Guardian Adds Digital Ad Submission To More Titles

Two years after first introducing direct digital advertisement submission services for mono display ads using the Quickcut electronic validation and delivery service, Guardian Newspapers has completed

Two years after first introducing direct digital advertisement submission services for mono display ads using the Quickcut electronic validation and delivery service, Guardian Newspapers has completed its programme to extend the service to encompass The Guardian, The Observer and all its weekly and monthly supplements and magazines.

The further installation of Quickcut now applies to mono and colour display and classified advertisements.

The phased programme to introduce Quickcut has been carefully managed by head of advertising services Keith Fielding and his team to ensure foolproof operation and smooth adoption by advertisers.

"Over the last couple of years the willingness by advertisers to adopt digital delivery methods has grown significantly, particularly if they can achieve cost-reduction and workflow benefits.

However, we need to ensure that the files are supplied in the correct format and the Quickcut service gives us that confidence.

This is a milestone for us and has been made possible by Quickcut's advanced, but easy to use, technology and the company's willingness to work closely with us to customise the solution to suit our specific requirements." The Guardian has been a pioneer in making digital advertisement submission as flexible as possible for its customers.

The first UK newspaper publisher to use several preferred repro suppliers to process and validate digital copy, The Guardian was also the first to provide a direct, web-based, submission service via Quickcut as a cost-effective alternative.

"It's all about making it easy for companies to send us digital copy by the route that suits them - while ensuring that the copy we receive is correct and complete," explained Fielding.

Automating the direct delivery of colour advertising has been the major challenge for The Guardian.

"We are the market leaders in recruitment advertising and we wanted to encourage more colour in order to increase the impact and provide competitive added value to our clients," said Peter Blackburn, The Guardian's colour manager.

"To achieve this we had to remove the barriers to colour by reducing the cost and making it easier to submit digital colour ads.

In the past the added cost of sending colour ads through a gatekeeper service may have deterred some clients, but the ability to submit colour display ads directly, with confidence and without incurring repro costs has certainly encouraged a greater use of colour in the titles.

While other digital ad delivery systems cope well with mono, Quickcut certainly has the edge in managing colour profiles as part of its service," he added.

Most agencies have recognised the cost savings to be gained from using Quickcut, plus the benefits in reduced turn around and production times, with a 48-hour deadline for colour and 24-hour limit for mono.

"The agencies have been fast to take advantage of the benefits.

Obviously they like the fact of no couriers, later deadlines and lower costs.

One client alone we know has saved ?35,000 in only 4 months by using the Quickcut service," continued Fielding.

Joe Jarrett, chief executive officer of Quickcut UK commented: "The Guardian's implementation of Quickcut is a perfect example of how our solution can become a key part of a company's strategy not only to streamline advertising workflow and but provide significant added value, cost saving and efficiency benefits to their customers.".

Back to top