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Methods of visualising; measuring and reproducing colour; printing press settings; and file sharing… The issue of standardisation is affecting the entire graphic design process and has the aim of improving the reproduction of colours as well as how they appear. During his interview concerning the requirement to standardise the design implementation process, Hervé Lyaudet, colorimetry and workflow manager at Altavia Paris, emphasised the importance of establishing a common framework. Certain countries, however, have their own methods and their own ways of interpreting colours. This is the case in Japan, where our expert has been working for several months now. This is the story of a journey back in time.

What are the differences between Europe and Japan?

In Europe, we follow the international norms of the ISO. The data we use in colour management reproduces the characteristics, for example of Offset presses, reflecting printing aims stipulated in ISO 12647-2, which enables us to align our work according to worldwide recognised printing.

Japan, however, makes use of a local variant called “Japan Color.” The methods they use often correspond to those that we once used… during the 20th century!

Because of this, we come across problems in Japan were solved quite a long time ago in Europe.

Can you provide some examples of this?

For starters, very often the lighting systems used by printing plants are not up to ISO norms. The UV light is cut, which creates problems when it comes to visualising colours with papers containing bleaching agents. Also, the quality control is often only visual. On the client’s side, the visualising is done using office lighting, which is not really well suited to the task (poor quality of the colour spectrum and an inadequate colour temperature). Another example that comes to mind is that the software predominately used for layouts is a program that’s actually meant for creating vector illustrations and this, in turn, very much complicates the process of creating documents. In Europe, for layouts we use software meant to … create layouts!

How do you go about working in Japan?

Well, we’ve been organising quite a lot of events for educating and explaining things, reassuring people and also showing them what we do at Altavia Japan by making use of modern technology. We have also been doing a lot of tests… I started working in Japan last January. It took us 3 months to install the entire digital proofing system, train our in-house project managers and set up our studio.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Yukiko Inoue, the General Manager of Altavia Japan, who has taken a great interest in European methods. Her dedication has truly helped us make progress and we’re already starting to see some promising results.

How were the European methods able to develop differently compared to those in Japan?

In Europe, we have organisations like ECI (The European Color Initiative), which provide tools at no cost, such as ICC profiles that are constantly being updated in order to reflect the needs of the European market. There is also FOGRA, a non-profit research institute for media technologies. It is based in Germany but 30% of its members can be found elsewhere in the world. These organisations are very active and reflect the entire graphic design chain, from procurement all the way to printing and prepress businesses, creating ISO norms that provide clear goals throughout the entire world. We are really quite lucky to have organisations that are so active.

In Japan, there is Japan Color, of course, but the ICC profiles provided no longer really correspond to the needs of the market and are often based on old ISO norms.

I would like to say a special thanks to Mr Andreas Kraushaar (FOGRA Prepress Technology), who is one of the main persons involved in the standardisation process and who is really doing a great job.

Opening up a point-of-sale for a limited period is the principle behind this marketing strategy that was born in the United Stated in the 2000s. At the start, only small brands were doing it. Little by little, all retailers, right up to major brands, began opening pop-up stores (named after the three-dimensional pop-up books that little children love so much). Perceived as one of the major trends in retail, these pop-up spaces for Experience and special relations between the brand and its customers appear to have a bright future.

La Fabrique, by Mondial Tissus

On the 11 and 12 June, La Fabrique, Mondial Tissus’ pop-up store, opened in the heart of Paris’ first arrondissement. This was much more than a simple shop, where customers are invited to simply come and buy. “It is an opportunity for creativity lovers to come and be inspired about Fashion, Decoration and Haberdashery for kids and adults!”.

“Every year, we organise a Press Event to showcase the new collections” Marine Nagel-Lacroix, Marketing and Communication Director at Mondial Tissus, tells us. “Over the years, we have wanted to demonstrate our know-how to a greater extent, especially for our finished and made-to-measure products, and dress spaces. This year, we opened the press event to the public, to share the launch of our own brand and a presentation of a revolutionary pattern projection machine with our customers. We also developed a programme with DIY workshops for beginners, experts and children, displays of made-to-measure work, meet-and greets with sewing influencer Instagram stars…”

It is also the opportunity for the brand to launch the “Design me in fabric” competition that gives “the opportunity to imagine and create one of the future patterns in the Autumn/Winter 2018 Fashion Collection”.

The focus is on the Experience! The Boutique space was actually very small.

There on the first day, the blogger Lucette M was able to use the workshop, led by Margaux from the Couture Débutant blog, to create a laptop pouch. “I usually sew with Mondial Tissus products and wanted to have a creative experience with other bloggers, get lots of ideas thanks to the models on show, meet the brand’s mover and shakers…I was blown away by the machine that projects patterns: that’s an innovation that I’ve never seen before!”

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Pop-up stores: the challenges

Clothing, decorations, high-end food, high-tech goods, etc. Pop-up stores cover all sectors and are opening up everywhere,  for a few days to a few weeks at most.

For Nathan Stern, President of Altavia Shoppermind, social engineer and social network creator,  this proliferation and creativity are the sign of several heterogeneous factors:

– It demonstrates the availability of property for short-term experiments. Indeed, the rate of occupation on some high streets and in shopping centres has fallen considerably. Pop-up stores, even though they are not always the most advantageous option for a manager, are worth it for the entertainment value.

– The pop-up store phenomenon is also linked to the challenge of devirtualising connections. More and more retailers, that mainly draw on an e-commerce platform and a community of Internet customers, want a bite of the face-to-face retail apple. Their finances have never allowed them to make big commitments, and they are opening pop-up stores to invite members of the community to meet, discuss and create, thus reinforcing the customer-brand connection.

– A pop-up store also represents a cost-effective way of testing a model and its feasibility.

– In some cases, the pop-up store is the expression of lively retail that goes out to meet customers. Opportunistic pop-up stores are set up wherever people are: at the beach in summer, in ski resorts in winter, etc.

Madeleine & Gustave, emblematic of a structured and visionary approach

Madeleine & Gustave’s nomadic nature is characterised by pop-up stores throughout France. “It’s about opening for a summer season, in beautiful holiday locations, with a family-friendly atmosphere. In November and December they are on provincial town high streets and in ski resorts for the winter season.” The objective is to draw in relaxed customers, who have the time to touch, discover, look, etc. To do so, they have to go out and get them during their down time! “This inspiring brand was able to establish very strong customer relations and carry our fantastic work in retail design, which is adjusted to the restrictions of this form of retail,” Nathan Stern says. “Pop-ups have not been viewed as a dumping ground but as a boutique offering customers the chance to have an experience that echoes the brand’s DNA.”

An example for us all those who will soon be diving into pop-up retail.

Every month, Altavia Coach offers you a selection of innovative solutions in the retail sector. Let’s take a closer look at two of them: Soyooz and SimpliField.

Soyooz: Helping the client choose THE right product for them

It all began…

…in 2012. It should be noted that trying to buy a high-tech product on the internet often turns out to be a long and painful process. After three years of R&D, the Soyooz start-up was finally able to create a technology that guides clients based on their usage. While Soyooz is only for high-tech products to begin with, it is quickly making investments in other areas (food, finance, home improvement, etc.)

This start-up is becoming a recommendation specialist. With the help of artificial intelligence, Soyooz basically plays the role of a personalised salesperson who helps the customer define their needs, selects products for them and explains why they’ve made a good choice opting for a given article.

How does it work? Clients answer a few simple questions about their use habits or their tastes (when it comes to wines or décor, for example) so that Soyooz can pinpoint the user’s needs in a few seconds.

Accessing Soyooz’ services 

This start-up is available through all customer relations interfaces, via the brand or store’s chatbot, website or app. One example is the Soyooz module used by Samsung so that MySamsung members can discover products that match their needs easily.

Future challenges

The teams are continuing to develop chatbots that they train to be expert salespeople in their fields and capable of responding to multiple questions.

On the business sides of things, Soyooz expanded their product offerings to include the automotive and manufacturing sectors.

Finally, exports will become a significant challenge over the next few months, as solutions are developed internationally.

SimpliField: Putting field teams at the heart of the customer experience

Based in Lille and Paris, the French start-up has been developing its business over the past four years. It created a mobile app that has enabled brands and retailers to become more efficient and increase their turnover.

Great customer experience, great products and great prices

Designed for network coordinators, merchandising, auditing, the head office, etc. and the application allows everyone to collaborate on projects such as introducing new collections, promotions, or products at different points of sale. It helps to ensure that if the retailer has 1,000 stores, each customer who goes into any one of them will have a great customer experience and see great products at great prices. This start-up has found a way to enable a brand to bring all the innovations, operations and the customer experience it wants to create into all of its stores, by using the latest technology, including mobile and cloud technology.

Aligning the teams, ensuring that processes, operations and objectives are understood and able to be applied by everyone, in a natural and intuitive way. Linking the consumer experience with more extensive business actions and digitising the exchanges between the teams in the field and those at Head Office for greater responsiveness. Such are the challenges SimpliField has decided to address.

Visits up by 20% per month

The SimpliField application has a significant impact on the business of brands and retailers who use it for several months. On average it has increased in-store visits by 20% and the number of products per till receipt by 15% every month.

80 clients, 26 countries

SimpliField now works with over 80 clients in 26 countries (in the luxury, cosmetics, fashion and home electronics sectors) including the Sony group. By using the application, Sony was able to launch, in less than a day and in 2,500 stores, a large-scale operation for promoting the launch of the PlayStation VR augmented reality headset and obtain the associated results in real time in order to optimise visibility in each point of sale.

SimpliField raised 4 million euros from Runa Capital and CapHorn in 2017 and is one of the start-ups to keep a close eye on. 2018 is shaping up to be a very exciting year, especially with the first office opening in the USA.

A non-profit research association based in Germany, Fogra Research Institute For Media Technologies plays a pivotal role in research and development for graphic industries. We put the spotlight on this major ally of the graphic industry

Fogra is located to the east of Munich. The association has its own research institute, with sixty employees, including engineers, chemists and physicists.

Their work is based on three fundamental principles: “Neutrality, Integrity, Reliability”.

“Fogra has several missions: knowledge transfer via diverse training sessions, organisation of noteworthy events and symposiums, writing of technical reports, certifications and other services for each step in the production,” Hervé Lyaudet explains. Patented inspection tools and methods – such as the Fogra Media Wedge CMYK 3.0 – allow high-quality production standards to be attained. Fogra also has a full system of certification (FograCert CPS/VPS/CPC/VPC)”.

The association also allows members access to international experts.  “Fogra participates in the development of ISO norms related to the graphics industry,” Hervé Lyaudet adds. “It is chair of the TC 130 Graphic Technology division within the International Standardization Organisation (ISO), which is constituted of a network of national institutions, and leads several major research projects that involve, for example, colour management for media”.  

Some of the research conducted in 2017

This year, Fogra conducted several research projects, particularly on:

– criteria for evaluation of colour reproduction on softproofing systems – application in production;

– development of methods to solve problems linked to paper fluorescence (OBA);

– the development of a method of evaluation for colour reproductions on different output channels

On the agenda for 2018?

“The agenda is currently under discussion,” says Hervé Lyaudet. But we already know that the development of tools for PDF 2.0 workflows will be part of our research next year, as well as the revision of the Standard Digital Process”.

By Hervé Lyaudet, Colorimetry and workflow manager at Altavia Paris.

With the emergence and sheer volume of digital media – whether in terms of the press, culture, marketing or sales industries – you’d be forgiven for thinking that paper is destined for the scrapheap, to be replaced by online media, e-books, and other email-based advertising.  But what is really happening out there?

An overview of popular misconceptions on paper-based media:

Popular misconception 1: “advertising material goes straight from the letterbox to the bin”.

Faced with the efficiency of emailed adverts, especially in terms of targeting and performance analysis, can physical advertising sent through the post, for a retailer, really be an effective communications tool?

Some would say no, given that everything is now digital, consumers show little interest in what appears through their letterbox and, what’s more, such content actually looks like publicity, so it goes straight from the letterbox to the bin – without even being read. Others, myself included, would say that, on the contrary, direct marketing still very much has its place within the right communications strategy.

Looking at studies carried out in recent years, it is now well recognised that the alleged indifference of French citizens towards media posted through their doors is not actually founded on anything tangible. See for yourself: in 2016, 93.5% of French citizens read at least one letter a week. And nearly 70% of those involved a printed advertisement, in the majority (62%), from supermarkets. Even better: 59% of French consumers put more value in post and advertisements when they’re printed.

What’s more, contrary to the popular misconception, 59% of 15-34 year olds – those famous ‘digital natives’ – read at least one printed advert per week. And for good reason: by drawing on the opportunities offered by new technologies — more precise targeting, personalised content and interconnected tools, direct marketing must reinvent itself and uphold concrete value for any company wanting to connect profitably with their clients.

It’s by no coincidence that over recent years, posted advertising is making a comeback in the United States and, to a lesser degree, in the United Kingdom. Are the signs in France pointing that way too?

Popular misconception 2: “printed catalogues have been cast into oblivion thanks to online shopping and digital marketing”.

Once considered a real shop window for retailers, catalogues have seen their popularity dwindle since the mid-2000s, as e-marketing and email campaigns have gone into full swing.

Just ten years on, in November 2014, some French consumers were surprised to discover — the ultimate paradox! — an Amazon catalogue pushed through their letterbox. This campaign by the e-commerce giant has since been renewed year on year, in the belief that “the return to paper (was) more qualitative”. As a result of this, a significant number of pure players have decided to integrate paper catalogues into their marketing strategies, such as Net à Porter, for example, as well as Birchbox.

Evidence, indeed, that we aren’t heading towards the complete digitalisation of communications, but towards omni-channel mix marketing, blending print and digital with one another. Furthermore, recent years have seen the generalisation of hybrid communication tools, connecting paper media with digital functions. Among these, we can particularly point towards the example of Camif’s connected catalogue, as well as Selectionnist’s image recognition application, which lets users find a product online simply by taking a photo of the product in their paper catalogue.

Popular misconception 3: “unlike paper, digital has little or no impact on the environment”.

We’ve all received messages like this: “do something for the planet, switch to paperless billing!”. On an almost daily basis, we’re pushed towards digital, ecologically responsible tools, to the detriment of paper, the environmental footprint of which is well established.  Taking into account the amount of paper we throw away every day, it goes without saying that we’re all part of this impact on the environment. And yet the same does not apply to digital, where the apparent lack of materials easily convinces us of its environmental soundness.

But, in actual fact, digital needs to be looked at more closely: the environmental impact of a material is not inherent in its very nature, but rather in the way it’s used. Printing an email in ten copies will obviously have more of an impact than not printing it at all. In contrast, reading the same message over thirty minutes will have more of an impact, in terms of energy consumption, than reading a printed version for the same amount of time.

In other words, the more something online is used over time, the more digital media turns out to be ecologically problematic.

Furthermore, as for paper, it has been reinvented thanks to environmental efforts (recycling, reducing the carbon footprint during production and processing), but also thanks to its diversity, and the extreme freedom with which it can be procured. Indeed, consumers are starting to feel freer when dealing with paper than with their smartphone: they never feel tracked or spied on when reading a book, magazine or newspaper.

Paper and digital: complementary media

As always, the deciding vote lies with the end-customer. It’s a given that people will continue to use coupons and vouchers on paper. It’s a given that they’re more sensitive to direct paper marketing (which is rarer) than those arriving by email (where they’re inundated). But at the same time, customers still appreciate, for example, being able to see reviews from other customers before buying a product thanks to digital, and in the same way, make recommendations to others.

The consumer citizen perfectly knows how to take advantage of the complementarity of offline and online media, because they know how to reap the benefits from both. They take just as much pleasure in seeing the day’s news online in brief, before enjoying the greater depths of an article printed on paper. Paper media still has good days to come!

By Raphaël Palti, CEO and founder of Altavia

Sources:

https://www.cospirit.com/magazine/media-courrier-publicitaire-stop-aux-idees-recues/

http://www.fr.twosides.info/includes/files/upload/files/France/Two_Sides_Print_and_Paper_In_A_Digital_World_FRANCE-KEY-FINDINGS.pdf

https://www.lsa-conso.fr/quand-amazon-s-essaie-au-catalogue-papier,192595

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctYTog-fyeI

http://www.archimag.com/vie-numerique/2015/11/30/cop21-pratiques-numeriques-ecologiques

Each month, Altavia Coach brings you a selection of innovative solutions in the retail sector. Here we take a closer look at two of them: V-Cult and SmartPixels.

V-Cult takes brand storytelling to the next level. Founded in 2009 by Tom Gauthier, the Lille-based start-up has become a 3D and virtual reality expert. The idea? Use video games as a basis to offer exciting, interactive and immersive experiences around brand experience. The goal is to enhance brand storytelling, boost companies’ sales performance and address specific business line issues.

Its B-to-B services were launched a year and a half ago.

Unique technology. The immersive experiences created by V-Cult can be accessed natively from any web browser thanks to its one-of-a-kind technology. The start-up developed its own graphics engine that runs online, so there’s no need to download smartphone apps or computer software. Users simply open an Internet browser and access immersive 3D content which can also be viewed using a virtual reality headset.

Vertical markets. To date, V-Cult has moved into four vertical markets: retail (Décathlon, Etam, Boulanger, Tape à l’œil, etc.); professional training (Moët Hennessy Group – LVMH, Bonduelle, etc.); real estate development (Nacarat, which is part of the Rabot Dutilleul construction group); and industry.

The next stages are to develop the industrial vertical market for maintenance projects and factory management, continue expanding the company internationally, launching its first B-to-B product to enable clients to develop their content themselves, and launch a second product for retail merchandising.

SmartPixels and projection augmented reality. SmartPixels, which was formed in May 2015 by Jérémy Verdo (HEC, Polytechnique) and Julien Berta (telecommunications), turns objects into screens and transposes digital uses and interactivity to the physical world onto the product itself.

This approach has various objectives:

• First, allow brands to successfully get their messages across by attracting people’s attention – an object that ‘comes to life’ on its own is much more impressive than a mere screen, to which we’ve all grown accustomed!
• Adapt to increasingly smaller store sizes and be able to show a whole collection on just one object using projection augmented reality.
• Give brands the means to show customers what a product might look like once personalised – and simply inform them that it is, in fact, possible to personalise items.

One of SmartPixels’ customers is MoëtHenessy, which was the first to put its trust in the start-up and embark on a large-scale project (deployment in Tokyo, Las Vegas and Paris). Other customers include Nike (experimental phase on the Champs Elysées and at Les Halles in Paris) and Berluti (pilot experience in its store on Rue du Faubourg St Honoré), as well as Christian Dior, The Kooples, Swatch, Chloé and more.

The start-up will soon set out to conquer the Asian and American markets.

Business intelligence. SmartPixels also gives its clients the possibility to use its platform to manage its content for easy updating. Meanwhile, SmartPixels uses this site to collect useful data on consumer behaviour.

Support brands in digitising points of sale. Rather than positioning itself within the events sector, SmartPixels wants to offer a more sustainable service. The idea is not to install a shop window for just six months, but rather to have machines robust enough to stay in place for several years, evolving alongside collections and product launches. The ultimate goal is to assist brands in digitising points of sale.