How do you manage your packaging copy?

Here’s how one of our clients approved their copy for the packaging artworks before they got onboard ManageArtworks

Getting your pack copy elements like ingredients lists, claims, disclosures, symbols, etc. right is critical to a successful product launch.

Kathy, one of the packaging artwork approvers in the Marketing team of a leading health brand in the US, was pointing out the glaring errors the authors made about the product claims and facts:

Names of users and brands have been altered to retain confidentiality

Let’s take stock of the red flags present here:

1. 1. Their entire authoring and approval of copy takes place on a spreadsheet. This means
      • For every update made by an author or an approver, the excel file has to be saved and shared with all departments via email
      • if you don’t have the latest version of this excel file, you’ll be looking and probably approving the wrong version of the pack copies
      • getting caught in email loops and running out of your systems storage space
   2. Clearly, the author is confused and has misplaced copies of other products onto this file which has been set up to approve the pack copy of their new moisturizer.
      • In the 2nd column, the copy he submitted for drug facts was probably describing the warning for a toothpaste.
      • In the 3rd column, he has delivered a copy of a marketing claim that states –  “tastes great and has you at full capacity”. Bear in mind, they’re trying to sell a moisturizer here.
      • This is a consequence of keeping track of multiple copies across different spreadsheets which are in turn spread out across drives, folders, inbox and sent folders. Cross-contamination of copies is bound to happen.
   3. The designer gets this file, and he’ll have to scan every row and column looking for a “V3” before the copy text. There could even be a “V4” or a “V5” but his eye isn’t trained to catch these things. He doesn’t know which one’s the final version of the copy.

What if  you could: 

1. find a way to keep everyone on the same page by bringing them on to one single platform to approve all your artworks?
2. all your copies are version-controlled? No more confusion on which versions of a copy to use. You’ll always find yourself using the latest one.
3. you export all your copies into an XML file from the platform and each copy automatically finds its designated place on the artwork after the designer imports the file onto his Adobe Illustrator platform

Does this sound like a game-changing proposition?

We call it The Copy Manager

and this is what it offers:

Features

Digital Workflow Get everyone on the same page using a structured digital workflow. Almost 40%-50% of artwork changes are due to wrong copy and most of it happens from lack of coordination between departments. An automated workflow on the other hand fetches you an instant project status and improved collaboration between stakeholders. Once the content bit is approved, that’s one hurdle solved and so all there’s left to focus on is the design layout of the artwork. This means reduced reworks for the designer and faster approval cycles.
	Proofing Tools Use proofing tools to quickly and accurately check colors, fonts, barcodes, spellings and compare two versions of an artwork
Digital Library Access your latest approved artworks and specs from a centralized digital asset library
	Reporting Use real-time metrics to understand process bottlenecks and troubleshoot reasons for delays and errors

Benefits

All in one place Get everything that goes on the packaging artwork in one place. Product information from a PLM or PIM system and other information collated from department users. One place with visibility to everyone on what’s getting on the pack
	Get the Copy Approved Getting the copy approved whether it’s internal to a department or across departments or even a supplier is an important step before beginning artwork design. Changes to copy text during the artwork approval cycle is one of the main reasons for artwork re-edits. Unapproved and incomplete artwork copy leads to more iterations and delays the product launch.
Reuse Copy Once a piece of text is approved, reuse the text wherever possible across product artworks. Consistent text across product variants is important from a brand and consumer perspective, especially when multiple language translations are included. With consistent text, it’s easy to find all artworks that will be affected if the text changes due regulatory or brand reasons
	Compare Copy with Artwork Text Managing the copy helps artwork reviewers to quickly and automatically compare the copy with text in the artwork. Spot changes in text and font attributes easily and make sure artwork errors are caught before they get to the market. Automatic copy compare saves a significant amount of time, improves efficiency and accuracy
The copy finds its way onto the artwork You can export an XML file from the copy manager and send it to the designer. When he opens it, the copy will automatically arrange itself to the areas on the artwork as designated on the basis of GS1 codes by the designer.

You will consequently end up:

Reducing reworks

______

Achieving faster approval cycles

______

Reducing time-to-market

______

Achieving compliance

______

Improving collaboration between stakeholders

How about we show you how it works instead of talking about it?

Reach out to us and we’ll have our product manager and his team give you a quick demo!