Brand Automation. Buzz Phrase or Game Changer?

Buzz phrases come and go in marketing, but the increased noise around ‘Brand Automation’ is here to stay.

While not a new concept, big brands are increasingly shifting their focus to Brand Automation software as the key to unshackling themselves from unnecessary production expense and wresting back control of their brand.

“When we started out ten years ago, we needed to educate our clients on the virtues of Brand Automation,” says Andrew Baker, CEO of Sesimi. “But we’re now finding that there is good client knowledge out there on the power of Brand Automation platforms - and we’re seeing that they are becoming more and more discerning, searching for systems that are agile, robust and proven,”

Sesimi is an Australian SaaS company that has developed its own unique platform and ancillary software/client services that are being used by big brands on four continents around the globe to drive down the marketing production costs in their networks and generate tangible brand benefits. “The growth we’re experiencing is a measure of how CEOs and CMOs are grasping what Brand Automation can bring to both financial performance and brand protection,” Baker says. 

The Sesimi platform includes an intuitive online content creation tool that drastically reduces the time it takes for traditional content creation, especially across all of the different digital channels that now exist. As Baker says "we’re here to save money and time for big marketing teams – and some, or all of that money can be reinvested in more ideas and bigger campaigns.”

One of the great virtues of a platform like Sesimi is the impenetrable wall it places around the brand. “All content we place into the system for our clients references their brand guidelines, which dictates what can and can’t be produced by the system,” Baker says. “That doesn’t mean it denies users flexibility to produce great work – we talk to our clients about ‘freedom within the framework’ for users, developing options that keep networks happy and Head Offices comfortable knowing all content generated is on brand 100% of the time and most importantly, legally compliant.”

Centralised content and brand protection aside, the savings that can be made by simple automation compared to traditional production are eye opening for CEOs and CMOs in virtually any industry you can think of. “We cut our teeth in automotive,” says Baker. “But we’re seeing big demand for Sesimi from the government sector, national sporting bodies, travel firms, large franchise operations, Universities, the finance industry – basically every organisation that needs to take control of their brand and wants to save money – and we’re talking six figure savings and upward.” One of Sesimi's automotive clients was tracked on a before platform/after platform comparison on production costs and the savings over a 12 month period exceeded AU$6m. “Sure, it’s a large automotive network of nearly 230 dealerships around the nation, but even so, the savings across the board are significant,” Baker says. “And that’s not to mention the number of hours the marketing team has saved in handling approvals, the impact on brand consistency and the speed to market value for the network.”

The Sesimi platform monsters time wastage. Content that might take days/weeks for an ad agency to produce is made in under a handful of minutes. “Sometimes it’s hard for clients to wrap their head around the massive time savings,” Baker says. “Of course, that in itself represents even more financial savings to both head offices and their networks.” Time efficiencies extend across campaign periods as well, with common templated elements able to be repurposed for future use.

The other benefit of using the Sesimi platform is the clever reporting functionality – a huge incentive for CEOs and CMOs looking for a macro view of the activity in their network. With the ability to see exactly what content is being created by whom, when and where, decision makers can quickly correct marketing shortcomings and recalibrate for the benefit of the entire network.

“While creative automation might be the hero module,” Baker says, “but our Digital Asset Management (DAM) module does a lot of the heavy lifting, ensuring seamless transfer of elements required to produce content right in front of user’s eyes.” This part of the system also facilitates smarts like the ability to turn assets on and off depending on things like campaign period timing and product launches. This keeps the brand ecosystem clean and consistent, removing the risk of errors and ensuring material created by users is always current and correct.

For anyone that thinks automation constrains the very integrity and fluency of creativity, Baker is quick to point out the heritage of the Sesimi product. “Our platform is the product of continued collaboration between designers and software developers. There are inbuilt checks and balances that combine cleverly to create great looking content. That’s why we’re different and that’s why Sesimi is a genuine game changer.”