Quad/Graphics will offer a cost-effective solution for the hot multi-version cross-channelretail advertising market, based on Universal Ad's On Demand Promotions Suite
Quad/Graphics, the world's largest privately held printer of magazines, catalogs and commercial products, is implementing technology from Universal Ad, Inc., a leading provider of highly innovative Advertising, Marketing and Promotions software and service solutions. Universal Ad's On Demand Promotions Suite fully automates the planning, creation and production of catalogs, ad circulars, inserts and other promotional materials.
Universal Ad's innovative system solves a growing problem for Quad/Graphics' retail customers. In order to keep consumers engaged and interested, retailers need to create an ever increasing number of highly targeted ads across many media channels. Most are unable to reach these goals due to the time- and resource-intensive manual ad production processes they currently use, which cannot scale to the required level. The On Demand Promotions Suite will enable them to quickly close this capacity gap and create as many quality ads as they need on multiple channels.
“Quad/Graphics has long been a market leader in implementing breakthrough technologies that enhance our service packages. With the Universal Ad system we can provide our customers with a way to streamline their ad design processes and efficiently create many more targeted versions, while still reducing their print production costs,” said Jim Mercier, Director of Digital Imaging at Quad/Graphics. “The critical function that Universal Ad brings to the table is the ability to automate and integrate the entire retail promotions process – from merchandising and marketing to art/design and pre-press production – enabling a significant reduction in both time-to-print and operational costs.”
One of the primary reasons for the lower costs to its customers is that Quad/Graphics is deploying a hosted Universal Ad solution so users don’t have to make a capital investment to buy and maintain the software. Even though many Quad/Graphics customers will be sharing the technology, the system is partitioned so that each customer will only be able to access their confidential promotion information. “It opens up automation to smaller catalogers and smaller inserters, giving them a level playing field with the bigger companies,” said Mercier.
Another key benefit of the Universal Ad system is the ability to use sales and inventory analytics to optimize product assortment and ad placement, building what Quad/Graphics calls a “smart page”. As related production costs continue to increase and market pressures rise, it is of great importance that each ad must be as effective as possible in order to maximize their utility.
“Quad/Graphics is one of the premier companies in the American printing and publishing industry and has an excellent track record when it comes to identifying and deploying cutting edge technologies before the rest of the market,” said Adit Tevel, CEO, Universal Ad. “We are honored to be selected as their technology partner for a program that will deliver significant value to both Quad and its customers. We are committed to making this partnership a success and to seeing both Quad and their customers quickly gain bottom-line value from it.”
About Quad/Graphics
Quad/Graphics is the quintessential American business success story. By doing things differently and better over the past 35-plus years, we’ve grown from humble beginnings in rural Pewaukee, Wis., into the largest privately held printer in the world today. Despite our size and success, we remain the breakaway company of our early days, asking “what if?” and “why not?” at every turn to uncover the next revolutionary idea that will push print’s potential and make it more cost effective and profitable for our clients. With 12,000 employees and $2 billion in annual sales, we’re using our industry-leading data-through-distribution capabilities to make print more immediate, more targeted and more relevant to the recipient than ever before.
For more information about Quad/Graphics, please visit www.qg.com.
About Universal Ad, Inc.
Universal Ad provides retailers, wholesalers, advertising agencies and printers with highly innovative advertising, marketing and promotions software and service solutions. The On Demand Promotions Suite is the first system to fully automate and integrate the planning, management and production of retail ad campaigns, helping our customers significantly reduce both time-to-market and operational costs. The patented technology enables the creation of a virtually unlimited number of ad versions, as well as their instant reuse across all media channels, including print, online and in-store. Universal Ad's customers include Quad/Graphics, Alpha 1 Marketing, Office Depot Israel and Shufersal (the largest retail chain in Israel).
The company, which has two offices in the US and an international headquarters located in Israel, is privately held and venture-backed by the Walden Israel VC fund.
For more information about Universal Ad, please visit www.universal-ad.com