Industrial automation is an accepted reality. Automating marketing communication production is a much different thing. Is automation even possible in the fast-moving, data-intensive world of multichannel marketing?<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>Automation has been a fact of life since before the Industrial Revolution and self-regulating steam engines, water mills, and looms. Having one machine that could do the work of many workers was the eighteenth-century industrialist\u2019s dream and the manual laborer\u2019s worst nightmare. Fast forward to today. Robots and high-speed assembly lines are the rule, not the exception.<\/p>\n<\/div>
But automating physical tasks is easy compared with the daunting task of automating data processes\u2014especially when it comes to marketing. There are so many subjective variables, and so many different output channels. The goals are the same, however. Besides lowering costs, automation will accomplish a number of tasks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>Now, replace the word \u201coutput\u201d with retail promotions, or any other marketing campaign deliverable, and you\u2019ll see the potential\u2014and the difficulty\u2014of applying these principles in the real world of marketing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
- <\/i><\/span>\n
Increases throughput<\/strong> (more output-per-hour)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Increases customization<\/strong>, within reason (more output variety)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Increases quality & accuracy<\/strong> (less flawed output)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Relieves workers of boring tasks<\/strong> (less output fatigue)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
Increases worker innovation potential<\/strong> (more time for Output 2.0!)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Mapping the Problem<\/h3><\/div>In simpler times, marketing communication was a linear process. Agencies and brands would cook up the message, test it with a focus group (or not), and start the assembly line of designing, writing, and illustrating the finished product\u2014for broadcast or print production<\/a>. Budget size mattered, but most of the time everyone knew what to expect.<\/p>\nToday, it\u2019s a lot more complex, with a lot more variables and room for error. We still need well-designed, visually persuasive results, but the \u201cingredients\u201d of a campaign (the product data) and the sheer number of output channels have made the process difficult, if not impossible to manage.<\/p>\n<\/div>
For one thing, data about a product is never just in one, convenient place. It\u2019s spread out over different product information management (PIM)<\/a>, digital asset management (DAM)<\/a>, inventory, pricing, and marketing management and other databases. Many of these are proprietary, or acquired during a merger, or just outdated. Now, multiply that by the number of products and product variants being sold\u2014but be sure you\u2019ve taken your blood pressure meds before you do.<\/p>\nNext, if a business has more than one location<\/a>, chances are high that each store or region will have exceptions on price, inventory, or sales priority that will affect every marketing campaign. Each location deserves some level of autonomy\u2014which will help them succeed\u2014but the price of customization can\u2019t be too high.<\/p>\n<\/div>Finally, there seems to be a new communications channel invented every day. Retail<\/a> and B2B marketers<\/a> must cope with multiple platforms, devices, and media interactions\u2014and still deliver a coherent, compelling message. It takes time\u2014usually more than we have.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Real Marketing Production Automation<\/h3><\/div>If you\u2019re still with me, take heart. The challenges of marketing data automation can be addressed with the right approach, starting with Comosoft\u2019s LAGO<\/a> application. Its approach to marketing data automation, or LAGOmation for short, is based on years of experience and a stubborn determination not to fit neatly in any one software category.<\/p>\n<\/div>- <\/i><\/span>\n
LAGO has its own PIM system<\/a>, but it can work with any PIM.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
The same goes for DAM systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
It can work with databases of any kind\u2014small or large, open or proprietary, local or in the cloud.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>
- <\/i><\/span>\n
It works extremely well with Adobe InDesign<\/a> and other desktop design applications, but it\u2019s not bound by those programs\u2019 manual functions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li>- <\/i><\/span>\n
LAGO is a powerful, print automation system<\/a> but can output to any digital publishing medium<\/a>, like mobile apps or web shops.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul>You get the basic idea. LAGO lets marketing managers plan complex campaigns from complex data, wrangle that data from multiple sources, and automate product placements, exceptions, and channel output. This frees their designers<\/a> from the drudgery (and cost) of creating umpteen different outputs and versions for umpteen output channels\u2014focusing instead on creativity and innovation.<\/p>\nThe benefits of LAGOmation have already been realized by major retailers and other businesses around the world, including several of the largest home improvement retailers and grocers in North America. Time and again, these companies have seen significant cost benefits from modernizing their marketing communications \u201cassembly lines,\u201d while also expanding their marketing reach through regional versioning<\/a> and mobile channel content\u2014all without adding staff resources.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Estudio de caso LAGO<\/p>\n<\/div>
Descubre c\u00f3mo Lowe’s automatiz\u00f3 la producci\u00f3n de sus anuncios circulares para agilizar el marketing digital y en las tiendas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Automation has been a fact of life since before the Industrial Revolution and self-regulating steam engines, water mills, and looms. Having one machine that could do the work of many workers was the eighteenth-century industrialist\u2019s dream and the manual laborer\u2019s worst nightmare. Fast forward to today. Robots and high-speed assembly lines are the rule, not the exception.<\/p>\n<\/div>
But automating physical tasks is easy compared with the daunting task of automating data processes\u2014especially when it comes to marketing. There are so many subjective variables, and so many different output channels. The goals are the same, however. Besides lowering costs, automation will accomplish a number of tasks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div> Now, replace the word \u201coutput\u201d with retail promotions, or any other marketing campaign deliverable, and you\u2019ll see the potential\u2014and the difficulty\u2014of applying these principles in the real world of marketing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Increases throughput<\/strong> (more output-per-hour)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Increases customization<\/strong>, within reason (more output variety)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Increases quality & accuracy<\/strong> (less flawed output)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Relieves workers of boring tasks<\/strong> (less output fatigue)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Increases worker innovation potential<\/strong> (more time for Output 2.0!)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> In simpler times, marketing communication was a linear process. Agencies and brands would cook up the message, test it with a focus group (or not), and start the assembly line of designing, writing, and illustrating the finished product\u2014for broadcast or print production<\/a>. Budget size mattered, but most of the time everyone knew what to expect.<\/p>\n Today, it\u2019s a lot more complex, with a lot more variables and room for error. We still need well-designed, visually persuasive results, but the \u201cingredients\u201d of a campaign (the product data) and the sheer number of output channels have made the process difficult, if not impossible to manage.<\/p>\n<\/div> For one thing, data about a product is never just in one, convenient place. It\u2019s spread out over different product information management (PIM)<\/a>, digital asset management (DAM)<\/a>, inventory, pricing, and marketing management and other databases. Many of these are proprietary, or acquired during a merger, or just outdated. Now, multiply that by the number of products and product variants being sold\u2014but be sure you\u2019ve taken your blood pressure meds before you do.<\/p>\n Next, if a business has more than one location<\/a>, chances are high that each store or region will have exceptions on price, inventory, or sales priority that will affect every marketing campaign. Each location deserves some level of autonomy\u2014which will help them succeed\u2014but the price of customization can\u2019t be too high.<\/p>\n<\/div> Finally, there seems to be a new communications channel invented every day. Retail<\/a> and B2B marketers<\/a> must cope with multiple platforms, devices, and media interactions\u2014and still deliver a coherent, compelling message. It takes time\u2014usually more than we have.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> If you\u2019re still with me, take heart. The challenges of marketing data automation can be addressed with the right approach, starting with Comosoft\u2019s LAGO<\/a> application. Its approach to marketing data automation, or LAGOmation for short, is based on years of experience and a stubborn determination not to fit neatly in any one software category.<\/p>\n<\/div> LAGO has its own PIM system<\/a>, but it can work with any PIM.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> The same goes for DAM systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> It can work with databases of any kind\u2014small or large, open or proprietary, local or in the cloud.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> It works extremely well with Adobe InDesign<\/a> and other desktop design applications, but it\u2019s not bound by those programs\u2019 manual functions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> LAGO is a powerful, print automation system<\/a> but can output to any digital publishing medium<\/a>, like mobile apps or web shops.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul> You get the basic idea. LAGO lets marketing managers plan complex campaigns from complex data, wrangle that data from multiple sources, and automate product placements, exceptions, and channel output. This frees their designers<\/a> from the drudgery (and cost) of creating umpteen different outputs and versions for umpteen output channels\u2014focusing instead on creativity and innovation.<\/p>\n The benefits of LAGOmation have already been realized by major retailers and other businesses around the world, including several of the largest home improvement retailers and grocers in North America. Time and again, these companies have seen significant cost benefits from modernizing their marketing communications \u201cassembly lines,\u201d while also expanding their marketing reach through regional versioning<\/a> and mobile channel content\u2014all without adding staff resources.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Estudio de caso LAGO<\/p>\n<\/div> Descubre c\u00f3mo Lowe’s automatiz\u00f3 la producci\u00f3n de sus anuncios circulares para agilizar el marketing digital y en las tiendas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>Mapping the Problem<\/h3><\/div>
Real Marketing Production Automation<\/h3><\/div>
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