Technology for Marketing: An Executive Briefing

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Technology for Marketing: An Executive Briefing
By Christine Smith, Director of Marketing Communications, MediaBin, Inc.

How Companies Can Leverage Technology to Support an Enterprise Brand Management Strategy and Maximize ROI

In most organizations the marketing department is one of the last areas to embrace enterprise technology. Tools and desktop applications have dominated the environment, but with the adoption of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and email marketing solutions, marketers are starting to see the benefits that large-scale automation can bring, including increased efficiencies, more accurate reporting capabilities, and reduced costs.

However, this is just the beginning. There are a few key marketing technologies that not only improve bottom line results, but also impact the top line. These software solutions can increase sales and boost marketing ROI by allowing companies to launch products and campaigns faster and with tighter brand control. This briefing defines these new technologies, outlines the primary benefits, and suggests how executives can facilitate the phased deployment of these solutions for maximum ROI.

Key Solutions

The landscape of marketing solutions is a confusing place with very little agreement on categories or definitions. Vendors are touting enterprise content management, brand management, marketing automation, workflow applications, and many other marketing solutions. To add to the confusion�and perhaps apprehension on the part of corporations�there was a wave of �marketing resource management� software that has over-promised and under-delivered. In this paper, we will avoid the buzzwords and acronyms as much as possible and focus on the benefits of four key marketing technology solutions, shown below.

We believe that these four technologies are essential for corporations that want to start the solution process, resulting in increased revenue and shareholder value.

Digital Asset Management
Collaboration Tools
Workflow and Projects Management Tools
Online Ad Creation Software

Digital Asset Management is the first building block for marketing automation. Corporations cannot proceed to the higher levels of production and automation without a controlled library that contains their marketing assets.

Digital Asset Management

Digital Asset Management systems, such as MediaBin Asset Manager™, are the cornerstone of any brand management initiative because they contain and control the basic building blocks of the brand strategy � the product images, logos, marketing collateral, video clips, presentations, illustrations, documents, and other rich media assets that communicate brand, company, and product to a corporation�s many stakeholders. Digital Asset Management systems are sophisticated catalogs that store all of a company�s brand and marketing assets in a secure database, making them available to authorized users over the Web. For example, the marketing communications department can store all of the latest product literature in this catalog, so that resellers across the globe can access the new product information as soon as it is available, thus speeding the delivery of their local campaigns while ensuring brand consistency.

In many companies, these valuable assets are difficult to locate. They are spread among many internal departments (marketing, marketing communications, corporate photography, training, Web site development, eBusiness, etc.) and outside firms (ad agencies, Web designers, freelance artists, video production labs, etc.). As a result, assets are not immediately available to the many internal and external groups who need them to sell and market products. Because current assets are not readily available, they are often recreated, which can cost thousands of dollars per asset and consume expensive time. Digital Asset Management systems bring all corporate assets together in one central location, where they can be shared by all over the Web, thereby promoting reuse and eliminating production silos.

The primary benefits of Digital Asset Management are:

Speed - New and updated materials are available much more quickly.
Brand Control - Only brand-approved assets are available, ensuring brand integrity as rich media assets are used within and beyond the enterprise.
Reduced Costs - Improved organization, automated asset production, and self-service Web access save time and money for rich media creators and users.

Collaboration Tools

With employees and partners in different locations, or even countries, it is difficult to collaborate on projects and route new pieces for approvals. There are new collaboration tools available, such as MediaBin WorkPlace�, that enable virtual teams to work on brochures, ads, graphics, and other marketing materials. The team collaborates online, then routes approval requests via email. Reviewers simply click to view everything online, where they can approve it or suggest changes. These collaboration tools allow teams to use their favorite applications and maintain their current processes, while automating and streamlining the approval process.

Teams should aspire for basic collaboration first. It is easy to adopt, inexpensive, and delivers a high benefit. Once collaboration is in place, teams can move to more sophisticated workflow improvements, which require process modeling and analysis, but deliver even greater benefits.

The primary benefits of using Collaboration Tools are:

Speed - New marketing collateral, Web graphics, and other pieces can be finalized much more quickly since users no longer have to courier, mail, or FedEx designs.
Reduced Costs - Teams need fewer meetings and conference calls since so much is accomplished online, thereby saving time and money.

Workflow and Project Management Tools

Carrying collaboration to the next step, there are new workflow and project management products available, such as MediaBin Project Manager�, that help marketers manage work processes and all ongoing projects, from initial concept through to printing and fulfillment. Most marketing projects involve many geographically dispersed groups (internal teams, agencies, designers, printers, fulfillment houses, etc.). These can be complex processes with interdependent tasks and multiple milestones. Leveraging software to manage the process gives all contributors access to the information they need. According to a recent KPMG study, Fortune 500 companies that use some form of online project tracking can decrease administrative labor expenditures by an average of 62% and decrease annual costs an average of 38%.

The primary benefits of using Workflow and Project Management tools are:

Accelerated Production - Marketing projects are completed faster because processes are streamlined.
Improved communication - By linking corporations, clients, agencies, and suppliers in an online collaboration environment, there is much less chance for misunderstandings, missed deadlines, and oversights.
Maximized productivity - Since all project information is accessible to everyone in one central location via the Web, no one wastes time looking for files or wondering if they have the latest version. Potential errors are reduced as are the number of meetings, faxes, and voicemails.
Optimized expenditures - Because all project costs are tracked simultaneously, managers always have up-to-date cost information.

Online Ad Creation Software

Allowing channel partners to create their own customized ads can dramatically speed campaign launches, but this is only an option if corporate marketing is assured that these ads adhere to the established style guide. This is now possible via software applications such as those from Inter-Sight and Saepio that enable marketers to create templates that partners can use to create their own ads and collateral pieces while maintaining corporate branding. Local resellers can access these templates online and dynamically create new materials by dragging and dropping approved elements into the template. The template controls the placement of logos and graphics. Areas that can be customized are clearly marked. Because everything is assembled online, it is easy even for non-creative staff to generate the material they need very quickly. The primary benefits of using Online Ad Creation Software are:

Orchestrated campaign launches - Since the corporate marketing group can delegate regional campaigns to local managers, new products can be launched simultaneously around the world.
Brand consistency - Corporate marketing groups establish easy to follow standards so that all materials produced promote products and brands consistently.
Increased customer responsiveness - Locally produced ads and collateral can target specific consumer groups and can be tailored to their interests and customs, which is critical in international markets.
Improved sales channel support - Channel partners, distributors, franchisees, and regional sales locations can create marketing materials more quickly and at lower costs.

Roadmap to Success

When viewed together, all of these solutions deliver four essential benefits:

Increased revenue - Since marketing and sales materials can be developed and updated much more quickly, products can be launched earlier, increasing selling time and revenue.
Increased brand control - Only brand-approved assets are available to internal and external users, ensuring that brand integrity is maintained in all communications.
Increased flexibility - The ability to create marketing materials more quickly and to push the controlled creation of content out to partners and resellers increases responsiveness to market changes, consumer demands, and competitor maneuvers, creating a more agile enterprise.
Reduced costs - A shared asset catalog and collaboration tools drastically reduce or even eliminate redundancies, rework, miscommunication, and other inefficiencies, thereby reducing overall marketing costs.

As a corporate leader, there are four key actions you can take to leverage technology in your enterprise brand management strategy and achieve all of the benefits listed above.

Communicate the vision - As with any other corporate initiative, employees must understand the importance of the program and see the significance of their participation. Make sure everyone knows that you have a system in place to promote and protect your brands and that they must use that system. Mandating use by employees and partners may be required.
Prioritize new technologies - While you have the overall vision, take it one step at a time and help your team develop a realistic implementation plan that accomplishes your near-term goals while laying the groundwork for your long-term strategy. Since Digital Asset Management is the foundation of any marketing automation effort, it should be implemented first. It also has the highest return on investment and can be deployed rapidly. The order of the other three tools depends on the particular needs of your organization.
Allocate appropriate resources - Marketing systems like those described here can have a rapid return on investment�sometimes paying for themselves in just a few months�but there must be a firm commitment from executive management to allocate the financial resources to reap the rewards. Since these marketing technologies are relatively new, they are often not included in budgets and there can be confusion among departments about who is financially responsible. Again, leadership from the top can smooth this process.
Coordinate with (or outsource) IT - Often, the IT department is not familiar with marketing-related workflows and solutions. Marketing leaders need to facilitate and drive IT involvement early in the process. Some executives have determined that it is less costly or far faster to opt for hosted services rather than relying on in-house resources.

Conclusion

How much would it be worth to have more selling time and save precious marketing dollars? How much of an edge would you gain by getting a new product out two weeks earlier than your competitors? How much is your brand worth? How much could it be worth if you had better control? How much will you lose if you don�t gain more control? According to a 2002 Interbrand study, the total brand value of the world�s top 100 companies is nearly $1 trillion! That�s why companies such as the Ford Division of Ford Motor Company, Sara Lee, Microsoft, National Semiconductor, Cole Haan, Delta Air Lines, and many others are rapidly adopting Digital Asset Management and other marketing technologies to protect their brands while reducing costs and increasing revenue. As a corporate leader your vision and influence are essential in deploying and maintaining these solutions.

Christine Smith is Director of Marketing Communications for MediaBin, Inc., pioneers in digital asset management (DAM) solutions for global marketing.
You can reach her at .

MediaBin's DAM solutions centralize and manage a company's strategic digital assets-product photos, Web graphics, sales sheets, presentations, documents, videos-and make them available across the enterprise via a browser to the people who need them for all sales, marketing, and eBusiness initiatives.
For further information about MediaBin, please visit .