@ADOBEUK

Digital technology has disrupted every industry and geography, revolutionising how office workers today create, produce and manage their work. As more and more employees work remotely and teams span the globe it can often lead to a feeling that all of their time is spent searching, editing and collaborating on documents, rather than their actual day jobs. At the same time IT departments are having to integrate and manage the many different platforms, devices and services workers are demanding, all while protecting sensitive corporate IP and personal information.

While these struggles are well-recognised, we wanted to try and actually quantify their impact on organisations.  It was with this in mind that we partnered with IDC to build a better understanding of office and IT workers’ needs and challenges in the modern day workplace and the financial impact this has on organisations in terms of bottom line. 

The results were surprising: we all know time is being wasted, but the cost of that wasted time reaches an eye-watering, €11,700 per information worker annually! This was calculated by looking at things like the challenges related to personal productivity – such as searching for, but not finding, documents; inefficiencies in collaboration between individuals and companies, and barriers to working on new platforms such as mobile and tablet.

For businesses, the key to closing the gap is to recognise that it is a set of compounding issues: lots of little things that add up to a big impact on employee productivity, and ultimately, the bottom line. The features that we’ve introduced in Acrobat XI – shipping today – equip office workers and IT departments with document collaboration tools that not only increase efficiency through the document creation, management and distribution process, and protect sensitive information, even when documents travel outside of the document management system and corporate firewall. 

Our infographic below highlights some of the other findings from IDC’s whitepaper, and below that you can check out an overview of the all the new features of Acrobat XI to see how it’ll allow you to work smarter, not harder.  

Adobe Acrobat XI, new and improved features include:

• Edit PDF files, modify paragraphs, images, and objects by simply clicking and dragging using the new, intuitive Edit Text and Images tool. Arrange and visually merge select content and multiple documents into one organised PDF file, while retaining source file integrity.
• Improved protection of all PDF files created from Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel to help prevent copying, editing, or printing without permission.
• Speed up document and web contract approvals (from weeks to hours) with electronic signatures using the integrated Adobe EchoSign electronic signature service. Simplify forms creation, distribution and results analysis using the included Adobe FormsCentral desktop app.
• Work with PDF files across tablets and smartphones in touch-friendly Adobe Reader to annotate and add comments, as well as fill in, sign and save forms.
• Save PDF documents as PowerPoint, Word or Excel files or reuse parts of or entire PDF files as Microsoft Office documents and web pages without retyping or need to reformat.

The new and improved IT features and functionality now enable IT professionals to:

• Standardise on an easy to use, full-featured, consistent and trusted PDF Reader now with full support for iPads and Android tablets.
• Integrate Adobe Acrobat XI seamlessly with Microsoft Office and Microsoft SharePoint, enabling users to do more with PDF in an Office or SharePoint environment.
• Streamline deployment and maintenance with free Adobe tools to aid configuration and installation, as well as enhanced support for Microsoft SCCM/SCUP and Apple Remote Desktop.
• Help mitigate risk and protect systems and data with industry-leading security technology, in addition to the Adobe PDF Whitelist Framework, allowing selective enablement of JavaScript for both Windows and Mac OS.
• Easily deliver multi-step PDF file preparation and security measures using the Action Wizard to help ensure organisational consistency.

It’s a big night for us tomorrow as it’s the European premiere at the 56^th BFI London Film Festival of a new movie we‘ve been heavily involved with – A Liar’s Autobiography – The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman.

It’s an animated tribute to the late Graham Chapman which tells his life story (both real and fantasy) in 17 different animation styles by 14 different studios, with Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium instrumental in the production process.

Check out this video to learn about the making of the film and the filmmakers’ experiences using the latest versions products including Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Flash Professional, and Photoshop Extended.

Despite the shaky UK economy, brands are continuing to invest billions into digital advertising – both online and through mobile devices.

This is one of the findings from the latest advertising expenditure report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB); with advertising spend shooting up by 12.6 percent to £2.6 billion in the first half of the year.

Fuelled by the rocketing number of smartphone and tablet users, mobile advertising alone grew by 132 percent to £181.5 million in the first half of 2012, from the previous year, and now accounts for seven percent of all digital advertising spend.

These results support the findings of Adobe’s Q2 2012 Global Digital Advertising Update, which we blogged about back in July.   Our report showed that whilst conversion rates for tablets are 120 percent higher than those for PCs, Cost Per Clicks (CPC) rates are markedly less than desktops or laptops, 30 percent less in fact – opening a window of opportunity in the digital advertising market.

“Mobile traffic continues to demonstrate a significant opportunity for advertisers as the industry is still yet to normalise click through rates” comments Jonathan Beeston, director of new product innovation at Adobe. “With results remaining strong for mobile, there is a growing emphasis on mobile devices as tablet conversion rates outshine desktop conversion rates.”

However, the gap in that window of opportunity is starting to close and it won’t be long until the cost per click rate starts to increase. To make the most of this, brands need to act now to make sure they don’t get shut out by their competitors.

“There’s still time for brands to get in there and reap the benefits delivering greater ROI but they need to move quickly before this ever shrinking window shuts,” adds Beeston.

Findings from our latest Digital Index Report, The ROI from Marketing to Existing Online Customers, show that it takes seven first-time online shoppers to deliver the same revenue per visit as just one repeat purchaser.

Existing customers provide greater ROI for retailers. So, why are the bulk (80%) of interactive marketing budgets spent on trying to attract new shoppers?  Surely the number one priority should be existing customers?

The financial rewards for marketing to return and repeat customers are significant.  It is estimated that for every 1% of shoppers who return for another visit, overall revenue will increase by 10%.  The impact of this is obvious and incredible.  Based on the sample used for our study, in both Europe and the US, on average, 40% of revenue comes from returning or repeat customers, who represent only 8% of all visitors.

This is magnified even further during Christmas, with the increase from repeat purchasers being a massive 23% – nearly 500% higher!

As well as Christmas, repeat purchasers also deliver greater returns during slow economic growth.  With the Eurozone issues over the past few years, where overall GPD growth in Europe has been either weak or negative, repeat purchasers have become even more important to the bottom line.

So how can your brand benefit from this information and turn shoppers into return and repeat purchasers?

1.     Firstly, conversion rates need to be considered as this is the main driver for higher return per visit.  The conversion rate for first time shoppers is just 1%, whereas for returning and repeat customers it’s five and nine times as much, respectively.  Marketers need to optimise site conversion rates across the board to bring customers back to the site.

2.     Secondly, you need to look at better targeting customers; personalisation is key! Companies that personalise the experience increase the likelihood of both sales and recommendations.  A pretty obvious statement, but many marketers are not taking advantage of all the customer data they have on existing customers, that makes personalisation possible.

3.     Lastly, offering rewards, loyalty programme promotions and using tactics such as email and display ad retargeting, are all great ways to encourage return visits and bring those sales figures up.

If you’re going to give one piece of advice to your colleagues across the marketing department as you gear up for Christmas, make sure you prioritise the present list according to ROI.

For a more detailed look at how Europe compares against the US, click on our infographic below and see a copy of the full Digital Index Report here.

Jamie Brighton, Product Marketing Manager, Digital Marketing Business, Adobe

@JamieBrighton

Students are now paying up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees. As such, Universities should anticipate their new intake of undergraduates to have much higher expectations about what they’re getting from their studies. With more and more employers expecting their staff to be well versed in digital, there will naturally be increased demand from students for access to industry-standard technology that will help them get a job once they graduate.

To support institutions in meeting this demand, we’ve launched a new three year license agreement, the Eduserv Adobe ELA Framework Agreement. It means that both Further Education and Higher Education institutions will be able to provide access to Adobe’s latest Creative Suite software across the whole campus for the first time. Plus staff get it too!

We’re working with loads of leading institutions to help them deliver a strong digital offering. Here’s what a few have to say about the Eduserv Adobe ELA Framework Agreement:

 Kirk Laws-Chapman, Resources Manager, Norwich University College of the Arts:

“The new Eduserv Adobe ELA Framework Agreement has provided Norwich University College of the Arts with an affordable way to give our students access to latest industry standard software across the campus. Meeting expectations against a background of rising tuition fees is a challenge, and this is a great way for us to add value to the student experience here.”

Phil Purves – Senior Lecturer, Bath Spa University:

“I’m confident that a lot of current and future students will benefit the new Eduserv Adobe ELA Framework Agreement. In addition to saving the University money, it is giving us software consistency everywhere with the latest CS6 suite available on whatever machine is capable of running it. All our creative areas have been keen to support this new agreement. It’s going to make a huge difference.”

Steve Harvey, Arts University College at Bournemouth:

“The Arts University College at Bournemouth (AUCB) feels extremely privileged to be signed up to the Eduserv Adobe ELA Framework Agreement. It enables us to offer more access to industry standard software at a good price, but also helps with the strategic development of software maintenance to align Education and Business application deployment.”

 For more information on how to sign up to the agreement, check outwww.eduserv.org.uk/ela. To be included in the next entry point in November 2012, institutions must complete all paperwork by 24^th October.