Adare wins Print Management Award for MC2 communications portal
A web-enabled marketing communications solution developed by Adare, using the company's bespoke MC2 technology, has won a Quality in Print Award (QIP) - after halving the time it takes retailer Tie Rack to deliver POS campaigns into its 260 stores worldwide.
The Marketing and Customer Communications specialist triumphed in the category of 'The Print Management Award', which recognises excellence across the print media supply chain and identifies those companies that have risen to the ever-changing demands and challenges of the industry.
The esteemed industry awards dinner was held at The Grovesnor House Hotel, Park Lane on Wednesday 9 July where judges praised Adare's MC2 solution, commenting that the winning entry 'demonstrated proof of going above and beyond its clients' requirements and provided solid numbers that showed how Adare has made a real difference to the cost and effectiveness of the print it manages.'
Adare implemented its Marketing Communications e-portal solution, or MC2 as it is branded, on behalf of Tie Rack with the aim of streamlining the retailer's overall campaign management life-cycle - from campaign planning to final in-store kit out.
MC2 is a completely modular toolkit that combines store profiling, campaign planning and management, on-line proofing of creative work, digital asset management and print sourcing (through Pē, Adare's e-procurement system that combines five unique procurement practices) fulfilment, distribution and real-time tracking for all Marketing and POS collateral.
Working closely with Tie Rack in each of the 26 countries it operates within over an eight week period, Adare tailored its MC2 platform to manage Tie Rack's global campaign requirements. All 260 stores were audited to create an up-to-date store profile database and establish optimum and accurate POS requirements. The technology enables Tie Rack to add new stores to the system easily and, through log-ins, allows each regional manager to update their store details at a local level.
MC2 automatically transfers artwork files and e-job bags to the print supplier and creates a fulfillment record at Adare's logistics centre. Once the fulfillment team has allocated POS packs the system is updated to allow for on-line tracking in store.
Before Adare came on board Tie Rack was manually managing marketing campaigns across its global store footprint from a central team in the UK. From quantifying point of sale volumes and couriering hard copy proofs to managers around the world, to identifying language and distribution variations manually, the process was time consuming, manually intensive and prone to human error.
Alistair Cane, executive director for strategic solutions at Adare, comments: "MC2 has obviously had a significant impact for Tie Rack and has delivered significant and tangible hard and soft savings - just what most retail organisations are looking for in today's tightening market.
This is the second time in a month that our technology driven solutions have received industry awards and we delighted that our strategy of changing the old world print management model is gaining such recognition across both the UK and wider European markets.".
Sara Carter, marketing director at Tie Rack concludes: "Adare's MC2 technology has fundamentally changed the way we manage our marketing communications. Not only has it halved the time it takes to get a campaign into stores, but it has helped to considerably reduce our print budget.
"The system allows us to control our brand and enables managers worldwide to order, proof and sign-off online. Equally as important - it has allowed the marketing team to focus on delivering core objectives, safe in the knowledge that we have the right partner in Adare to execute our campaigns."
