Affinity Express on the Inside Business TV Show
Transcript
Fred Thompson: In our rapidly evolving world, success is defined by turning challenges into opportunities. With enough foresight and ingenuity, the complex problems of today can become the achievements of tomorrow.
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Productivity and efficiency are the benchmarks of every organization's success. That's why industry leaders are contantly seeking new tools to help them reach their goals.
Voiceover: Experts say outsourcing of design for advertising and marketing production services is a growing trend as some U.S. companies look for ways to complement the work of their traditional advertising agencies and in-house teams.
Kelly Glass: Across industries, marketers are changing the way they do business by consolidating teams, reorganizing and streamlining their operations. They are building on a traditional approach of using in-house teams and ad agencies and really looking for flexible alternatives like outsourcing, especially in the production of creative and campaigns.
Voiceover: U.S.-based Affinity Express has more than 50 people around the country to interface with clients. The production of more than 115,000 files per month is handled by 800 design professionals at facilities in India and the Philippines to blend the best of onshore and offshore capabilities.
Ken Swanson: Most organizations have ongoing print and online media requirements. These requirements need to be supported by graphic designers and digital production people. When these requirements are outsourced to our company, Affinity Express, savings of 40% are typically realized.
Voiceover: Valassis Direct Mail relies on Affinity Express for marketing services ad production to support a shared mail rep product, RedPlum.
David McTarnaghan: Both internal staff and outside consultants suggested that overheads were high based upon what was being supplied to advertisers as a value-added service. The objectives for outsourcing were to reduce operating costs, preserve cash, reduce graphic production turn times, and better handle seasonal fluctuations in advertising volumes.
Voiceover: The company integrates seamlessly with the Valassis internal systems, and handles ad design for the Valassis RedPlum product, which is distributed to over 66 million households nationwide weekly.
David McTarnaghan: In addition to offshore production, we maintained staff at two client facilities for several months. We continued to fine-tune business processes, and worked closely with the Valassis team to improve and develop workflows as both their needs and business changed. We handle approximately 1,000 files for Valassis each week.
Voiceover: For companies in the U.S. media industry, outsourcing of print and online ad production and marketing materials represents a new way of handling a critical revenue generating function. Hearst Corporation, one of the nation's largest diversified media companies, recently selected Affinity Express as a strategic partner.
David McTarnaghan: Hearst wanted to save significant costs in ad production, while streamlining processes and improving efficiencies. They also wanted access to new technology and tools, without having to invest in acquiring and maintaining those systems. With Hearst, Houston Chronicle, and San Antonio Express News alone, Affinity Express produces more than 100,000 ads annually, enabling Hearst to realize savings of more than 40%, and a reduction in ad production staff of more than 50%.
Voiceover: In the high-volume, time-sensitive publishing environment, however, cost savings cannot come at the expense of quality or press deadlines.
Kelly Glass: We work constantly to hire well-qualified designers and creative directors, and we give them the tools and training--world-class training--that enhances their skills, and we oversee all the design projects, both at the production facilities and even at client sites located across North America. This is how we can ensure that we meet, and even exceed, requirements for quality each and every day.
Voiceover: Experts predict viable outsourced graphic production centers will be as widely employed as IT outsourcing is today.
Ken Swanson: Increasingly, marketers want customized cross-media interactions with consumers, along with better, faster and less expensive production costs. Affinity Express has the right people, infrastructure and methodologies to deliver the production expertise and the results companies are looking for to meet their greater marketing challenges.
Fred Thompson: Thanks for joining us for this edition of Inside Business. Until next time, I'm Fred Thompson.