“Ad agencies have realized they can make money out of asset management, so whether they charge per click or whether they charge a maintenance fee, it’s another revenue source for them,” said Mark Maguire, Group Production Director for Tag Worldwide.

Tag Worldwide clients also reap value from the WebNative system because they can access their assets 24/7 from any Web browser.

“Our client Hewlett Packard realizes the benefits of the system that Xinet, Tag and Publicis offer just purely on the basis that we deal with probably 42 markets across the world. Those markets have very different bandwidths and very different needs, so having a site that is open 24/7 for people to download brand materials anytime really works for them,” Maguire said.

“Whether it’s a QuarkXPress page or an image, WebNative works very well by managing the collaboration between everyone. And you easily track the usage of what markets are specifically downloading what materials, so that’s another great benefit,” Maguire said.

In addition to using WebNative externally for clients to access and download images, Publicis also uses WebNative internally to create and deliver artwork all the way through to prepress and creative.

“The beauty of the WebNative solution is that it starts off so simple with a very small amount of users and with a very small amount of investment and hardware, and then what happens is the systems starts to grow with more clients. The WebNative system can grow very quickly. It’s very scalable. So if they start with an artwork studio with two people, and then suddenly they have 50 clients using it, the system is right there coping with it, scaling up and growing with their needs.”

Tag Worldwide has worked closely with Xinet’s UK integrator Turning Point Technologies through every phase of its digital asset management implementation.

“TPT has set the de facto in terms of providing systems integration,” Maguire said. “The way they train, the way they install, and ultimately the way they come back with new functionality, and the way they lead you through the rollout of development. TPT keeps us in touch with the way the system is going so we can advertise that to our clients and set them up for the next stage of functionality.”