As an image.works Marketing Project Coordinator, I help manage and coordinate the flow of client projects from the moment they come through our door to the time they reach your door (or that of your customers and members). When you give final approval on a financial marketing project, you are understandably excited to get your final pieces – and we’re just as excited to show them to you!
But first, there are important steps that must take place. We continue to work behind the scenes for you to ensure quality, accurate completion of your pieces for your optimal satisfaction.
Here’s an overview of the post-approval process to help address common questions we receive:
Internal proofing – Our team of meticulous proofreaders comb through your projects one final time after your approval to ensure everything is error-free. This process is free of charge to you and takes one to two workdays, depending upon the size of the piece (i.e., lengthy annual reports or newsletters are allowed extra time).
Press time – Once any editing suggestions are run past you, your projects are sent to the printer. Our print vendors require three to 10 business days for turnaround, again depending upon the piece. Posters, for example, are much faster than annual reports.
Shipping – We work with financial institutions all across the country, so shipping varies with your distance from Madison, WI. Typical shipping times fall into one- to five-day zones, with the majority requiring at least three days.
Mailing – If we are mailing your financial marketing pieces to customers and members on your behalf, we must allow four days at the mail house. Your mailing list is run through the National Change of Address (NCOA) system, bad records are pulled, and a presorted list is created (nonprofit, standard, first-class, etc.). We receive previews of labels so that we can ensure their format matches your original list, check names to confirm they are indeed part of your list, and resolve any other issues necessary. (Note that we can complete this review process ahead of time – before your artwork is even complete – to save time after approval if you submit your mailing list early on.) When everything is ready to go, your mailing addresses are sprayed onto your pieces via an ink-jet process.
Variable data – If we are customizing your mailing for variable data (e.g., a salutation such as “Dear Kerri” that changes with each piece), we must allow seven business days at the mail house instead of four. This is because we review an actual PDF of a custom piece with the variable data in place to ensure proper population of the data. You will also be asked to approve this PDF before we move forward if the variable data is more than a salutation (e.g., variable maps or personal web addresses, known as PURLs).
Your needs come first
All of this said, we know there are times when you absolutely have to have your finished projects sooner than our standard turnaround, and we do our very best to accommodate your needs with rush shipping and printing if necessary. We also pride ourselves on the time we save you during copy and design, creating proofs within seven to 10 business days and often faster.
The bottom line is that your financial marketing needs come first at image.works! Count on your Marketing Project Coordinator to walk you through the entire process, prompting you for the necessary information, offering you status updates, ensuring accuracy and timeliness, and answering all of your questions.
In fact, ask us your question by commenting below, and we’ll answer it in a future MPC FAQ Series post!