WoodWing has promoted its Australian Solution Partner Creative Folks to Diamond Partner for its multi-channel publishing system Enterprise. At the same time, Creative Folks was promoted to Platinum Partner for WoodWing's digital asset management solution Elvis DAM. This promotion is based on the tremendous success Creative Folks has achieved in 2013. Among others, the team won Bauer Media Group as a new customer for Enterprise and Elvis DAM. With this promotion, WoodWing also prepares for future growth in the region.
"Since 2007, we have implemented many sites ranging from 5 to 500+ users across Australia and New Zealand," said Andrew Lomas, Sales & Project Director at Creative Folks.
Creative Folks, located in Alexandria near Sydney, has been recognized and promoted as WoodWing Diamond solution partner. Creative Folks has been partnering with WoodWing since 2006. The team, covering Australia and New Zealand, won a number of well-known publishers, agencies and corporate customers including Pacific Magazines, News Limited, Yaffa Publishing Group, and more recently Bauer Group and many more. Through this promotion, Creative Folks is the first Diamond partner of WoodWing in the Asia Pacific region – only 4 out of about 80 WoodWing Solution Partners have been granted the Diamond Partner status around the globe.
"We are excited to assign Creative Folks the status of Diamond Partner in the Asia-Pacific region, reflecting the growth we experience in the region for both Enterprise and Elvis," said Roel-Jan Mouw, CEO of WoodWing. "As a result of the progressing media convergence and the fading distinction between media and brands, the industry is facing major changes – this means that more than ever technology suppliers need reliable and competent partners in all regions of the world."
"Since 2007, we have implemented many sites ranging from 5 to 500+ users across Australia and New Zealand," said Andrew Lomas, Sales & Project Director at Creative Folks. "Due to the newly assigned status of Diamond partner, we are even better positioned to further develop the business in the publishing industry and beyond."
Major new customer in 2013: Bauer Media Group
With Bauer Media Australia, the team of Creative Folks acquired Australia's leading magazine publisher as new user of WoodWing Enterprise and Elvis DAM in 2013. The company creates more than 80 titles, including the biggest-selling monthly, The Australian Women's Weekly, and Australia's number one weekly magazine, Woman's Day. Integral to the company's success are vibrant, information-packed reader websites. In addition, Bauer Media currently produces digital editions for 40 of its titles.
"Creative Folks' dedication and professionalism have been a significant contributing factor to the ongoing successful rollout of the editorial workflow project at Bauer Media Australia," said Eugene Varricchio, Director of Retail & Operations at Bauer Media Group.
First customer in 2007: Pacific Magazines
More than 7 years ago, the team at Creative Folks began assisting Pacific Magazines to streamline its editorial processes utilizing WoodWing Enterprise. Pacific Magazines is a leading magazine publisher in Australia and the magazine publishing arm of Australia's largest television network, the Seven Network. The team creates 21 magazines, including the Australian editions of some famous global media icons including Better Homes and Garden, InStyle, Men´s Health, and more.
"Over the years, we constantly perfected our use of WoodWing´s publishing solution, working closely with Creative Folks and leveraging their deep technical expertise and knowledge of the industry," said Ivan Bate, IT Manager at Pacific Magazines. "We are sure that the relationship will become even closer, as Pacific Magazines embraces new opportunities and meets challenges the magazine publishing industry is facing. As an example, Creative Folks is working with us to implement WoodWing´s digital asset management solution Elvis DAM. For us, the integration of Elvis DAM and Enterprise is just as essential as our partnership with Creative Folks is.
Customer since 2008: Yaffa Publishing Group
Creative Folks introduced the Yaffa Publishing Group to WoodWing in 2008. The group is one of Australia's largest independent media companies and publishes consumer and B2B titles, including Photography, Nature&Health, Packaging NEWS, Food Service, and more. Yaffa started its Enterprise implementation with 35-plus print titles, but since the initial rollout the installation has expanded to include more than 25 Web sites, email newsletters and 16 iPad Apps.
"The partnership with Creative Folks and WoodWing has breathed new life into our business," said Matthew Gunn, Production Director at the Yaffa Publishing Group. "The team established a workflow tailor-made for us and has been there every step along the way. We are currently testing the new multi-channel workflow enabled by Enterprise 9 and the integration with Elvis DAM, with roll-out expected in the second quarter of 2014." According to Gunn, publishers need to streamline operations and work smarter, establishing both production and financial efficiencies. "Both WoodWing and Creative Folks have their finger on the pulse and we are well on the way to laying the platform for our future," Gunn added.
Growing business in the publishing industry and beyond
"With both the multi-channel publishing capabilities of Enterprise 9 as well as Elvis DAM for efficient digital asset management, we can also target new markets outside of the publishing industry. We see great opportunities throughout the entire region," said Remco Koster, Managing Director WoodWing Asia Pacific.
