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The Saab Group

Using Canto Cumulus to reconcile the need for global distribution with the sensitivties of security.

Challenge

Getting images into the hands of the world’s leading aviation magazines is how Saab keeps its Gripen jet fighters at the fore of global visibility. Convenient access for all is important, but personal attention means all the difference when it comes to success with media heavyweights.

Solution

Canto Cumulus enables Saab’s marketing division to do what it does best—bolster global recognition of the Gripen brand. With Cumulus, Saab can also maintain adherence with Swedish security regulations, setting the stage for even deeper use of Cumulus within the company. Canto partner Gothia provided the expertise and advanced custom development needed to take Cumulus from being Saab’s best choice, to being its only realistic choice.

Results and Benefits

• Increased global visibility, thanks to easy 24/7 access for media outlets.
• Massive ROI boost on the hundreds of thousands of euros spent annually on the world’s best photographers, thanks to increased media coverage.
• Parallel Cumulus Enterprise systems serving internal and external needs through advanced automation, with no security compromises.

The air race that lasts 20 years.

For most companies, a five- or ten-year business plan works just fine. But Saab manages product development some 15 or 20 years in advance of deliveries, and they have to keep it all under control—and under wraps—the entire time.

The aircraft on Saab’s drawing boards today will be purchased by politicians and flown by pilots, most of whom are in preschool today. And, while those youngsters grow into their flight suits and business attire, Saab will amass and need to manage and control hundreds of thousands of new digital assets.

And they’ll do it using Canto Cumulus Enterprise.

Canto Cumulus powers several of the Saab Group websites set up by Canto Partner Gothia, including the Gripen Image Base, which is organized into convenient categories and offers immediate image access to the worldwide media.

Cumulus cleared for departure.

According to Jonas Tillgren of Saab’s Marketing Communications division, Saab chose Cumulus after limited success with an in-house system developed over many years.

A collection basket makes batch downloads easy in various formats, enabling users to get exactly what they need fast.

“Our in-house system was very demanding, and required constant consulting and updating, which was very expensive.”

Saab realized the system wasn’t ever going to deliver the DAM functionality they needed, so they started searching for a new solution. Their search ended when Saab found Cumulus.

“One of the biggest selling points about Cumulus was that it runs on different platforms,” recalls Tillgren. “We hadn’t yet decided on a platform to run our DAM system, and we wanted to have the option to switch platforms later, if needed.”

The Cumulus feature set also impressed Tillgren, who was still smarting from the costs of adding functionality to their in-house system.

“Cumulus offered so many features off the shelf, we could actually say no to options instead of having to pay consultants to add them!”

Local partner support was also helpful. Tillgren describes Canto partner Gothia as being a big help making Cumulus perfect for Saab.

“Less than five months after our initial talks with Gothia, we had Cumulus up and running internally, and on four of our external websites.”

ROI that really soars.

Saab’s Cumulus ROI is undisputable, according to Tillgren.

“After just a few months using Cumulus, we had distributed more images to the media than we had the entire previous year.”

An even more impressive ROI example comes from a single air show the company attended.

“We invited five big flight magazines to download photos we specifically picked for them. Every image they downloaded from Cumulus was published, and we got five covers out of it. That’s a 100% success rate—twice the rate we would have had without Cumulus!”

For perspective, Saab estimates the value of a magazine cover placement at €25,000.
€25,000 x 5 = €125,000

So, does this mean Saab recouped its entire Cumulus investment in a single air show?

“We would have, but we recouped our Cumulus investment long before that air show.”

Navigating throughout Saab.

Increasing Saab’s Cumulus ROI further, Tillgren has introduced the software company wide.

“Our justification plan for Cumulus included using it in all 14 Saab business units, and we’ve now realized this fully.”

The Saab Group’s main website even keeps historical photos available using Cumulus. Downloads are fast and easy, encouraging widespread media use.

As widespread as Cumulus use is at Saab today, Tillgren explains how ideas for its further use continue to come in.

“People in senior management at Saab are starting to think of new ways they can communicate using Cumulus.”

What’s Next for Saab and Cumulus?

With upper management behind Saab’s Cumulus investment, ambitious expansion plans for Cumulus are already in motion.

Taking advantage of the cross-platform flexibility that originally impressed Saab, Tillgren describes one part of the expansion plan.

“We’ve moved from Linux to Windows in order to take better advantage of PowerPoint and PDF, which we need to support internal documents.”

Saab can use Cumulus to manage internal documents because Cumulus satisfies Swedish security regulations that govern sensitive documents.

Meanwhile, Gothia is developing an online registration system to enable media contacts to create accounts for more personal attention, and to offer Saab increased distribution control.

Overall, Cumulus was a good choice for Saab.

“Saab is very small by comparison to our competitors,” says Tillgren. “We must be more flexible and more open to what the media wants. Cumulus makes it possible for us to say yes to everyone— and that’s something we must do.”