How online proofing can help marketers in the fight against inflation

Inflation in Europe is higher than it’s been in almost half a century. Fears of a global recession are mounting, putting marketing budgets under threat. But before making sharp cuts to ad spend or creative firepower, teams should look at ways to save costs by making communication more efficient.

A recent Filestage report revealed that advertising and marketing professionals spend two days per week on feedback. And while feedback is an essential part of the creative process, a huge amount of that time is wasted.

Here are the top five problems faced during the review process:

1. Arranging meetings to clarify feedback
2. Getting delayed feedback or chasing reviewers for approval
3. Conflicting and unclear feedback
4. Consolidating feedback from different people and places
5. Moving deadlines to allow more time for feedback

If this all sounds familiar, you may be wondering why your team has never tried to do anything about it. Well, it’s probably because they’ve never heard of online proofing before.

But before we get into how online proofing software can help, let’s look at what it is and how it’s different to traditional proofing.?

Traditional vs. online proofing: what’s the difference?

Back in the ‘60s, when adland was awash with suits, pomade, and whiskey, the only way to give feedback on creative work was to print and point. Then, as agency networks grew and companies opened offices around the world, email came along to save the day.

Except, it didn’t.

If you’ve ever reviewed work over email, you’ll know how painful it can be. Requests for feedback get ignored and transfer links time out. And when the feedback finally arrives, it’s full of conflicts, so you have to call a meeting anyway to get everyone aligned.

Oh, please make it stop!

So now we’re all agreed that traditional proofing is a living nightmare, let’s take a look at the differences between traditional and online proofing.

Traditional proofing

• Files are shared over email as attachments, transfer links, or presentations
• Tracking is handled manually with spreadsheets to mark approvals
• Reviewers need to be chased after missing emails or forgetting to give feedback
• Feedback is shared in emails with timecodes, screenshots, and long descriptions
• Comments include lots of conflicts because stakeholders aren’t communicating
• Versions fly back and forth in email chains and nobody knows which version is the latest

Online proofing

• Files are shared in a content proofing platform that lives in your browser
• Tracking is handled automatically with real-time status indicators
• Reviewers are sent automated reminders to make sure feedback arrives on time
• Feedback is shared right on top of your content, even for videos, designs, and websites
• Comments are always consolidated because stakeholders can discuss conflicts in real time
• Versions are organized automatically so everyone knows which one is the latest

Online proofing saves one day per month for each person in the review process

The report by Filestage compares the time spent managing feedback with email and online proofing software. And based on 250+ advertising and marketing professionals, it showed that Filestage saves one day per person, per month for everyone in the review process. For a typical company with 200 people involved in the creation, review, and approval of content, that adds up to over 1,500 hours saved per month.

Here are the four ways online proofing makes communication more efficient:

1. See what’s happening across all your projects in real time – set due dates, check file statuses, and see which files are ready to work on or review, all in one place
2. Get crystal clear feedback with full context – use markers, annotations, attachments, and more to discuss feedback right on top of your content
3. Make sure everyone’s on the same page – invite stakeholders to give feedback in organized review steps, so comments are transparent and conflicts can be resolved straight away
4. Manage versions and review rounds with ease – compare versions side by side to check the comments, and get alerts so you always know which version is the latest

“Filestage has reduced our team’s daily email inbox by roughly 25-30% so we can focus on other important tasks for the day.”

Rain Balares, INCA Lead at GroupM

Online proofing software, Filestage, reduces unnecessary meetings by 28%

According to Harvard Business Review, executives spend around 23 hours per week in meetings. If you’re a project or account manager, that may sound about right. For designers, creatives, and other studio roles, it’s probably a lot less. But regardless of which department you’re in, less meetings is something everyone can get onboard with.

Online proofing solves this problem in two ways. First, it speeds up the process of giving feedback by letting you simply tap on the content. Then it keeps all the discussions organized, reducing the need for meetings to get everyone on the same page.

Here are five features of online proofing that help to keep meetings to a minimum:

1. Tap anywhere to create markers and add comments on top of your work (even videos)
2. Highlight text or draw annotations to make feedback clearer
3. Compare versions and comments side by side to see what’s changed
4. Attach references to comments to give extra context
5. Tag other people to get on the same page in real time

“Filestage makes things easy. Everyone’s comments are clear and in the same place so that the agency and clients can work more collaboratively.”

Sarah Chen, Medical Director at Publicis Health

Online proofing halves design time so teams can deliver their best work

3 in 4 people say they could create better work if they spent less time managing feedback. With online proofing, they have the chance to do just that.

Barcelona and LA-based agency, SLAPS, uses Filestage’s online proofing software to review hundreds of social posts with their clients. By switching from email and WhatsApp to a tool that brings content and reviewers together, they cut their design time in half. This freed up more time for quality and social engagement.

Founder and Creative Director, Sébastien Vandecasteele, says, “Working on social media, we have people both client and agency side. We’ve got a copywriter, social manager, and designer – and on the client side we have 2-3 people in the feedback process. Filestage gives us a place where everyone can easily interact with each other and give feedback.”

Here are nine more benefits of online proofing for agencies and in-house marketing teams:

1. Upload all your designs and versions in one place
2. Collect feedback right on top of your creative
3. Discuss feedback directly with reviewers
4. Tick off comments while creating the next version
5. Compare versions side by side to check what’s changed
6. Approve designs or request changes in one click
7. Invite internal and external reviewers to give feedback
8. Set due dates to keep design reviews moving forwards
9. Review videos, designs, images, documents, and more

“Thanks to Filestage, our review and approval process is easy, fast, and transparent from beginning to end. Now we have more time for the tasks we really enjoy.”

Marcel Martin, UX Designer at Oddity

Try Filestage for free with your team

You’ve heard the theory, now it’s time to put it into practice.

Filestage is offering a free trial of their online proofing software. So you can see how much time you save by sharing content, collecting feedback, and getting approval in one place.?

Click here to request your free trial →