Off to new waters

Interview with Corvis' new Performance Marketing Director Andreas Eder

Sarah Meraner

Sarah Meraner

Table of contents

Photo Copyright Philipp Radon

It’s an old story of “being in the same boat together.”. And yet that doesn’t change the fact that a boat needs a good steersman. Someone who sets the sails correctly, has a compass and steering wheel firmly under control and knows how to motivate his team. One who cannot be dissuaded from the course, but steers straight to where the many, undiscovered possibilities are waiting: towards the horizon. With the 39-year-old Andreas Eder, the management of the agency Corvis has now found a new steersman for the performance marketing team. A conversation.


Of unimagined passions and the courage to be a pioneer

When you talk to Andreas Eder about his 12 years of experience as a marketing manager in various national and international profit and non-profit organizations, one of the most exciting facts is that his passion for online marketing came out of nowhere. “My boss at MODUL University at the time set the ball rolling for my enthusiasm. We have noticed that without data-driven marketing, it is no longer possible.” The international marketing strategy of the Vienna Private University made it necessary for Andreas to turn to this sector in the first place. And although Austria was still in its infancy in 2010, the then 29-year-old took up the challenge of pioneering work in the domestic university marketing industry. “I knew that if I got into the topic and got excited about it, then we would increase our international student numbers. In addition, I also have a long-term job guarantee in terms of my career and an exciting environment that will never stand still in the coming years.”

“My boss at the time said to me, ‘We need online marketing and I trust you to do that,’ and I just thought, ‘Okay, let’s do it!’ Meanwhile, I love to tinker and analyze – I am really grateful today to my former boss for this decision.”

Euphoric mood

At that time, Andreas restructured his marketing department at MODUL University and began to build an entire online sales funnel with his team with the help of a data-driven online marketing approach. “At the time, the launch of the first smartphones and various social networks was revolutionizing the market,” recalls the half swiss laughing, “and with the help of these new technologies, we had to completely rethink the approach to the extremely young target group. Back then, we were already working with content and online marketing as well as video and funnel marketing – all those disciplines that are simply part of it today.” During this very special “spirit of optimism”, the first collaboration with Martin Siuda also came about. “During this time, I met Martin through a student. Together we developed an innovative Youtube channel and in 3 years we shot about 40 inspirational and informative videos together, which we played along the funnel to potential students within the customer journey. Martin was art and creative director and cinematographer in one and I was a director, project manager and coffee break girl! (laughs) That was a project close to my heart. A little later, I also met Markus – and we immediately noticed that all three of us are of the same kind: passionate, but solution-oriented.” You can tell that the father of a five-year-old daughter likes to think back to this time – and the fact that he played a kind of pioneering role in the field of international university marketing in Austria makes him proud.

Photo copyright: Philipp Radon & Rene Hundertpound

With shared experience towards the future

There were plenty of important experiences for Andreas, who began his career in marketing, sales and PR – in an advertising agency and in the world-famous Hotel Sacher, for example. After nine years at MODUL Uni, he embarked on a new adventure: Andreas becomes Head of Marketing and E-Commerce at Jollydays, the then Austrian market leader for leisure experiences. “I simply wanted to know whether I could also assert myself and develop further in the e-commerce business – and I learned a lot about this area during this very intensive and extremely exciting time.” In his most recent position as Head of Marketing at the Vienna headquarters of the international NGO “Rote Nasen Clowndoctors”, he supported and guided the marketing and fundraising teams – in eleven countries in Europe and the Arab world – in their online and brand presence.

Funny detail on the side: Over the years, Andreas has repeatedly come together with Martin and Markus professionally. “Corvis also looked after Jollydays. I also wanted to work with them on a call for tenders for the Red Noses or I was always in contact to exchange ideas with them.” Overall, the chemistry between the three seems to fit. Right from the start, Andreas notices: “They only want the best for the customer. And that’s the way it is for me – I’ve never treated agencies like a service provider, but always communicate at eye level. It has always been important to me that I can also learn from agency experts like Markus and Martin. Last summer, I evaluated my life and, among other things, thought about what I wanted to do with myself professionally. I wanted to return to performance marketing after two and a half years of absence, because there is so much going on and it never gets boring – I couldn’t pass up the chance to work with Martin and Markus and combine their joint expertise for Corvis.”

Keep the boat on course

Learning and, above all, not standing still has always been essential for Andreas. He doesn’t like it when everything is set in stone – that’s why he prefers an environment where there is a culture of innovation. “I want to design and need the opportunity to work in an organization where further development is possible and where everything is in motion,” he emphasizes. No wonder, then, that Andreas feels extremely comfortable with Corvis after a short time. Thanks to his many years of experience, the marketer recognizes the status and development potential of a company quite quickly and knows in which direction he has to steer. At Corvis, too, the path is clear: As Performance Marketing Director, Andreas will now relieve Markus in his position as Managing Director and drive forward new business and internationalization. Andreas, for whom the mix of interpersonal and tinkering in the background is the attraction of marketing, definitely has enough experience, ideas and motivation.

Andreas’ secret to success? Keep moving and set sail again and again in order to always keep your finger on the pulse of the times in the digital age. Well then: Off to Corvis’ new waters! It will be an exciting (performance) adventure – with a particularly motivated and competent team.

Sarah Meraner

Sarah Meraner is responsible for digital storytelling at clicktext, the renowned South Tyrolean agency for communication and corporate content. Even as the author and blogger of “Geschichten im Kopf” (www.geschichtenimkopf.com), she experiences the world with all her senses and tells about it – and her people.

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