MRM Global is a marketing technology company that provides web-to-print software and design services to global beverage brands in over twenty different countries. Companies such as Bacardí, Diageo, and Carlsberg use MRM’s Brand Creator platform to build point of sale (POS) materials, menus, and other marketing materials for the venues and bars they represent.
Searching for a scalable review process for over 1,000 international clients
MRM Global’s Premium Design service creates special event materials with bespoke finishing like foil, spot UV, and other custom branding for global beverage brands like Bacardí, Diageo, and Carlsberg.
The agency’s 9-person design team serves over 1,000 clients and works on over 100 design orders at any given time. As the company launched its Premium Design service in additional countries, the design team needed a way to collaborate with clients in numerous languages, while still providing efficient delivery timelines for event materials.
“The ability to proof, review, and receive feedback regardless of language is imperative to providing a successful service. We work in a fast-paced industry where we need to create material for one-off events. Reviewing and approving designs and getting them markup tools print on time is vital to our clients,” said Josh McDonald, designer at MRM.
Collaboration was challenging since email was the only method available for the review and approval process. MRM’s designers would email low-resolution versions of menus and other materials to clients to review. Clients struggled to provide their feedback in a consistent and useful way using email.
As demand for custom design orders grew, this ad-hoc email review process made it difficult for the designers to accurately and quickly track the status of each project, including versions and approvals—especially when the designers had to work from home or jump into a project that was already underway.
“There was confusion on what state the proof was in, what changes had been approved or actioned, and who was responsible for deadlines not being met,” explained McDonald.
MRM needed a single creative collaborative solution that would consolidate its review and approval workflow into a single user-friendly and mobile-friendly platform.
Streamlining global client approval with Ziflow and Google Translate
The company began searching the market for a solution that could standardize the review process and get projects to completion as efficiently as possible—in a variety of languages and timezones.
Ziflow stood out to MRM because of its cloud-based, mobile-friendly interface, which provided the flexibility the team needed to collaborate with clients across the globe.
“We didn’t want to force our clients to have to install software to work with us, as this would cause a host of issues, so Ziflow being cloud-based was key for us,” said McDonald.
MRM uses Ziflow’s cloud-based environment with Google Translate to manage reviews in each client’s preferred language. Now, MRM’s clients can comment on designs and communicate changes to the design team in whatever language they feel most comfortable with. With the press of a button, all of the feedback can be translated into English so MRM’s design team can easily take action on it.
This language flexibility enables MRM to use Ziflow to manage all of its incoming Premium Design service orders, regardless of client or country. Here’s how the process works:
- Create assets: The design team creates custom marketing materials (POS items, menus, and other digital assets) and uploads the design to Ziflow as a proof.
- Review assets: The client can view the design and make any comments or amendments directly on the file, in their preferred language. Ziflow’s annotation tools make client change requests immediately clear to the design team.
- Share feedback: The client can also share the design file with venue owners and other event partners and gather their feedback using real-time collaboration and guest reviewer capabilities.
- Automated workflows: Automatic reminders and review deadlines keep project delivery timelines on track and the design team and clients constantly informed of the project status.
“Rather than our clients providing feedback that they’ve received from the venue, we’re now able to have direct conversations with the venue themselves. This reduces our clients’ workload and shortens turnaround times,” said McDonald.
Ziflow’s workflow builder also allowed MRM to customize and automate the collaboration process. For each project, the designer can create one or multiple stages of approval and connect them to automatic and manual approval progressions, depending on the client’s preferred deadlines and security needs.
“With Ziflow, we can now build a custom workflow for each client,” says McDonald. This ensures that the right people see the design at the right stages, and that all key stakeholders have approved every order we send to print.”
