies, partners and budget

Integrated campaign / UKE

125 years of UKE:
a campaign in three months.

I joined the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in February 2014 – the open day and the Senate reception for the 125th anniversary were scheduled for May. Within three months, I developed and implemented the marketing and communications concept, from the idea to the big day.

Concept & key visual
  • Marketing and communications concept for the anniversary
  • Key visual developed together with an agency – photo shoot during the blue hour
Media & channels
  • Posters on Hamburg public transport and truck advertising
  • Online communication
  • Brochure and flyer covering all activities
Events & employees
  • Open day
  • Senate reception at Hamburg City Hall, organised together with City Hall
  • Giveaways for employees – at shift changes and in person, ward by ward
Kampagnenmotiv Ein ganz normaler Tag im UKE auf einem LKW, 2014 Kampagnenplakat zum 125-jährigen Jubiläum des UKE an der U-Bahn-Haltestelle Jungfernstieg, 2014 Kampagnenplakat zum 125-jährigen Jubiläum des UKE in einer Hamburger U-Bahn-Station, 2014

The campaign in the city: truck advertising and posters on Hamburg public transport, May 2014. Photos: Maren Westphal. Campaign for the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf – concept and overall responsibility: Maren Westphal, key visual in cooperation with an agency.

Internal communications / UKE

Developing a mission statement.
Involving people.

At UKE I managed the development of a new corporate mission statement – deliberately not imposed from the top, but developed together with the employees. Everyone could take part: in the survey, at the large-scale event and in the workshops in the departments.

Grafik: viele einzelne Punkte fügen sich zu einem verbundenen Netz zusammen – Symbol für den Beteiligungsprozess

Many voices, one shared picture – symbolic graphic for the participation process.

1 Project brief and structure
2 Digital employee survey and analysis
3 Large-scale event for all employees with group work
4 Workshops with managers from clinics and departments
5 Formulating and agreeing the mission statement
6 Accompanying internal communications in the magazine and on the intranet

My role: Overall responsibility for project management and the mission statement process, concept development, preparation and follow-up of the workshops, some of which I facilitated myself, and the internal communications strategy.

In practice · conference-tv since 2021

School authorities in Schleswig-Holstein.

Goal: to make conference-tv known among school authorities in Schleswig-Holstein. The focus was on personal conversations at the trade fair stand and a talk in which the managing director presented the portfolio. A follow-up direct mailing made sure conference-tv stayed top of mind.

My role: For the outreach to school authorities and the appearance at a specialist event, I designed and implemented communications across many touchpoints – including project planning, responsibilities and timings.

Outreach & digital presence
  • Flyer and direct mailing
  • Press release
  • Dedicated landing page and communication on the homepage
  • LinkedIn post
Event & brand presence
  • Giveaways and brand communication on mobile displays for the trade fair stand
  • Creating the presentation for the managing director’s talk
  • Project management with a project plan and schedule
Outlook Further measures and an expansion of activities for this target group are planned for 2027.

Further positions

Developing brands further.

Skizze: Globus mit drei Standort-Markierungen und ein funkelnder Kristall
Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED

Developing a brand internationally.

As Head of Communications, I was responsible for international brand communications and the strategic development of Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED.

  • Positioning, target group definition, brand book and visual guidelines
  • Supporting market entries and store openings in New York, Shanghai and Vienna
  • Integrated campaigns: media, ads, advertorials, inserts, outdoor advertising and direct mailings, including photo shoots for key visuals and products
  • Press relations together with the Swarovski group press department
  • Visual merchandising, POS and sales promotion marketing
  • Amazon Marketplace: prepared product information and images for the cross-functional partnerships department
  • Relaunch of the brand website and expansion into an online shop, with content, social media and email marketing
  • Leading a seven-person communications team, agency and budget responsibility
Skizze: Ein aufgeschlagener Katalog, ein Pfeil und ein Browserfenster mit einem Haus
miaVILLA

From catalogue cycles to online-first.

As Head of Onsite, Campaign and Content Management, I sharpened the brand profile and positioning and supported the transformation from catalogue cycles to an online-first business model – with new processes from product selection to the photo shoot.

  • Brand profile and positioning, including a target group workshop
  • Brand, catalogue and website relaunch
  • New processes: thinking in online rather than catalogue cycles – products were increasingly published and tested online first, and successful items were then added to the catalogue. This reduced the risk of producing and mailing the expensive catalogues.
  • Ongoing product and campaign shoots instead of a few large shoots per catalogue season, including a change of photo service provider
  • Integrated campaigns and press relations with a PR agency
  • Social media and influencer marketing
  • Team, agency and budget responsibility
Skizze: Ein mobiles interaktives Whiteboard auf Rollen mit Diagramm und Notizen, daneben ein Stift
conference-tv

Making media technology easy to understand.

Since 2021 I have been responsible for marketing, brand strategy and communications: sharpening the brand profile and target groups, making complex technology easy to understand and supporting the management in their communications.

  • Sharpened brand profile and positioning: buyer personas, value proposition canvas, brand guidelines
  • Website relaunch
  • Content and product onboarding – with SEO, GEO and SEA
  • Corporate communications and press relations
  • Social media and executive communications: the management’s LinkedIn presence
  • Email marketing and direct mailings
  • Events and trade fair appearances, e.g. the anniversary event “20 Years of conference-tv” and a trade fair stand for school authorities

My way of working

In use at conference-tv

My marketing management system

A modular system that connects strategic goals with operational implementation. It works on two levels: a general reference model – and its adaptation to the organisation and its resources.

Level A The reference model The general structure of all marketing areas, processes and building blocks – regardless of industry and company size.
Level B The tailored implementation Selecting and tailoring the modules to the organisation’s goals, team, budget and maturity – currently at conference-tv.

Process map

All marketing areas and their processes at a glance.

Modules

One per area – such as SEA or social media – each with a process, checklists, files and AI-supported work instructions.

Analysis & recommendations

Evaluating results and deriving concrete next steps.

Priorities

Deciding clearly what comes first – based on impact on goals, effort and resources.

Background Why my own system? Training courses, webinars and tutorials provide building blocks, but rarely the whole process – and especially in marketing and AI they quickly become outdated. That is why I built the complete process chain for each marketing area myself: where do I start, what comes when, what has the biggest impact? Because I use the system every day, it keeps evolving.
The role of AI Human in the loop The AI evaluates figures, derives recommendations and prepares drafts – in-depth analyses that there is often no time for in everyday work. I decide what is implemented and how. Nothing goes live without my approval.
Benefits Structure, efficiency and AI workflows Documented processes: every step is transparent and traceable, recurring tasks run as AI-supported workflows, and priorities are based on their impact on the goals. This makes the work predictable – for colleagues and stand-ins, too.
In use Proven in practice At conference‑tv in all marketing areas: from SEO/GEO and SEA through content pages, landing pages and product onboarding to social media and campaigns. It keeps evolving as it is used.

What is still in development can be found in the Idea Lab.

Visit the Idea Lab→