The brief

When zenloop approached us in February 2018 the challenge was clear: to introduce the new SaaS startup of former Flaconi co-founders Paul Schwarzenholz, Björn Kolbmüller and Lukasz Lazewski with a bang in the German market. Besides a crowded market, there was one more challenge to solve: the Net Promoter Score (NPS) that zenloop bases its business model on is well known in the US, but not so in the DACH market. Therefore, we couldn’t just launch the new company, but we also had to think about a long-term education campaign and explain the importance of this metric for e-commerce businesses in the German-speaking markets.

The campaign

In close collaboration with co-founder Paul Schwarzenholz, we developed the messaging and communications strategy for the launch campaign. We also updated all necessary documents and set up target media and event lists for the young company, but that’s a given.

We decided to give the company’s founding story as an exclusive to one of our top tier media targets: t3n. The media outlet is read by many e-commerce professionals, digital talents and investors, so we saw a great fit to see the story spread from there. And we were right: While we were approaching more publications afterwards, the article was picked up by other media outlets as well. Even months after the article release, it was brought up with the zenloop team, when they visited trade fairs.

To keep the momentum and zenloop on everyone’s radar, we continued after this launch with thought leadership content, customer case studies, speaker applications, media relations during conferences, and data stories from the rich dataset of zenloop’s system. We organized our work around the zenloop news pipeline, internal ressources and business goals.

Thank you, zenloop!
It’s a pleasure to work with you!

The campaign

Just as a rocket has to be maintained and its departure into space has to be precisely prepared, it is also important in the PR world to develop a good strategy before acting – our included the pillars

• Spread the word with corporate communication announcements (expansion, investment round, …)
• Vertical B2B PR by targeting businesses cross-industry and sector by sector
• Create a steady drumbeat for B2C to reach new talents with a proactive and confident approach to flexible work models, a plea for more acceptance, respect and humble approach to simplified work and pushing the importance of new work
• Establish the company and its spokespersons as thought leaders
• Quick wins by proactively leveraging what’s already out there
• Preparation for the case of emergency by creating a crisis comms guide implementing a crisis workshop

Keeping Zenjobs back free and work together hand in hand by being a partner for all (comms) concerns, for example we supported Zenjob to find an interim head of comms and set up a joint radio promotion.

Opening up to new target groups besides students, launching in new cities, being on a path of internationalization and successfully closing a major financing round, Zenjob already brought a lot to the table we could communicate on. Gründerszene, Personalwirtschaft or Techcrunch – you name it – we got the attention of top media outlets. Besides the major milestones, however, it was also important to maintain a strong drumbeat and to position Zenjob as a thought leader and trailblazer. For the latter, we focused on Zenjob’s core themes of new work with focus on the flexibilisation of the working world as well as the Gen Z, digitalization and creating a fair platform economy. To do so, we resorted to several tactics:

Let’s go bananas about data (stories)!

We love data, you love data – everyone loves data, especially when they provide interesting insights. Fortunately, Zenjob’s data stories do just that! Whether the Gen Z study or Zenjobs „Jobspiegel“: We have aimed high and hit the mark by convincing high-profile media such as HR Journal, W&V, der Standard, t3n, Haufe, Horizont or BusinessPunk of the results.

Thank you, Zenjob!
It was a pleasure to work with you!

The brief

What once began with a clear goal of improving the world with an ad-free private search engine that protects both data and users, has evolved into much more than just a change in the status quo in the world of private search engines. Xayn, which originated from an AI research project at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, continued to further develop its product, evolving into pioneering next genAI for large organizations. The Berlin-based startup builds secure, sovereign, and sustainable AI systems that help companies and institutions leverage the power of language models at scale.

Laika was called upon for support during this crucial developmental phase—covering for Xayn’s Head of Communications’s parental leave. Our role extended beyond strengthening their already robust media presence—we strategically set the course to lead Xayn into the next generation of AI, highlighting how Xayn’s technology stood at the forefront of innovation, redefining the landscape of intelligent search, and personalized recommendations.

The campaign

While navigating the internal challenges of realignment and communicative positioning, our multifaceted approach positioned the company as a thought leader in data privacy and digital responsibility. We encompassed various aspects, from corporate communications to advice pieces, speaking engagements, and meticulous product communication.

To amplify our messaging, we strategically leveraged insightful testimonials from key figures within the company, notably Dr. Leif-Nissen Lundbæk, co-founder and CEO, and Professor Michael Huth, co-founder and Senior Researcher as well as Head of the Department of Computing at Imperial College London.

At the same time, we underscored Xayn’s employer branding initiatives, spotlighting key actions such as their implementation of a four-day workweek, and the signing of their diversity charter. Simultaneously, we maintained a robust media relations and press office, promptly addressing incoming inquiries and ensuring that Xayn’s story resonated across different channels.

Ensuring the perpetuity of our comms & PR successes, we seamlessly integrated them into the realm of social media, amplifying Xayn’s narrative across digital platforms. Daily monitoring and monthly reporting were integral components, allowing us to adapt and refine our strategy continuously.

In essence, our multifaceted approach was not just about disseminating information but orchestrating a symphony of communication elements, strategically aligned to uphold the foundational hum of corporate and consumer news for Xayn.

The results

While supporting Xayn’s repositioning and highlighting their goal to enhance our daily digital experiences through cutting-edge AI, we concurrently elevated the discourse around data privacy and digital responsibility. Our efforts resonated not only with industry professionals but also with a broader audience, emphasizing the significance of conscious and ethical choices in the digital realm.

In the six months of our project collaboration, we secured 11 clippings—ranging from tech outlets, to business, to national and HR media such as Fortune, Human Resources Manager, and Computer Bild.

Our collaborative journey with Xayn has solidified the company’s influential position in the market, leaving a lasting impact on the discourse surrounding data privacy and digital responsibility.

Thank you, Xayn!
It’s a pleasure working with you!

The brief

In December 2022, Woola presented us with a distinctive proposition. The Estonian start-up, committed to creating eco-friendly packaging for e-commerce and retail from surplus sheep wool, aimed to not only amplify its media visibility but also extend invitations to existing partners and potential customers. Having successfully organized Woola events in locations like Stockholm, Paris and Copenhagen, showcasing their products and narrating their story, they now aimed to replicate this achievement in the German market. The aim is to attract media attention similar to what they received in the previous cities. Recognizing our expertise, they enlisted Laika to orchestrate B2B communication and event PR tailored to this objective.

Our mission had a clear objective with a touch of warmth—supporting Woola’s mission to transform the packaging industry’s single-use mentality toward sustainable solutions, a cause we already successfully championed in the past for LivingPackets.

The campaign

The key strategy for our event PR was centered on introducing Woola to journalists, brands, decision makers and influencers, leveraging our established network to ensure a substantial and lasting impact. It became evident that our primary focus was on the DACH region with the Woola experience events, in order to enhance awareness of their products and company.

Once the strategy was in place, our attention shifted to introducing the innovative products to the DACH market. This involved securing impactful coverage in relevant national, local, business, retail, e-commerce, and logistics media, as well as select lifestyle titles. The spotlight was on versatile wool wraps, reusable bottle sleeves, and cushioning wool that could be recycled, returned, or industrially composted, capturing the attention of journalists as we initiated our partnership.

Recognizing the significance of establishing a solid foundation, we chose to step back before delving into the event. Acknowledging that attending an event without prior knowledge might result in reduced commitment, our priority was to first introduce the products. This drew attention, swiftly noticed by media outlets such as: Frundscene, Logistik Heute and the Packaging Journal.

The subsequent crucial stage involved captivating journalists, decision-makers, and influencers through a compelling promotional strategy. Our approach placed emphasis on delivering information about the event, the company, and its products in Woola’s distinct tone— purposeful and environmentally conscious. This strategy was designed not only to optimize attendance, but also to enhance brand awareness effectively. Notably, Frank Puscher, the deputy editor-in-chief of Meedia and the events moderator, provided coverage, garnering attention in multiple articles for the subsequent developments.

Our plans don’t always unfold as seamlessly in reality as they appear in the strategy presented to clients, and this was evident in our experience with Woola. Despite our extensive efforts to generate interest and secure attendance for the event, we faced challenges that resulted in a more limited guest list just a week before the scheduled date. Registrations were lower than anticipated, and the feedback from journalists and influencers frequently mentioned challenges such as the perceived inconvenience of timing, despite our proactive approach in pitching and sending save-the-dates well in advance. It’s worth noting that other external factors, such as vacations, may have played a role in the turnout. Faced with this challenge, we took a more traditional PR approach by personally reaching out to journalists via phone calls. Fortunately, this strategy resulted in a better-than-expected turnout, but it undeniably caused some stressful moments.

The results

The journalists had the unique opportunity to tour the Woola Experience exhibition alongside Anna-Liisa Palatu, CEO and co-founder of Woola. During the visit, insights were gained into how the company is revolutionizing the packaging and shipping of products. The event also featured a panel discussion with experts from the sustainability and packaging industry, including Frauke Schoon, Ethics Communications Engagement & Outreach at Lush (also our client at that time) and Tanja Tanskanen, Sustainability Manager at Ampler Bikes. The focus of the discussion was the challenges of achieving a plastic-free future of packaging. Additionally, attendees had the chance to meet the Woola team in person, explore their products, and participate in hands-on testing. Looking back on it, it feels good to know that we helped Woola shift the packaging industry away from single-use materials to more sustainable solutions.

Thank you, Woola!
It’s been a pleasure to work with you!

The brief

Creating an attention boost in just three months? That was our task in a PR push project for Webbosaurus. The company has been on the market for ten years and originally started as a social media agency. In the meantime, Webbosaurus has developed into a SaaS provider for social listening and review monitoring. At the end of 2020, they were looking for an extra dose of media love to increase their brand awareness, boost leads and bring its own B2B expertise with a focus on SMEs to the market. Above all, guest contributions had to be expanded. They did not have to wait long: Laika was able to generate regular coverage in relevant target media within a short period of time – despite editorial staffs being stretched thin by the Corona pandemic.

The campaign

While at the beginning the focus was on the core solution of the social listening tool, Laika soon moved the topic of review monitoring into the foreground as the collaboration progressed. The intent here was on explaining the immense influence that reviews on the internet have on customers’ purchasing decisions. Through interviews and guest articles, Laika was able to provide best-practice examples to medium-sized retailers in particular on how they can react in the event of bad reviews.

In addition to case studies, we focused on clear guidance and checklists in guest articles, highlighting the expertise of Webbosaurus and positioning the two founders Philipp Rodewald and Jan Bartels as a strong voice and inspiring thought leaders in the public eye. In addition to high-reach titles such as W&V, we were also able to reach other important industry magazines with this strategy, including etailment, Onlinehändler-News, and VDI-Nachrichten in print. That way, Laika successfully helped retailers understand why review monitoring is the tool of choice for effectively thinking outside the box and listening more closely to their own customers.

Thank you, Webbosaurus!
Always happy to work with you again!

The brief

Europe’s leading open banking platform Tink came to us when they were looking for a flexible, agile and above all scalable DACH communications partner for Tink’s ambitious growth targets. Bingo! After an initial test phase, it quickly became clear that Tink and Laika were two partners whose ideas of working and communications matched.

In our collaboration, we were on the one hand pursuing the goal of educating the market about the background and benefits of open banking via financial and business media. On the other hand, it was our task to position Tink as the fast-growing innovation leader that it is. And last but not least, the internal communications team expected with the hiring of the Laika spaceship to ease the burden on its own department, which now had to take on new responsibilities and more markets as the company expanded rapidly.

The campaign

What initially reads like a fairly standard briefing comes from an industry that many didn’t know too much about at the time. No wonder, since it is relatively young: In a narrower sense, open banking refers to the opening of banks to third-party providers. As of January 13, 2018, the EU Payment Services Directive PSD2 has been implemented into national law. PSD2 creates the legal framework for opening up the market to third-party providers. These are now authorized to access account information deposited with financial institutions via banking API and to initiate transactions. This means that fintechs, for example, can now design more tailored and better offers and products for their customers than was previously possible.

After a rather tactically oriented project start, our collaboration with Tink quickly turned into a trusting, strategic and operational consulting role including a full-service press office until Tink’s acquisition by Visa. In addition to targeted media and topic selection, Laika up to then advised Tink on thought leadership topics, speaker placements and data stories. We also successfully accompanied the announcement of the first German office and DACH Director with great media coverage in outlets such as Börsenzeitung, Payment&Banking and others.

Thank you, Tink!
It’s been a pleasure to work with you!

The brief

The first Spiced Academy opened its doors in 2015. Since 2020, the 12-week coding bootcamps are offered in Stuttgart, Cologne and Hamburg. Founded and led by Frederik Aldag, Spiced Academy trains Data Scientists and full-stack web developers and enables them to enter the digital economy.

When Spiced approached us, their goal was to raise awareness and attention for their training program. The team also wanted to differentiate itself from other coding camps. Challenge accepted!

What that meant for our work: On the one hand, we knew we had to appeal to the target grou through meaningful stories that convince them of the training quality. On the other hand, our task was to push the general topic of coding bootcamps in the media and create special trust in the Spiced Academy brand.

The campaign

Although there were a few international providers of coding bootcamps, the concept of extremely fast – and therefore very intensive – training for programmers had not yet reached the mainstream media in Germany.

So we came up with a strategy that aimed to educate the public about the 3-month intensive courses while at the same time building trust in this new form of education. Part of our concept was also to present Spiced Academy as the answer to the IT skills shortage and to highlight the proven expertise of the head coaches.

We felt the best way to do this was through direct on-site experience. So we invited media such as Handelsblatt to take part in one of the courses – which was met with great interest. The result of this approach can now be read on Handelsblatt.de. Furthermore, a unique selling proposition of the Spiced Academy is the high quality of the training, which is primarily provided by head coaches with many years of professional experience. This gave us the opportunity to place them in expert podcasts as well. For example, Dr. Kristian Rother got invited by Capital to discuss with “So techt Deutschland”. A special highlight was the visit of a camera crew from n-tv , which resulted in the report “Startup lehrt Programmieren in zwölf Wochen”.

The result? Spiced Academy’s brand awareness was increased through coverage on Handelsblatt, Capital, n-tv, and many others. Following the various publications, the Spiced Academy also confirmed a significant increase in website traffic and program sign-ups. Especially the signups are a proud achievement that shows the potential of PR to create trust and drive business success.

Thank you, Spiced Academy!
It’s been a pleasure working with you :)

The brief

Time is our most valuable asset. But using it wisely is sometimes not so easy. In a professional context, time and time management play a particularly important role, not only because legal regulations on working hours and their recording must be complied with. It is much more important to be aware of your time in order to use it as efficiently as possible – to make time valuable.

This is the mission of the Belgian company Protime. Already the market leader in time recording and workforce management in the Benelux countries, there is still a lot of potential for the company in the DACH region. In order to exploit this potential and come a step closer to its vision of becoming the number one in Europe when it comes to time management, Protime approached LAIKA. The aim was to raise awareness of the brand outside of its Belgian home country and to draw attention to it as an expert in time management in all its facets.

The campaign

To achieve our common goals, we focused on HR and business media as well as specialist media from Protime’s core industries such as retail and logistics. In the first step, we sent out a press release about Protime’s market entry in Germany in order to emphasize the importance of the German market for the company to the media in addition to the news.

We then made regular offers for guest articles and interviews in order to anchor Protime in the minds of journalists and to present the CEO as an expert on the topic of time management. The topic allows for many perspectives, so thematic diversity was our trump card. We were able to combine the topic of time management with various aspects of the New Work concept and thus bring Protime into ongoing discussions about work-life balance, hybrid work, artificial intelligence, skills shortages, productivity and work routines.

In addition, the campaign also dealt with current legal aspects, such as the obligation to record working hours or access controls. In particular, we were able to profitably address the upcoming Working Hours Act on several occasions. The questions of when it will come into force and what practical implementation options are available are currently regularly discussed in the media. By referring to currently relevant topics, we were able to position Protime as a pioneer in time management and workforce management on several occasions.

Another important strategic pillar of the campaign was the data stories, which we created in collaboration with YouGov Germany. We were able to show, through two data stories, that the different generations in the labor market perceive the topic of time management extremely differently and also associate different expectations with it, which explicitly dealt with the views of the older and younger generation with regard to questions about working hours, time management and everyday working life in general. In general, the topics of time management and work-life balance in combination with statistical data met with broad interest from the media.

The results

During our nine-month collaboration, we were able to record 22 clippings. HR outlets such as Persoblogger or HR performance as well as nationally renowned media with a wide reach such as FAZ or Business Insider and Business Punk included Protime in their coverage. We were able to reach over 56 million people in the DACH region: A thoroughly pleasing result, considering that Protime had ventured into the German market for the first time from a communications perspective. In view of this, we can proudly say that we have achieved our goals of positioning Protime as an expert in the field of time management and increasing brand awareness – from virtually zero to over 56 million. And we’re not stopping there – our journey continues. Stay tuned!

Thank you, Protime!
It’s a pleasure working with you!

The brief

Since March 2018 Laika is the trusted PR partner of orderbird, the leading iPad POS system for restaurant, bars and the hospitality industry in general. Initially engaged to support the internal comms team with thought leadership content and high level journalist contacts only, we soon grew into a bigger role for the Berlin based “grown-up”. Our overall communications objective: Manifest the market leader position of orderbird and make it a permanent fixture in the financial services sector, introduce new services and features, establish the founders as thought leaders and hospitality experts and attract talent via employer branding storytelling.

The campaign

As a full-service press office we support orderbird with corporate communications, B2B PR, conference and award programs as well as employer branding storytelling. A major milestone for orderbird in 2022 was the successful sale of its shares to Nets/the Nexi Group, for which we provided expert communications support and acted as trusted advisors.

Other services we provide include the external communication for investment rounds or half-yearly to annual sales reports. We also support orderbird in collaborations, such as with TV chef Christian Rach or with new legal regulations of the German Federal Ministry of Finance, such as the “Kassensicherungsverordnung” through a well thought-out PR mix consisting of guest contributions, interviews, data stories or press releases.

With a strong focus on data stories and thought leadership content we’re looking forward to continuing our work.

Thank you, orderbird!
It’s a pleasure to work with you!

The brief

Less traffic and cleaner air: That’s the promise behind ONO. The Pedal Assisted Transporter (PAT) is an emissions-free and weather-protected vehicle developed to first focus on intracity logistics and the CEP industry. With its smart design it can easily replace the volume capacity of a conventional delivery vehicle.

When ONO approached us the company behind this new kind of cargobike was close to finishing its second generation of prototypes – and looking on how to promote those and the soon to start pilot projects with logistic partners. ONO did not have to have to look far: The Berlin based startup found its PR partner in Laika where we have extensive experience with logistics and sustainability topics.

The campaign

To successfully introduce the second generation of the ONO prototype together with its pilot projects with Hermes and Liefery, we initially chose three European key markets to communicate this new category of vehicle: Germany, France and UK.

As a first step together with the client, we organised ONO’s presence during Viva Technology 2019 in Paris where we setup media interviews, met the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo along with several other key stakeholders.

Back in Berlin, Laika organised a product photoshoot for ONO’s new prototypes together with our in-house photographer Julia Murray and external photographer Kristina Nabieva. ONO’s and Laika’s strong focus on high quality images to demonstrate the great design of the ONO cargobike later on assured that the media had a variety of visuals to pick from. Furthermore, the high quality of this photoshoot put ONO up to the standards of the German automotive industry, where they strategically wanted to establish themselves.

Equipped with great visuals, Laika then drafted a pan-European narrative for a press release distribution in DACH, France and the UK which triggered media interest and coverage in all three regions. Highlights of the coverage included a test ride by the best selling European newspaper BILD, whose editor took the ONO on a ride as well as Tagesspiegel who discussed the pro and cons of cargobikes in a mobility special.

Ramping up to ONO’s upcoming Series A, and mass production starting in 2020 the Laika team is currently focusing on building a strong throughout leadership positioning for the ONO founding team by supporting them with commentary and by-line articles. We are also organising ONO test rides throughout Germany to demonstrate the advantages of ONO for citizens and drivers alike.

Furthermore, we are currently working on a series of PR stunts and data stories to keep up the momentum. So keep your eyes peeled for the first ONO on streets near you!

Thank you, ONO!
It’s a pleasure to trailblaze emission-free transportation with you!