For 2022, Vivaldi was selected for our work with McGraw Hill in igniting their direct-to-consumer EdTech business, developing an app that fundamentally changes how users learn existing and new McGraw Hill content.  

Based on a holistic market assessment and primary student insights, the concept and app, Sharpen., were developed to address unsolved key pain points, including staying on track, focusing and fitting learning into students’ hectic lives. The Sharpen. app allows students to interactively learn textbook knowledge and prepare for tests at their own pace. 

“Sharpen. is a ground-breaking way for students to access trusted McGraw Hill content.” — Markus Zinnbauer, Senior Partner, Vivaldi

The aim was to target the student market with a brand new student-focused learning application that mirrors how students process learning today, and which sets the stage for what learning will be in the future. To work on a project of this magnitude, Vivaldi assembled a diverse project team, with skills in professional business, marketing, education, and design/UX, led by experts Anne Olderog and Markus Zinnbauer.   

At the ceremony on November 29, the award was presented to Vivaldi Senior Partner Björn Sander and Director Stefan Kluß.  

This marks the fifth time that Vivaldi has been honored with this award.  

WirtschaftsWoche recognizes companies in the following categories: Marketing & Organization, Competitive Strategy, Innovation & Growth, Supply Chain Management, IT Management, Digitalization, Public Sector & Sustainability, Restructuring, Financial & Risk Management, and M&A. 

Photo by Frank Beer.

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Sweetgreen – Arming Hospital & Medical Workers with Locally Sourced Sustenance 

With in-person services and socialization put to a halt until further notice, the restaurant industry is among the hardest hit by this pandemic. However, despite the threat of daunting revenue projections and an unforeseeable future dictated by COVID-19, Sweetgreen – the locally sourced, healthy, fast-casual salad chain – is putting the medical community fighting this pandemic first. Acting on their company’s mission “to inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food,” Sweetgreen has repurposed and dedicated its outpost operations to delivering free salads and bowls to the hospital workers and medical personnel sacrificing their lives to combat this crisis.

Vita Coco – Using their Gains to Benefit Communities In Need

As consumers attempt to prepare as best they can for the unknown and continued disruption to their lives, people are stocking up in droves on the household and pantry items that they deem essential. So, while many other industries are suffering from staggering sales declines, other F&B and household product brands are experiencing the opposite. Among the F&B products consumers have chosen to amass, Vita Coco – a nutrient-rich, shelf-stable, coconut water brand – has seen a dramatic uptick in sales, increasing upwards of 100% across large, key retailers. As Co-Founder and CEO, Michael Kirban reflected on the company’s recent spike, he took to LinkedIn to ask, “But when things get bad, shouldn’t we be doing good?” Vita Coco has since committed to donate $1MM of their incremental profit gained as a result of this pandemic to organizations directly helping those that need it most. Kirban is also urging other businesses that are in similar positions of privilege to “make [Vita Coco’s] donation seem small!”

ClassPass, CorePower Yoga, and Peloton – Bringing Fitness to Everyone

Once flocked to by consumers looking to improve or maintain their health and well-being, workout studios have shut their doors to protect people from the potential spread of dangerous germs that group exercise and shared equipment could enable. As the COVID-19 situation unfolded, ClassPass, the online fitness class booking platform, continuously updated its response with the health and safety of their customers in mind, while also recognizing that the urge to workout and stay fit was not going to go away for their customers. ClassPass’ first move was waiving the cancellation fees and rolling over any unused credits to encourage anyone who felt unsafe and/or uncomfortable attending classes to take precautions. Less than 2 days later, as the gravity of the COVID-19 situation became more apparent, ClassPass revisited their plan and put the onus on the company to act responsibly. ClassPass removed the ability for its customers to book any upcoming classes and suspended billing on all memberships until further notice. Despite no money coming in from its members, the company is still continuing 

to provide members access to their audio and video workouts online for free as part of their dedication to “helping people feel their best.” Similarly, CorePower Yoga, a cardio-yoga fitness studio chain, has made their special collection of online classes free while their studios remain closed, and Peloton has extended their free trial of its app by 3x to 90 days.

AB InBev, Diageo, and Pernod Ricard – Taking their Inputs to Produce New Outputs

With healthcare workers and consumers alike fearful of the spread of COVID-19, a dire shortage of medical and other disinfectant supplies continues. While some individuals are taking to Amazon to make a killing by upcharging these products by an exorbitant amount, many large spirit manufacturers are temporarily repurposing their operations in an effort to produce and donate hand sanitizers to those who need it most. Pernod Ricard was among the first major distillers to disclose their plan to produce and donate 70,000 liters of alcohol for hydroalcoholic gel. Shortly thereafter, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Diageo, the world’s largest beer company and largest distiller, respectively, both committed to donating millions of liters of alcohol to make disinfectant products and distribute them to healthcare systems and workers.

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In February 2016, our CEO Erich Joachimsthaler wrote an article for Forbes.com analyzing when it would make sense for advertisers to pay for a Super Bowl ad. He presented cases for buying ad space, but also argued the case for why the Super Bowl may not be the best avenue for most brands. Read the full article here.

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Vivaldi accepts the coveted award for the third year in a row, having previously won in 2017 and 2018. Both the academic advisory board and the independent jury, comprised of distinguished representatives from business and academia, reward the team’s agile and integrated project approach. The project addressed the growth challenges of Vivaldi’s client BayWa r.e. – a fast-growing pioneer in renewable energy.

“We are delighted to have received this award for best consultancy. BayWa r.e. is an extraordinary client we want to thank for an outstanding collaboration, and we are proud of our clients’ appreciation of our work.” – Björn Sander, Senior Partner

At the award ceremony on December 3, 2019, in Düsseldorf, presenter Susanne Schöne and laudator Dr. Frank Höselbarth presented the “Best of Consulting” award to the Vivaldi project team represented by Björn Sander, Mario Bartels and Michael Stein. The prize was awarded to the consultancy headquartered in New York City for a project dedicated to the growing challenges of the client’s expansion:

“BayWa r.e. has been very successful for years now, but the rapid global expansion led to ‘growing pains.’ The increased heterogeneity of the organization in terms of market cultivation, organizational management and cultural backgrounds proved a critical pain point,” Sander explained.

Together with BayWa r.e. CMO Klaus-Stephan Meyer and Dr. Annette Risi, Director of Corporate Organization and Change Management, Vivaldi professionalized the company’s new market approach and internal engagement strategy. Project Manager Mario Bartels outlined the approach as follows:

“We chose an integrated approach based on insights of various target groups. In order to address the internal challenges, an internal engagement program was developed and rolled out based on the needs of the workforce and with clear top management commitment. The market challenges were addressed by deriving and implementing a marketing strategy across business and legal entities. This provided BayWa r.e. with a consistent market approach with agility in terms of global implementation and adaptation.”

The “Best of Consulting” project competition is one of the most prestigious prizes in the German consulting industry. The business magazine WirtschaftsWoche selected the best consulting companies in Germany in the categories Strategy, Finance, Operations, Technologies, Marketing & Organisation, and Pro Bono for the 10th time.

Images: © Frank Beer and Tim Frankenheim for WirtschaftsWoche.

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