Accelerate the production of brochures and leaflets in InDesign
No Compromise: Accelerate the production of brochures and leaflets in InDesign – WITHOUT sacrificing good design.
Adobe InDesign is undoubtedly the luxury SUV among layout programmes. First released over twenty-three years ago, Adobe’s “Project K2” replaced PageMaker and eventually displaced the then reigning champion QuarkXPress. Today, Adobe InDesign can do practically everything a designer’s heart desires, and thus much more than just design print pages.
This is precisely where the challenge lies. InDesign now offers a very wide range of functions that can turn a simple design into a complex project. This is especially true for data-driven content. This content is a challenge for print designers whose job it is to create visually appealing and accurate material for a retailer’s most important channel – Print.
The Catalog Conundrum
Printed catalogs and circulars are far from being a dying medium. Even formerly digital-only retail marketers are turning to print, according to RetailDive, using paper catalogs “to break through the ‘noise’ of the online world.” Consumers also trust printed catalogs (76%) far more than digital media such as mobile phone ads (39%), according to a MarketingSherpa survey. There are good, scientific reasons for this. When test subjects were exposed to advertising in either digital or printed form, “their brain activity indicated greater subconscious value and desire for products or services advertised in a printed format,” according to a joint USPS/Temple University study.
Brochures contain very detailed product information. This product information ranges from sizes to colours to prices (which vary depending on the version) and a number of other attributes that are contained in a PIM (Product Information Management) database. On top of all this product information, there are large amounts of image data associated with the products, all stored in a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system.
As a result, the designer needs to collate multiple pieces of information for each product in a brochure or leaflet, as specified by marketing, creating a consistent, visually compelling brand experience. Most retailers also need multiple regional versions of each printed copy – and the same content again to populate their shopping apps. Adobe InDesign, as the most widely used layout programme, includes features for a wide variety of layout design areas. Despite the many useful functions that Adobe InDesign offers, the manual effort to create a layout is extremely high; only the connection to a PIM and DAM system creates the greatest possible efficiency.
The Automation Advantage
The solution to this tedious process is to automate repetitive tasks so designers have more time to actually design. Such automation is possible through third-party plug-ins, thanks to InDesign’s architecture. Comosoft has used this environment to develop LAGO Layout, which combines the complex, specialised worlds of PIM and DAM data with the features and design power of InDesign.
LAGO Layout is the answer to inefficient design processes and enables fast, cost-effective, high-quality design and production. It also allows designers to integrate into any process, from campaign planning and data access to proofing, approval and final output, without compromising on good design.
On the surface, LAGO Layout is simply a plugin for InDesign that adds functionality without leaving the designer’s familiar interface. But once installed, LAGO Layout makes many different tasks easier.
- Workflow automation between marketing and design production teams. LAGO users on the marketing side can select the products to promote based on margin, availability, and other factors, using a whiteboarding process. These decisions are automatically conveyed to the design team as InDesign templates. Marketers can even track the results of their original campaign plans.
- Data integration with PIM and DAM systems and the designer allows them to drag-and-drop products and into an InDesign layout. The two-way link remains live and updateable until final output.
- Proofing and approval cycles are easy, automatic, and fully auditable.
- Multiple versions of each piece can be generated and managed efficiently, allowing regional marketing needs to be met while maintaining the retailer’s brand image and data accuracy.
- Digital output for online e-commerce and mobile apps is automatic, ensuring that all retail media channels contain the same content.
Of course, there is a lot more to the plugin and to the LAGO system as a whole. But for the production designer, the main benefit is time. With so much of the busy work on autopilot, the designer now has time to take full advantage of InDesign’s exceptional capabilities – and create print channel content worthy of a retailer’s brand.
In a world of multichannel marketing, print remains at the forefront and the need for compelling visual content has never been greater. Adobe InDesign is the best tool for the job, but it can’t handle all the variables for complex brochures and leaflets on its own. Automating the process streamlines page creation, preserves data accuracy, and ensures consistent branding, while allowing creative flexibility.
Learn more about LAGO Layout, our plugin for Adobe InDesign that will accelerate and automate your entire design and production workflow for circular ads and brochures. Or book a demo to see for yourself.
How retailers are gearing up for growth with a DAM system
How retailers are gearing up for growth with a DAM system
Covid plus the supply chain crisis has put retailers on the ropes. But agile marketing departments and their creative directors, however, have already taken on the challenges of commerce. One of the most important roles in modern retail marketing is played by data – specifically, the data in the digital asset management (DAM) system.
The DAM challenge
These database systems are nothing new in Retail Marketing. DAM has been around for thirty years. However, early systems were complicated and were usually stored on local network servers. Present-day, most DAM systems reside in the cloud or are heading there but pose no fewer challenges for the creative directors. Here are some of the obvious challenges:
- Consistent Usage – According to a McKinsey report, 19 percent of users still spend their working time searching for and collating data! The savings potential through the integration of a good DAM system is very large but is crucially conditioned by consistent keywording of images. This potential can therefore only be fully exploited through consistent use of the DAM by employees.
- Metadata Madness – The key to any database is its metadata – technical and content related image information. Metadata is the basis for making images findable in the DAM.
- Integration – To be efficient, a DAM system must work seamlessly with many other systems, from product information management (PIM) to marketing campaign planning and production. The fact is that most legacy DAM systems do not play well with other systems/applications.
The evolution of new marketing channels and the intense competition for people’s attention have worsened the situation. In a marketing campaign, a picture may be worth a thousand words. However, getting the right version of the right picture, at the right instant in time, and for the right channel is a major challenge. Traditional DAMs cannot do it alone. A DAM must be much more than a filing system and must be consistently integrated into the IT system landscape.
The ever-growing multichannel world dictates that digital assets must be accessible in real-time – all the time. As a result, accurate and dynamic data are more critical than ever. So, having all your assets in one place – and easily accessible to every person and marketing-related system – is vital.
As a recent article in MarTech put it, “Digital asset management can play a vital role in your marketing organisation, unifying online and offline marketing channels and leading to more efficient marketing resource allocation.”
But not all DAMs are the same
Many DAMs exist in a world of their own, designed to meet the needs of one channel or workflow. Traditional DAMs are cumbersome in the extreme when used for other purposes or channels. They are also not always easily accessible across departments or regions. An InDesign user creating a print or online campaign, for example, may have to exit their design software in order to hunt through a DAM manually to find the photo or description of a promoted product. Hoping that they see the most recent version, they then download the file, thereby creating a duplicate and placing it in the layout.
Multiply that scenario by the number of regional variations in a campaign – and the number of media channels involved – and you get a cumbersome process, slow to market and highly subject to human error. It’s every creative director’s nightmare to discover – too late – that a catalog or brochure error caused the company thousands of dollars.
The LAGO DAM solution
But there is a DAM system designed for today’s multichannel marketing world. Comosoft’s LAGO DAM allows marketing departments to consolidate digital asset management into a single, unified repository – distributing assets to team members across the enterprise through a centralised platform.
LAGO’s automation and integration with other product databases assure that the correct version of the asset for a particular channel will be found immediately. In addition, if a new version of the asset is created, it can be automatically updated throughout the campaign.
Creative designers, photographers, and art directors especially benefit from using the LAGO DAM through an Adobe InDesign layout plugin. Allowing the DAM to manage assets in the background automatically will enable them to focus on what they do best – design and collaborate – rather than waste time searching for the right image.
Category- and product managers also benefit greatly from using the LAGO DAM system. Comosoft is highly adept at integrating DAM, PIM, and other critical databases with its expert planning tools, so that each campaign can use just the right products to feature – even if there are multiple regional variations to consider. Furthermore, the marketing manager’s decisions are automatically conveyed to the InDesign user, including product size, type, color, pricing, regional variations, and the myriad of other details that used to make campaign planning so difficult.
Once a campaign is in motion, LAGO data can be automatically exported to websites, mobile apps, or other digital channels – eliminating the manual process that traditional, channel-specific DAMs can impose..
Every creative marketing director understands the necessity and urgency of having a reliable DAM system – one that is integrated with every step in the marketing workflow. LAGO’s DAM solution grows and evolves with the company – and with the ever-changing, multichannel world.
Learn how Comosoft’s LAGO DAM solution can transform your retail marketing workflows and book a personalised demo with our experts.
Bring Multichannel Shopping Experience to Grocery Retail
Bring Multichannel Shopping Experience to Grocery Retail
When it comes to grocery shopping, customers increasingly expect an experience that allows them to shop how they want, when they want. To keep up with the competition and meet customer demands, retailers must provide an online shopping option that is easy to use and integrates well with their in-store offerings. Businesses can improve customer loyalty and drive sales growth by delivering on this multichannel promise.
Grocery stores are changing because of the pandemic. With more people focused on health concerns and avoiding crowds, grocery shopping has become an enjoyable experience through multiple channels like online ordering or delivery apps. Supply chain issues are also making inventory a more significant variable for change. Stores now must keep inventory updated constantly to ensure customers have access to a real-time account of what’s available at the store while shopping.
What is Multichannel Retail?
- Multichannel retailing provides a customer-oriented shopping experience across digital and physical channels while maintaining brand consistency.
- Multichannel retail is all about giving customers the best experience possible.
- To better serve the needs of their customers, retailers must be able to create interconnected systems that share information and support people throughout all stages of a journey.
- Successfully done, multichannel approaches can boost online sales and encourage more in-store visits.
Benefits of a Multichannel Approach
100% Transparency
Real-time inventory systems have helped retailers track the movement and availability of their products between stores, distribution centers, and home delivery couriers. In addition, with multichannel integration capabilities, it is now possible to offer customers more transparency about their orders when purchasing online since orders are tracked automatically.
“You Can Look, but You Can’t Touch.”
Online shopping has been growing exponentially, but one drawback is that customers cannot physically interact with food before purchasing. At traditional brick-and-mortar stores like Walmart or Target, shoppers or store pickers can choose specific steaks from the meat counter. They can also feel how ripe an avocado or banana is by touching them firsthand. This personal touch isn’t possible on eCommerce sites like Amazon because everything is ordered online and delivered straight to your doorstep.
The multichannel approach enables retailers to bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping by giving customers flexibility. For example, customers may opt for home delivery or pick up items on their weekly shopping list and then create a second list for in-store visits for perishables, meats, and vegetables.
Customers Spend More
According to new research from Symphony RetailAI, multichannel grocery shoppers spend on average 20% more on purchases and shop more frequently than those who visit the store. The convenience and speed of online are hard to beat. Furthermore, it is easier for customers to create grocery lists and remember items they might pick up during a regular in-store shopping trip.
Customers who purchase products online and do curbside pickup aren’t exposed to traditional in-store marketing efforts. Therefore, having a cutting-edge flyer design that integrates with your website features makes it easier to sell products and offer those impulse buys.
Is Multichannel Retail the Future?
With the rise in online grocery shopping, retailers are looking for ways to make their stores more accessible and will continue to do so going forward. As a result, the adoption rate of e-commerce will continue climbing among all types of grocery retail as this gap between an offline experience and one on continues to widen.
Comosoft’s LAGO software automates and optimizes multichannel marketing activities, significantly cutting production time and costs. LAGO has been a reliable multichannel marketing solution for over 25 years for Retail, Grocery, Agencies, and more.
2022 Marketing Trends: Why print marketing is making a comeback
2022 Marketing Trends: Why print marketing is making a comeback
Alongside many retailer tech-first approaches over the years, putting ad spend toward something more analog: the print catalog, sent alongside a slew of other direct-mail products, offers an incredible opportunity to deliver rich, tactile shopping experience targeting prospects as well as existing customers.
Cutting Through the Clutter
As advertising has become increasingly dominated by Facebook and Google, it is easy to write off print as a relic. Just look at Sears: the once-iconic catalog retailer is a thing of the past. But, more retailers and grocery giants are rolling out catalogs and flyers to hook prospects and keep existing customers loyal. Startups like Everlane and Greats and more traditional retailers, including Williams-Sonoma and major grocers, are evolving their multichannel approach to print and digital utilization of circulars. Even Amazon has launched toy catalogs!
With digital becoming more and more crowded, here are the top reasons to add direct mail or print marketing to your marketing mix as a retailer:
- Print marketing is a very powerful tool in the hands of retailers and can be used to influence customer purchase decisions. According to the Catalog Age magazine, about 70% of people who receive catalogs either buy or respond to them within six months. Catalogs influence purchase decisions by making it easy to locate what you’re looking for and then conveniently delivering it straight to your door!
- Printed advertising media such as brochures and direct mail are often consumed differently and more consciously by the recipient than digital content. In contrast to constantly available digital advertising, the consumer takes time at home to study the advertising in a familiar atmosphere. While the stream of digital advertising is often only marginally noticed in the everyday life of the modern consumer, a well-designed print brochure is a pleasant, decelerated exception.
- It is an effective tool that provides marketers with the ability to reach, engage and influence consumers throughout their entire purchase journey. Catalogs and print circulars are often used as a launchpad for multi-channel purchasing journeys by delivering great offers, building brand awareness, and driving traffic to retail storefronts (or websites). The catalog production and print circular strategy is constantly evolving to meet consumers where they are at both digitally and physically.
Combining Print with Data
Marketers are armed with a plethora of information on customer transactions and regional buying behaviors. Some retailers are using print catalogs and direct-mail products to reach those who spend more or are likely to spend more. It also becomes a more intimate and less crowded form of advertising than Facebook, Google, or email. Some retailers use print circular placement in weekly mailings with regional-specific offerings. That amount of data and print production takes tools to make teams work efficiently without being bogged down with manual processes.
Turning the page on a multichannel mix, print catalogs or retail circulars and online activity are not separate experiences.
Knowing that retailer catalogs and grocery print circulars are important sales drivers with increasing marketing ROI, more companies are turning to multichannel marketing software to simplify production workflows and digital output of their print materials.
Comosoft LAGO optimises marketing print production and multichannel implementation for retail, grocers, agencies, and more. At its core, LAGO is a PIM, DAM, and marketing production solution with an Adobe InDesign integration for checkpoint-based design, collaboration, versioning, optimisation, proofing, and digital output. Click here to see LAGO in action or to schedule a brief demo.
Database Publishing with the bi-directional approach
Database Publishing: How the Bi-directional Approach Helps You Optimally Connect Datasets and Documents
Since the invention of “mail merge” in 1980, companies have developed new and better ways to personalize their documents by using multiple data sources and smart technologies to create customized catalogs and other materials.
To know where multichannel marketing is going, we need to travel back in time and understand what technological advances have changed our processes since then.
The Print Publishing Evolution
In the 1980s, people in general, and especially in the print industry, had the idea that personal computers would make our lives much easier. Forty-one years later we can see, here with the example of database publishing, whether this idea was correct or whether too much was expected of it. At the beginning of the decade, the cumbersome, costly, manual process was done with cameras, scanners, litho film, pull-off tables and Rubylith.
A short time later, Scitex became the digital system for high volume publications, job costs of over $1 million were not uncommon.
By the end of the decade, design software, image editing software and PostScript were used for this production, making the old methods of producing a printed page obsolete.
Database Publishing
While publishing technologies improved by leaps and bounds, the information and data side proved more complex. Early on, we figured out how to merge data files with documents, from physical letters to packaging and shipping labels. More complex documents such as directories, technical manuals and telephone directories followed, allowing large amounts of data to be inserted into page layout templates.
But: consumer catalogues and product directories needed an exact product description AND a good design. Inflexible phone book style layouts were not enough. Users wanted to design layouts with the creative possibilities offered by QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign AND the ability to automatically insert text, images and prices from a database.
Versioning and regionalisation of listings
The development of online marketplaces and shopping apps increased the pressure on advertisers to create a smart system where ads are as personalised as possible. Digital tools began to facilitate this process. Data flowed from large, interconnected databases to pre-determined locations on the printed page. This, of course, in turn opened up the possibility for even more complex workflows, such as adapting versioned, vertically aligned catalogues to different regions of the country, or even personalising each copy through digital printing.
But: the data flow was usually only in one direction. Complete automation could thus be achieved at the expense of flexibility. Last-minute changes to the product description, such as special prices, size or colour changes, or even simple spelling corrections, could only be made with some effort at the user level.
Cloud-based software systems
Other technical innovations affecting entire IT landscapes were also gaining momentum in database publishing. The rise of cloud-based software systems meant that all these databases and associated applications were moved from on-site servers to the cloud. On the one hand, this involved long-term cost savings (no more investing in large servers!). After the decision for cloud-based software, it is up to the IT department to ensure the necessary connection of interfaces to a PIM and DAM system, as well as the guarantee of information security in this strategic step (on the other hand, this means an additional expenditure of human resources).
Multichannel Software LAGO
In the 1990s, Comosoft began to address this problem by connecting database content to QuarkXPress documents, using QuarkXPress’ XTension approach. This soon evolved into a broader systems approach, now known as LAGO. Over time, LAGO encompassed several different types of applications, including Product Information Management (PIM), Digital Asset Management (DAM), marketing campaign management and other important systems. Meanwhile, in print publishing, LAGO focuses primarily on Adobe InDesign and InDesign Server for page design, giving it a prominent position in database publishing.
What differentiates LAGO from other database publishing systems is that it is not a one-way street of data into the digital publishing ecosystem. Users can make necessary changes or adjustments within the normal process in a time-saving manner without destroying previous design adjustments.
Not only in print publishing (e.g. catalogue and flyer production) does LAGO make your processes efficient, but our consultants also design a customised solution with LAGO for your digital output.