MOBIUS GRID

Hello! Welcome to Hyphen-UK’s Blog. This is a space where we welcome the exchange of ideas about the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital age for the way that products are brought to market. We will talk about many subjects of interest to people and businesses looking to grow and expand – so please follow us and watch this space! In this first short blog we are talking about a fundamental piece of data management for market differentiation, penetration, and success – Product Marketing Master Data. What exactly is Product Market Master Data? We all know how difficult it can be to get all departments to ‘sing form the same hymn sheet’. Often, the creation, filing, codification, and research of product information creates redundancies, duplications, and inefficiencies which are inevitably a waste of resources. In this digital age, we have to accompany every stage of the product process with a series of text, visual information and content which add value and differentiate our offer from those of our competitors. The use of Product Marketing Master Data allows the business to gather all the technical, commercial and marketing elements that constitute the Digital Identity of a product in one place. It allows for all the content related to a product to be consistent and adapted to every context. For example, any department or role can access the same information – text, visual, video, whatever – and select elements and agreed branding to bring the product to a new audience or channel. Organising the information coherently also helps determine the product’s ability to differentiate itself and succeed in the market. Hyphen-Italia works with its partners to build the Digital Identity of its products, analysing the existing situation and designing a future-proof plan within which all the processes are structured in order to increase commercial efficiency and market penetration. Do you want to learn more about working with Master Data or share your point of view? We look forward to hearing from you! Contact us by filling in a form or write to as at info@hyphen-uk.com to arrange an appointment.

The digital photo and video solution that integrates online with products and services – Hyphen Interactive Live Photos (HILP) Online shopping can never rival in-store experiences in one key way – interaction with the product. Photos and images are fundamental for creating a virtual experience between user and offer, and their quality is directly related to the shopping experience and the conversion rate. It is proven that photography is essential for every e-commerce website because it stimulates the desire to own the product that motivates the purchase. Videos increase the interest for a product and the Brand and fights distrust, quality photos are the determining factor that seal the deal. On average a user takes about 90 seconds to decide whether or not to add a product to their shopping cart. Presenting the product with photos from various angles and in high quality increases the probability of sales, adding video further increases conversion rates by 25%. And yet, surfing on the internet we witness a homogeneity of style in the presentation of product images. Often this is due to the fact that Brands consider the complex process of commissioning and managing photoshoots incompatible with the need to obtain guaranteed commercial success, within the deadline and budgets agreed. This is a conflict that brings businesses to decide not to invest in more creative and desirable digital assets, just to avoid complicating editorial processes or extending times and costs of publication. For this exact challenge, Hyphen-Italia has developed a new digital format to present products on-line. HILP – Hyphen Interactive Live Photos is the innovative format for the representation of a product that allows the user to have a dynamic and interactive experience and for organizations to keep full control of processes and costs of production. HILP is a complete solution, from the photoshoot to the HTML5 objects for online publishing, everything is coordinated by a powerful and flexible workflow. The HTML5 player of the HILP format is easily compatible with any CMS program and e-commerce platform. It includes within its format high definition photos and interactive videos. Through simple gestures the HILP player allows the user to enrich his experience of shopping online through an interactive process with the product, easily set up by the Brand directly in the photo/video shoot phase. Finally, the HILP format is also monitored with Analystics, providing important statistical and behavioural information. All these characteristics make HILP a powerful tool that allows the increased value added to a product without neglecting operational and business needs of the Brand. HILP solution allows for an augmented virtual experience that translates into increased sales. If you are interested in a personal presentation of the HILP solution, or to give it a try you can make an appointment at our PhotoLab in Affi (Verona) by filling out this form or writing to marketing@hyphen-italia.com.

Physical and digital printing of catalogues, flyers, or brochures are a sales and marketing platform of primary importance for any retailer. Managing their workcycle, however, is often very onerous in terms of cost, time, and resources. While in the past it was the habit of retailers to produce large runs of materials in order to reduce the costs of production and printing, in today’s world it is fundamental to be flexible and adapt the content to the target market and the media used for sales & marketing. In order to best respond to these new operational challenges, businesses need to find new ways to optimise processes and resources – including using innovative tools better able to support communications functions. Let’s start from content Marketing texts; technical data; commercial information; visual aids, and other multimedia assets… the choice and combination of some or all of these elements in a defined template are at the root of the construction of different media of communications and promotions. The great diversity of this content and the variety of people and functions that create and adapt them over time makes their filing and use quite complicated. The option to digitise assets, data, and information of a product opens a new and diverse possibility in the area of production, management, and delivery of materials in promotion and sale for Retailers and large scale distribution. Coordinating content, processes, and people Within the discipline of production of flyers, catalogues, and brochures, in general companies prefer to outsource parts of the activity to graphic designers, photographers, creative agencies, production companies, and delivery of promotional materials. This means that there is a great need to regulate and organise internal and external processes and to control the changes made, with the objective of ensuring that the information is coherent and appropriate and that production times respect the deadlines. Hyphen-Italia offers consulting services which analyse information flows and processes that govern the creation of such materials, contributing to redesign them with the objective of making the entire process more agile and effective. Whatsmore, thanks to technological solutions developed, Hyphen-Italia can work with companies in advanced stages of change, to create a system that allows people to share content that they need and the business to coordinate and oversee the progress of activities. Working the workflow way Surrounding the construction of the Digitial Identity of a product: i.e. a database of the product into which all information necessary for the production of materials can be found, we map workflows and interdependencies that characterise change cycles, adaptation, and production of content. Through the development of particular workflows and specific templates for the creation of communication materials, our applications simplify and automate the processes that require cooperation between different internal and external collaborators. From idea to delivery of the promotional message, our systems are capable of tracking and managing sign-off procedures and make available content and tools also to third parties, subject to previous agreemement of the rules of access. Thanks to the solutions developed

Join Hyphen-UK Team at the upcoming RBTE 2017! Retail Business Technology Expo (RBTE) is the leading European retail solutions event for retail organizations taking place in London the 8th and 9th of May. From the supply chain through to the customer, RBTE will be the right place to discover end to end solutions and get in touch with suppliers and retailers. We will be there to present our approach and solutions. We will be glad to host attendees and companies, talk about the new challenges they’re facing and give insider information about the latest technologies and best practices. We support companies in analyzing processes, identifying issues and designing the most suitable solution in order to manage the digital supply chain. We develop strategic projects and technological tools enabling: Catalog, brochures and flyers management and production Point of sale materials management, e-procurement and production (price tags, trade marketing materials, marketing communication materials) Digital content creation, adaptation and delivery (e-commerce, websites, marketplace) Visit us at stand 181 and discover what can we do for you! *** Read more about our Retail solutions: Managing comms projects in the digital age Success in the market using Product Marketing Master Data Project management of catalogues and flyers… mission impossible? E-Commerce and online presence: adapting content to context is the key for success Point of sale communications: streamlining the creation of materials

The digital revolution has brought a dramatic change in sales and communications of pretty much all products and services. Consumers are looking for the perfect purchase using an ever-increasing number of alternative channels and platforms, some that even a few years ago were considered niche or simply for informational purposes. Every retailer is now forced to be present on multiple media and sales channels, from the classic website to social networks, as well as price comparison sites and aggregators. Creating the right content for the right target… The choice of platform is part and parcel of the marketing strategy of the business, but there is no doubt that for every media chosen images and content need to be created that engage the user in a specific and unique way. For example, while on an e-commerce website it is necessary to present images that are consistent between them, on social media it is more impactful to have a short video or creative shoot of the product in order to catch the eye of the user and be seen and shared in other networks. For this reason, before starting an e-commerce platform or designing a digital strategy, it is vital to have a preliminary phase of strategic analysis to identify the key messages and formats that are most appropriate, and to optimise the flows of production and delivery. No matter the talent and competencies available to the business, however, there is inevitably a drain on time and money as a result of the processes involved in managing creative executions and approvals, and choosing and tailoring the most appropriate content for each platform. … Avoiding waste and inefficiency Often what is missing to make these activities more efficient is a system that is able to centralise and automate the processes, from the aggregation of information to the adaptation and delivery of materials. Hyphen-Italia, through its tools and technologies, supports businesses with the analysis and design of editorial processes and aligns them with any change management necessary to implement them. Specifically, our tools and services create a single point of control for all the digital assets and information on a product. From here, the various business operations can pull out the content useful to their communications, marketing, and sales projects. Only in the last leg will specific workflows for editing and delivery of content come in to play, thus allowing a simplification of the entire process and a reduction in the costs and times of publication.

In store promotional materials look simple enough: price tags, signage, displays, crowners, aisle fins, etc. However, behind the scenes, an often arduous process of coordination involving many roles, departments, organisations and digital assets has taken place. The challenge in managing information & people Producing materials for point of sales communications is often unnecessarily complicated, unwieldy, and inefficient. The challenge is twofold – managing the content, and managing the workflows. One of the first steps for generating point of sales materials is to identify the images and information that is needed – which are already available, and which need to be created. It is not uncommon for the content needed to create tailored and effective communications to be found in disparate departments, filed in duplicate, edited by internal and external players. Those who need them may not be able to access them, or even know of their existence and commission new materials… And then there are the workflows: the participation of different actors in the process of production and the continuous exchanges in the phases of creating and modifying materials further increase the difficulty of maintaining control… a mess than can lead to mistakes, delays, increased costs. How Hypen-UK supports retailers The digital revolution allows an integrated and centralised management of project content, introducing new possibilities in terms of improving processes for creating and producing materials and for point of sales delivery. To be more efficient, however, this change process must be analysed, planned, and developed coherently with the specific needs and operational characteristics of the organisation. Hyphen-UK works with business in the analysis of change management towards the total digitisation of information and translates into reality consultation and advice provided, thanks to the support of specific services and proprietary software tools. We integrate in-house and external systems in order to build a virtual warehouse that collects images, texts, files, graphics, etc. All this digital content is filed and made available to be used for whatever need, even to colleagues at the point of sale or outside the business such as creative and production agencies. The technology developed by Hyphen-UK allows, in fact, the management of approvals and editing processes, avoiding potential file exchanges outside of the system and loss of control over processes and materials produced. In short, Hyphen-UK builds with its clients a more complete and efficient Digital Supply Chain. Using just one tool, controlling and coordinating processes, creating and producing price labels, product signage, crowners, displays and all other point of sales materials, will never be easer or faster. About Hyphen-UK We work with businesses on the road to digitisation. We are convinced that technology is a necessary but insufficient tool to create real value for customers. Our work is born from the analysis of the current state of the organisation and the resulting strategic framework that outlines a path for bespoke change management which focuses on improving procedures and processes that feed its communications, promotions, and multi-channel sales. Finally, we identify and develop software best suited to

The digital revolution is forcing businesses to rethink the ways in which they communicate internally and externally. There is no doubt, for example, that digital has increased the need to create and share targeted and updated messaging and that it requires the involvement of new roles and specialists. The choice to work with external partners or to internalise all processes related to the creation, editing, and distribution of content is a very subjective strategic choice but one thing is for sure: maintaining control is fundamental. Logistics centres for your digital content? Creating a social media campaign or setting up a storefront can require more points of contact and communication than you think. At the foundation of any project, in fact, there is always the need to collect, organise, file, and work with a large amount of content from diverse sources, from descriptive texts to multimedia assets. Often it is simply the choice of combination and editing of these assets to differentiate the creation, production, and delivery of the content. It is important therefore to have a virtual warehouse for the organisation where relevant information can be stored and made available to all roles and functions involved in the process of production. The Hyphen-Uk solution Hyphen-Uk helps clients analyse and redesign production flows and editorials tied to processes, supporting the construction of the virtual warehouse from which to organise and plan the logistics of content. In this centralised repository all information relative to the Brand, product, or project will be kept. Digital content could then be used or reworked as needed, taking advantage of a common foundation that has been pre-approved. One of the functionalities that is most valued in our solution in fact, is the ability to manage different approval cycles. The virtual warehouse then becomes an operational environment, accessible to all authorised persons – whether they be internal or external to the business – putting them in a position to integrate between them in an organised way. The business chooses the assets to use, thus indicating the beginning of a project. The legal department enters the system, giving its contribution. The graphics people will be called to intervene in the system to provide support with appropriate tools. Managers provide approvals and the work is delivered to production agencies and can be delivered without ever leaving the system. Every step of the process of change and editing can be analysed and monitored simply and immediately, without ever losing sight of the progress of work. Through the integrated management of content, projects, and processes of communications, the Brand will be able to reduce the risk of mistakes caused by the use of differing content and inappropriate formats, reducing production times and limiting expenditures. About Hyphen-UK We work with businesses on the road to digitisation. We are convinced that technology is a necessary but insufficient tool to create real value for customers. Our work is born from the analysis of the current state of the organisation and the resulting strategic framework that