Electrolux speeds ad delivery with Adstream

Electrolux is embracing new advertising delivery technology and consequently expects to have much quicker reactions to advertising opportunities that occur at short notice in the future.

The electrical appliance manufacturer has appointed Adstream to handle its print and broadcasting advertising throughout 16 territories in Europe, where its ad traffic is highest, and will take advantage of several of Adstream’s technologies, most notably Quickprint for print ads, Adversion to cope with multiple language requirements, and WorkPath, which provides Electrolux with campaign and marketing resource management. The arrangement extends across three brands: Electrolux, AEG and Zanussi.

Neil Gannon, director of marketing expertise for Electrolux’s EMEA regions, explains: “For print ads, when we engage with creative agencies they will deliver English masters. In Europe we might have 15 or 16 different markets running print ads so the master has to be translated, and we will work with Adstream to manage that translation and delivery. They will get the copy in the right language and the right format very quickly. In the past it has taken a couple of weeks, going back and forward between us and the local market. Now, bang, it’s done in a day and delivered to the publications.

“We have relationships with publications where we might get a phone call to say space has opened up in a particular issue, and it’s great to be able to take advantage of that. That’s important for us. It gives me a great understanding of what’s working and what’s not. It’s vital because our campaigns are pan-European, and we need a consistent brand across all markets.”

There will still be hard copy proofs for print ads when Electrolux is working with its creative agency roster to reach a final version, and Gannon says he still “appreciates a Chromalin” to get an appreciation of the look and feel of an advert on high quality paper. But when it comes to actual delivery of the ads, he says he’s happy to remove all the disks changing hands and have it done online, giving the advertiser speed and efficiency and the ability to track what it is doing. The agencies will be expected to embrace the new way of working, and the lead creative agency already has, he adds.

“Adstream is more than capable of making sure that everything is versioned in the right way; the agency just needs to deliver the master in English and Adstream will deliver it across Europe when and where needed,” says Gannon.

Using WorkPath will also bring about substantial efficiency gains, he believes. The system is described by Adstream as a brand and agency activity management system that allows template-based workflows including timelines, resources, estimates, briefs, concepts and production to be set up. It also allows reporting to be tailored around requirements.

Gannon had already worked with some online collaboration tools before joining Electrolux eight months ago, but he considers that WorkPath adds another dimension of sophistication to what he has seen previously in terms of workflow and integration with ad delivery. It will help build a community of users, working for Electrolux, or on its behalf.

“It’s a really interesting tool that allows us to drive our efficiencies and work online with the marketing directors around Europe,” says Gannon. “This is where everything will be stored and managed from. Our creative agencies can upload projects and I will get an automated email saying the latest version is on WorkPath to view.

“So it’s very helpful for project management. We could have three different agencies on WorkPath handling different aspects, making comments, carrying out actions. Then I get an email and I can come into the system and have a look. It’s a mobile world, and this allows us to keep track of anything, anywhere in the world.”

Transparency and control are the keys for Electrolux. Through these, Gannon is confident there will be improved time to market for marketing and advertising materials, greater ability to reduce costs, and clearer insight into what advertising is working best in each channel and in each market. He is after the big picture, and he believes Adstream will allow him to paint that.


• www.adstream.com