EN
The era of automation and AI isn’t coming — it’s here. The new reality is that everyone is looking to reduce costs while producing higher volumes than ever before. And they’re relying on new technologies to bridge the gaps as they undergo major structural shifts and widespread layoffs.
We’ve read about it happening to some of the largest agencies in the world — from R/GA and Huge, WPP’s Ogilvy and Grey, and Havas — but we’ve also seen it first hand with our own clients and friends.
There are a lot of automation options out there helping agencies do things faster and cheaper, but they’re also completely lacking the authenticity and creativity that only humans can provide. So not only in our own effort to remain a leader in creative production amongst the whirlwind of today’s AI, but more importantly, to deliver faster turnarounds, greater value, and better outcomes for our clients — we’ve created our own technologies to combine the very best of both worlds.
If you haven’t heard of BannerForge, it’s time you do.
What is BannerForge?
BannerForge is an innovative automation toolkit boasting a full library of reusable templates and comprehensive utilities that streamline the execution of repetitive and very time consuming tasks involved in banner creation. Using a master design, it can generate incredibly precise duplicates in whatever size or shape needed, while making tweaks and edits extremely quick and easy.
Why is it so Effective?
For starters, most brands have very consistent animation styles. It’s what we learn in branding 101. But in the past, regardless of how similar these elements were, generating resizes meant creating assets from scratch in a very manual process.
BannerForge takes advantage of these consistencies to create reusable templates that the platform can easily adapt into new sizes based on the input a developer provides. Think of it like plug and chug, but only much more sophisticated because it’s all based on an expertly crafted master design. Once BannerForge does its thing, our developers can pop in to request different animation speeds or other small tweaks that happen almost effortlessly.
But that’s not all. Obviously, if you know Assemble, you know that BannerForge was created with only top notch technologies. And that means that every output is optimized for low file sizes. The system is actually built to remove any unnecessary code that could affect load times and functionality. And all assets generated are Google approved by default, so there’s no additional edits needed to ensure a place in the search engine’s good graces.
“BannerForge uses highly depurated templates for display ads, catering specifically to our Pharma brands,” Fabian Miranda, Assemble Studio & Web Development Manager, explained. “It includes only strictly necessary scripts, stylesheets, and assets based on the specific banner type. So even Pharma banners using ISI (Important Safety Information) scrollable texts are built with optimized custom scripts to ensure the final output will be as lightweight and high performing as possible."
But classic ISI is simply part of a large repository of templates, so regardless of the specific template needed, it is always optimized to be as clean as possible with as little code as possible to minimize file sizes and enhance performance.”
And once the resizes are created, BannerForge allows us to optimize images, create zip packages, and generate elegant staging links without uploading FTP tools — a simple terminal command pushes everything live in seconds. This custom staging page allows clients to review all the latest versions of the banners all at once, so it’s easy to compare animation consistency and provide comments and feedback. What used to be a manual upload is now automatic to eliminate any delays between creation and review.
The Key to its Success
That’s simple: an approved master. Yes, really.
“As long as the master design is approved and set, the rest of the process is smooth and seamless,” Ricardo Chamberlain, Assemble Head of Web Development and Operations, shared. “Once we have that master, creating the various sizes is so fast and they’re truly mirror images of the original. This process allows us to decrease the issues typically involved in standardizing the units, so we can create high volumes with extreme accuracy.”
The Real Results by the Numbers
Now, what you’ve really been waiting for — some stats.
Pre-BannerForge, an average resize could take anywhere from 2-4 hours, so it was reasonable to produce 2-3 resizes a day. Now, our team is generating up to 18 resizes in a single day. One developer can now tackle three projects in the time they used to need to complete one.
Thinking of that on a larger scale, our banner developers can now take on 3x times more capacity in any given week, yielding 40% faster turnarounds on average. In other words, even the shortest of deadlines are no match for the Assemble team.
Experience the Impact for Yourself
Interested in learning more about how it works? If you’re looking to maximize your production efficiencies and reduce your lead times for large scale campaigns, contact Assemble to discuss your goals. We’d love to show you how BannerForge can transform your creative process to optimize your outcomes in today’s demanding digital world.