Apr 12 2013

This week, global research firm Forrester launched its two yearly WCM report, titled “WCM for Digital Experiences”, presenting an in depth look at the 10 WCM vendors, identified as the “most significant providers in this field”. As a leading European agency, we are very pleased to see that our partners are doing so well!

No surprises at the top of the ranking: Adobe clearly the leader. Their web content management solution is rich, sexy and very user friendly. It features integrated digital asset management capacities with enhanced personalisation features and has a very strong focus on mobile and multi-channel delivery. In combination with their analytics offering, Adobe really has a killer platform that is surely there to stay for the coming years.

After years in which SDL, with Tridion CMS, was in the top category of ‘leaders’, it now shifted to the ‘strong performers’.  No real surprise here either; the market has become much more competitive with several vendors from the middle segment moving up (e.g., Sitecore), as well as open source solutions gradually entering the enterprise market. With the last two releases, SDL made a big step forward with regards to general usability of their platform. However, the integration of the acquired solutions, Fredhopper (now known as SmartTarget) and Calamares (for media asset management), did slow them down.

Sitecore has proven to be a very strong performer in the middle segment, competing with even top vendors in some scenarios.  They have a very powerful product suite, offering web content management, marketing automation, analytics and e-commerce – all from the same platform!

Microsoft is still in the ‘contenders’ category, as it was in the previous 2011 version of the Forrester WCM report. Sharepoint is an enterprise content management platform, mainly focused on document centric collaboration. When using the platform for building public-facing websites, it is highly common to develop intranet and/or extranet systems (on the same platform) as well.  This allows companies to have one platform for all their environments i.e., intranet, extranet, and web.  Sharepoint 2013 is very powerful, yet, you can’t expect it to be competitive with the ‘pure players’ of the WCM field; they clearly lack the marketing tools.

The newbie in Forrester’s report is Acquia with Drupal CMS. Drupal made, and still is making, huge improvements in its platform’s usability. More importantly,  it is getting more and more traction in the enterprise, thanks to Acquia as a driving force within the huge community of ‘drupalistas’. Acquia was the fastest growing company in the US in 2012. It recruited several key players from other CMS vendors and is building a well-organised partner channel. If Acquia can fulfill its vision for web engagement management with Drupal, it will definitely be in the ‘strong performers’ category soon.

Anyway, the future is looking bright! If you want to renew your digital platform, need strategic advice, support on vendor selection or implementation. Do not hesitate to contact us!

Cheers,

Steven Volders.

Technical Vendor Manager Emakina Belgium

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Apr 4 2013

Springtime brings us Fred & Ginger’s new online platform, filled to the brim with colourful kids clothes and a newly added mum-friendly web shop.

Every day a growing number of customers find their way to online shops and the new Fred & Ginger website  is right on trend! The FNG group continues its cross-channel story when online purchases can be picked up or returned and refunded in one of the 30 shops – the improved shop locator will tell you exactly where to go.

Behind these novelties, lie the creative minds of Design is Dead, a proud member of the Emakina Group. Their design for the Fred & Ginger’s site focused on creativity, playfulness, wonder and humour. The Antwerp-based agency also produced a stop motion video that adds movement to the collection and to the site, giving mums a direct link from the featured clothes to the webshop. In short: not a cliché catalogue but a young and playful representation fitting the Fred & Ginger collection.

*Adapted from a post on the Design is Dead News section.

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Jul 2 2012

Emakina.FR reinforces its cross-channel communication by appointing Sammy Colson as Manager of Emakina/Direct – Emakina’s centre of excellence for the Direct Marketing. It is committed to building KPI analysis for customers in order to deploy and manage its databases during the entire consumer life cycle. This allows developing and rewarding  consumer loyalty.

Sammy Colson, 33, has been working for the Emakina Group since 2009. During that time he was in charge of CRM strategies for various international brands, including: Samsung, Brussels Airlines, Thomas Cook, Flammarion, UMP and Knauf. Since several years, he has mastered the technology and strategy that allows putting consumers at the heart of dialogue by using emails, post, websites, and social networks in the flow of direct marketing campaigns.

“Interactive marketing has been long awaited for by our clients” says Sammy Colson. “They are in constant need of better integration among their Internet websites, online and offline campaigns, and their management and CRM tools.”

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May 30 2012

The  50 Lawyers campaign developed by Emakina for Test-Achats/Test Aankoop wins an important price, once again.
Emakina’s David Grünewald and Xavier Bouillon were welcomed in the Nest of the Best at the 8th Cuckoos, the competition for Best ‘Winning Direct Marketing Campaigns’, of the Belgian Direct Marketing Association.
As winners of the B2C Cuckoo, they received their trophy at a spectacular gala evening at the Brussels Autoworld.

Their smart message, combined with the creation of a coherent Eco-system and dynamic social media actions, were recognised by the Belgian Direct Marketing Association as an outstanding achievement.

This is the fourth major award for the Test-Achats campaign, having already collected IAC and Communicator awards and a Mixx.

The message that 50 lawyers are ready to go to war for your consumer rights was supported by social media activities and a viral clip. It generated a record number of citizens engaging with the organisation. Up to date, a record number of 31.863 consumer complaints were filed on the tailor-made campaign website. The once ‘hidden treasure’ of the legal service is now property of all consumers.

And the campaign catches on. It is now starting its second life with similar initiatives in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Brazil. Emakina manages the contacts with the local sister consumer associations and is adapting the messages to the different languages .

The army of lawyers now has a lot of work. Luckily they are well trained and in top shape…

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Feb 17 2010

Shoe retail chain Luxus will open the doors of two new shops on 26 February and 5 March. They have chosen Emakina/Media for the campaign on the opening. The result: a multi-support attack plan.

The launch will be communicated through a campaign on two grand VIP evenings that will be the central theme in all different media.
- A radio campaign on Contact and Nostalgie. The theme: Cinderella is no longer looking for her Prince Charming but for her shoe. The commercial invites listeners to subscribe to the VIP evening via a text message.
- An advertorial in Le Soir and La Voix du Nord that allows reader to discover the Luxus brand.
- Banners in the local press that invite readers to subscribe to the evening.
All communication leads to the mini-site www.luxus.be where surfers enter the universe of the VIP event, where they can subscribe and find more information on the opening of the two shops.

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