The project is supported by the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy of the Federal State of Brandenburg (MWAE) from funds of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Federal State of Brandenburg.
Gefördert durch das Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Energie (MWAE) aus Mitteln des Europäischen Sozialfonds und des Landes Brandenburg.
Julia Smereka joined MOTIONTAG in 2021 as a Junior Marketing Manager. As a marketing specialist and a person, who was actively involved in both “Muenster bewegt” and “Ddorf bewegt” projects, we were very interested in her point of view on the projects’ launches, challenges, and developments:
What brought you to work at MOTIONTAG?
As a “Development Economics” Master’s graduate, I was primarily interested in working for a company with a clear focus on sustainability and actual environmental impact. I started as an intern in February 2021, and was majorly involved in the “Muenster bewegt” project, which was already running since October 2020. The project gave me a satisfaction of working with SMEs, community of like-minded people, and, of course, incentivising sustainable transportation.
How do Muenster residents like the app? Was it challenging to get people on board?
What was especially rewarding during my work on the “Muenster bewegt” project was the positive response to it from both app users and suppliers of “rewards”, or as we call them, Climate Partners. Right now the app has a feedback score of more than 4,7 stars in the AppStore, which is a very good result. Moreover, for their efforts towards greener mobility, the app users can benefit from the offers of more than 50 local and nation-wide Climate Partners. In terms of the environmental impact, “Muenster bewegt” project saved 1,035,320 kg CO2 through green mobility since its launch in 2021.
Which is why we decided to expand the project geography and launch the app in another German city.
Was it then “Ddorf bewegt” in the city of Dusseldorf? How did this fit into the 6 months internship time span?
More towards the end of my internship, the plan to expand the project has appeared. Yes, the next city that has been chosen was Dusseldorf. However, launching the “Ddorf bewegt” app in a city, twice as big as Muenster, required more resources. In particular, human resources. Fortunately, MOTIONTAG received funding from the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy of the Federal State of Brandenburg (MWAE) from funds of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Federal State of Brandenburg. With the help of aforementioned authorities, the company hired me for a full-time Junior Marketing Manager position. And till now, I am actively involved in both projects.
How did the “Ddorf bewegt” launch go? Where does the project stand now?
As it was expected, residents of Dusseldorf were equally excited about having such an app in their city. We started with searching for Climate Partners, e.g. local shops, cafes, etc. Once we secured the rewards for the app users, we could move on with the communication campaign and the official launch. In my opinion, the most challenging part at this stage was understanding the city itself. What do people like in Dusseldorf? What areas of the cities are considered cool for our target audience? What places do they prefer? We also wanted to make sure that the Climate Partners share our vision. So we took additional time to assess how sustainable and environmental-friendly the business is.
Right now the “Ddorf project” has offers from more than 70 local and nation-wide Climate Partners. We are proud to tell that in 2022 only, the amount of total CO2 savings is 130,587 kg. Another important positive influence in my opinion is helping local community. This one is tough to measure. However, being primarily focused on the small- and medium-sized enterprises, we provide local businesses with an additional platform for promotion. Which was especially important during the pandemic.
About the ESF:
The European Social Fund (ESF) is the European Union’s most important instrument for promoting employment in Europe. With the support of the ESF, we were able to expand our marketing team with a Junior Marketing Manager, who makes a significant contribution to the implementation and further development of “Münster bewegt”.
About the Land Brandenburg MWAE:
Promoting the economic strength of Brandenburg is a key concern of the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy. Considering itself a partner of businesses in Brandenburg, the ministry wants to continuously enhance Brandenburg’s attractiveness for firms and skilled workers. A particular emphasis is put on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), as they account for the majority of local firms. The Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour and Energy wants to support SMEs in successfully tackling challenges such as digitalization.
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