|
 The Norwegian technology company T4M closes a major contract with Daimler AG, the world’s seventh largest company. The global corporation aims to strengthen its brand and save advertising costs by implementing T4M’s electronic marketing tool BrandMaster. The Norwegian Mercedes-Benz import company Bertel O. Steen, has achieved significant cost reductions by rolling out the tool. The company has thus been a pioneer and bridge builder to Daimler AG. T4M experiences increased interest in the market. The analysis agency Frost & Sullivan predicts a strong growth for this kind of IT suppliers in the years to come.
The large Norwegian advertiser Bertel O. Steen, which among other interests imports Mercedes-Benz and smart, implemented BrandMaster last year. The tool makes it possible for their dealers to edit, store and distribute marketing material themselves.
- The production and distribution tool increases efficiency and control in handling of marketing material. Also, it lifts the quality of our marketing material and puts us in a better position to communicate in a uniform way, says Mercedes-Benz Norway’s Marketing Director Mr Dag Asbjørnsen. In Norway alone Bertel O. Steen services 46 Mercedes-Benz dealers and the company distributes approximately 4 500 adverts annually.
- We have achieved significant cost reductions in connection with producing and distributing adverts. This caused considerable interest from our supplier, Daimler AG, Mr Asbjørnsen concludes.
 Global Corporation
Daimler AG is a major global corporation with 365 000 employees divided between more than 200 countries. The turnover for 2002 totalled USD 159 000 million. The corporation is constantly looking to reduce marketing costs, simplify advert production and ensure a uniform communication platform for its dealers in more than 200 countries.
- Effective market communication is a critical success factor for Mercedes-Benz. The ability to communicate uniformly and consistently is of the utmost importance. Also, swiftness and flexibility in all market communication is decisive, as the corporation is constantly developing its products. By making all marketing material available online for all dealers on the global arena, both the effectiveness and the brand profile in the market communication arena is strengthened, explains Ms Kari Bente Skarbø, Marketing Director of T4M.
The corporation has been discussing implementing technology to improve processes related to handling our marketing material.
- Daimler AG has conducted a thorough selection process where several alternative technologies have been evaluated. After a careful evaluation of various solutions, they chose BrandMaster from T4M. The system fulfils their needs and it is flexible, efficient and easy to use. Daimler AG expects that the implementation of BrandMaster will contribute to reduce costs, as the handling and distribution of advertising material will become more efficient, Ms Skarbø explains.
Growth
A number of major contracts have been signed lately. T4M believe that the market for IT tools that make work processes more efficient will continue to expand in the future. Accordingly, the analysis agency Frost & Sullivan predicts a strong growth in the market for digital asset management, which is expected to reach a total volume internationally of USD 3400 million within 2009.
- Despite the past few years’ hardship on the IT market arena, we now see that an increasing number of businesses are considering implementing electronic tools of this kind. The market is maturing, says CEO of T4M, Mr Morten Berentsen. Mr Tron Kleivane, chairman of the Norwegian Institute for Graphic Media, supports this:
- There is no doubt that the large brand companies have increased their focus on brand value, which is constantly becoming more and more important in assessing companies value. The market demands instruments that provide possibilities for the management, control and development of immaterial values. We now see that the technological development makes this possible. In this respect, BrandMaster is an excellent tool and it is interesting that the solution emerges from a small Norwegian technological environment, he says.
Control
BrandMaster enables advertising customers to store, edit and distribute material from any PC.
- This simplifies proofing, project management and distribution for the advertisers and it reduces the amount of work following marketing activities. For companies with e.g. a large number of regional departments this also means better control with their own brands and a uniform brand building effort, explains T4M’s Marketing Director, Ms Kari Bente Skarbø.
T4M has delivered BrandMaster to a number of large companies, among others DnB NOR, Gjensidige Forsikring, the Møller group, Helly Hansen and Håg.
|
