Hi, my name is Sascha Schulz. I am a communication expert, digital manager, digital innovations consultant and consultant for investors. After numerous publications in magazines and TV appearances, I am often invited to present my views on current marketing topics.
Through my extensive professional experience, I offer a holistic approach that combines analytics, creativity, management and digital implementation in a unique way.
In my career, I have often heard that I have a good sense for details and new approaches, and that I have a deep understanding of technology. Over the years I have found methods and ways to define strategies, develop organizations and structure projects that successfully move from A to Z.
How did it all start?
It all started with my dream as an 11-year-old to become a great publisher à la Murdoch or Maxwell. And with a student scholarship at IBM, which introduced me to Windows, Desktop Publishing 1.0 and all sorts of other programs, at a time when the Internet was not yet invented. I was involved in the digitization of this world right from the start, and in the following years I saved myself from designing layouts with scratch letters or cutting text flags and pasting them into the type area.
In the following years I founded a city magazine and was rewarded with prizes from Deutsche Lufthansa and the Sparkassen- und Giroverbands for my efforts (and for my two passions: writing, photography). Before I graduated from high school, I sold the magazine to a major publisher, co-founded my first company in the the field of campus marketing, worked as an author for Germany’s largest university magazine and supported companies such as Bose Corporation and Club Med or personalities such as Carsten Maschmeyer in the acquisition of high potentials in the student environment. At the same time, I studied business administration in Düsseldorf and Hagen.
Microsoft, source, Condé Nast…
After an “apprenticeship year” as a personal assistant to the veteran Werner Herrwerth in Munich (BMW Motorrad, Ikea, Border Police Bavaria, Senior Club Germany) and working in a supplement agency for a textile discounter (ufzzzz … what an experience! ) the time had come: The dream of a major publisher had come true, the dream of working with three top brands was fulfilled. At the age of 23, I became responsible for the direct marketing support for Microsoft, Quelle Versandhaus and Condé Nast (Vogue, GQ, AD Architectural Digest) as budget director and together with a wonderful team have a lot of advertisements and mailings for these and other customers , Citylight posters and sales promotion measures implemented.
Pioneer in digital marketing
After the first successful digital small projects within Compuserve, I finally founded the “Online Department” of the leading German dialogue marketing agency in 1996, which was to develop into an 80-person digital agency (“Web Agency”) over the next five years: IFA Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, Hamburger Morgenpost, the first website of the German GQ magazine, comprehensive digitization for building societies, online banking solutions for brokers, banks and savings banks, the first browser-based online game for Deutsche Telekom, the first online auctions for T-Mobile-VIP customers, e-commerce solutions for Velux and B2B concepts for Opel commercial vehicles. I finally sold the agency to a Neue Markt joint-stock company, where I dealt with the marketing of formerly AI-based search technologies and, in this way, benefited from learning from top executives of the SAP group, such as how the software business, on the supplier side, is working.
Better together
Presumably, encouraging my talent early on, motivated me to share knowledge throughout my career and to help others develop. I worked as a lecturer for the German Direct Marketing Academy and the Academy for Design for many years. In the German Direct Marketing Association and FEDMA (European Direct Marketing Association), I founded and supported the departments for e-commerce and online marketing. I worked internationally as a lecturer for Deutsche Post and the software manufacturer Intershop and helped start-ups and innovative entrepreneurs to go their own way in digital marketing. Together with agency owners in Paris and London, I built up a European network for digital dialogue marketing.
Interim CEO for digital start-ups
After a few challenging years in a boat with “New Market Kids”, I made a switch – rich in knowledge and practical experience – and from then on, took care of innovation solutions for companies like the Swiss Interhome (first database-based printed travel catalog with fantastic success rates and a lot of praise at the ITB! ), the establishment of a social network for the travel industry and the growth promotion, restructuring or reorganization of start-ups on behalf of investors: data hygiene, B2C voucher platforms, mobile city guide apps, inbound marketing.
Germany’s first academy for influencer marketing
After a sabbatical (with a lot of time for photography!), I decided to found Germany’s first Academy for Influencer Marketing together with my friends from the Berlin ecomex career and start-up centers: The Influencer Marketing Academy (IMA). Times have changed: It has never been more important to communicate authentically, to use the power of recommendations correctly and to integrate creative talents of the generation Y and Z into your own brand communication! The constantly evolving technical possibilities of social media enables everyone today to become their own “broadcaster” and broadcast live convincingly. To stream video contributions, to distribute listening experiences via podcasts or to “just” publish credible photos and texts. The diverse and different types of classic social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest), newcomers (TikTok, Twitch), business networks (LinkedIn, SlideShare) and smart apps (Vimeo) combined with new approaches in doing business worldwide (e-Citizenship, Shared Companies) are the future! They change the face of our media world and create new channels to sell products and successfully establish brands without losing sight of the individuality of customers!
