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For more than 55 years, Simpson Strong-Tie has focused on creating structural products that help people build safer and stronger homes and buildings. Considered a leader in structural systems research, testing, and innovation, Simpson Strong-Tie works closely with industry professionals to provide code-listed, field-tested products and value-engineered solutions.
Simpson Strong-Tie has a large SKU base that includes a variety of products ranging from screws and adhesives to structural connectors and software. Each product is associated with a lot of nuanced information and imagery that is constantly changing.
While Simpson Strong-Tie uses SAP Hybris, a product information management (PIM) platform, to manage product details like specifications and instructions, they lacked a single source of truth for the photos, illustrations, videos, and other digital assets that are also associated with their products.
This left the marketing team — who’s responsible for creating print and digital materials for these products — in quite the predicament. “You’d end up having probably a dozen versions of the same illustration, all slightly different,” says Mark Hausler, Senior Graphic Designer at Simpson Strong-Tie. So, rather than putting their creativity to work, designers were burning precious time looking for files.
Teams also spent a significant amount of time on manual activities. With no easy way to distribute digital assets and marketing collateral, they had to manually package and send materials to internal and external partners in the various file formats they needed. And when product information and imagery changed, the team had to update their website and print materials product by product — the opportunity for error was high.
After vetting a number of digital asset management (DAM) solutions, Simpson Strong-Tie selected Acquia DAM, which they fondly refer to as the “ToolBox.”
With Acquia DAM as the central repository for product-related assets, teams have reliable access to a master file that powers everything from their print catalog to their website’s product library, sales collateral, and other marketing materials. This means they no longer need to come to marketing for everything. Instead, they can search and find what they need directly in the Acquia DAM system or via a portal that contains prepopulated assets. “It’s a lot easier to distribute assets,” says Mark. “They don’t have to come over to my cube and ask ‘where’s this’ or ‘when is this going to be done.’”
To get all their technology “talking,” Simpson Strong-Tie integrated Acquia DAM with their other go-to marketing systems — their design software (Adobe Creative Cloud), PIM platform (Hybris), and a sales-enablement tool (Modus).
“The Adobe CC connector helps with the one master-asset concept,” says Mark. Rather than wasting time looking for digital assets, designers can pull the most recent version directly into their design program. This eliminates the guesswork and hassle of uploading, downloading, and converting files.
Furthermore, the team can now automate many time-consuming processes. For example, the Hybris integration allows Simpson Strong-Tie to automate image updates across the website, the moment the master file changes in Acquia DAM. They’ve even streamlined production workflows, using this integration to inform where product assets need to go in print and online catalogs.
Lastly, the Modus integration helps salespeople confidently access the most up-to-date collateral their customers need, when they need it. “It’s helped [the sales team] tremendously,” says Mark. “I think all that helps them just deal with the products they are selling, and not deal with the technology.”
With Acquia DAM at the center of their marketing operations, Simpson Strong-Tie can provide their teams, technologies, and channels with reliable information that’s needed to market and sell their products. “The DAM is definitely a core technology for our marketing day-to-day,” says Mark.
Inefficient and manual workflows — coupled with a robust and dynamic product base — made it tough for Simpson Strong-Tie to guarantee that they used the correct product imagery in their marketing materials. With Acquia DAM, “it saves time and money. It keeps more consistent product imagery out there,” says Mark.
Life at Simpson Strong-Tie has forever changed thanks to Acquia DAM. The benefits are far-reaching, helping the marketing team facilitate better experiences across the entire organization and, ultimately, with the customer. “It’s worth the money that we’re paying for it because we’ve implemented it in a lot of places,” says Mark.
