2.
Osmosis Overview
Introduction Saving Money
Ordering marketing material has never been this Dynamic Artwork Creation
easy, this fast or this cost effective. This is Costs for changes to corporate identity (CI) material
particularly true in the case of National & occur primarily when the information changes (e.g.
International companies. details on a business card). OBM allows staff
members to make these changes while ordering.
The Osmosis Brand Manager (OBM) is internet- No agency is needed.
based software. It manages all of a company’s
marketing collateral (and thus its corporate identity) Reduced Printing Spend
from a single interface. This includes the storage, A printer of choice may be designated and
viewing, updating, ordering, re-ordering and discounts negotiated since multiple orders from
archiving of marketing material. OBM protects multiple locations may be consolidated into single
brand consistency while allowing any approved scheduled print runs.
employee to make their own information updates
and place orders for business cards, stationery,
Streamlined Approval
clothing, posters, brochures, billboards, point of
Any company member may order online from any
sale material, advertisements etc.
location (no phone calls or administration). The
approval procedure provides the necessary
OBM enables the licensed company to enjoy
protection of brand consistency, ensures
significant savings regarding the ordering and
accountability and radically reduces time.
production of such materials. It is a web based
procurement system, a content management
system, a digital asset management (DAM) Other Benefits
platform and more.
Reporting
Compare marketing collateral spend across an
Saving Time entire company. Export these to Excel. Receive
daily email reports re orders and production.
Direct Ordering & Approval
The individual or branch may place orders directly
Global Access
without contacting head office or external agencies.
e.g. Individuals in Tanzania may view branding
Corporate identity compliance is assured. The
material and CI activity being carried out by their
preset approval procedure further drastically saves
South African colleagues.
administration time.
Changes are Immediate Expandable
Any number of users may be added, as well as any
Any brand changes or additions are made to the
number of CI items (e.g. 100s of advert types).
central database. No rollout is required.

3. Case Study, Blue FS
Blue Financial Services through a number of
mergers and acquisitions where expanding quickly.
There was a massive need to implement a
consistent brand across an international company.
Problem 2
Osmosis Brand Manager (OBM) was implemented Little control of print spend
to store and order international marketing material If every branch of blue had the freedom to
covering stationary, point of sale, and billboard produce branded items as they please costs tend
to spiral out of control. Not only is this an
Problem 1 expensive exercise, it is also very hard for head
office to keep track of costs incurred and the
overall company misses out on bulk discounts.
Implementing a consistent brand Head office is left in the dark in terms of which
internationally branch is responsible for what costs and in many
Blue had a massive problem in converting new cases head office covers those costs.
branches to the "blue brand".
Many people in multiple countries needed access Solution 2
to the company’s corporate ID. This proved a
massive administration task for their marketing OBM operates from a database that keeps track of
department. the traffic from each registered user. Blue
operations management is able to pull detailed
Solution 1 reports of orders and can clearly see exactly how
much money the branches are spending, and what
OBM is an online application that can be accessed they are spending it on. Management can then
from anywhere in the world at anytime. keep each branch responsible for it’s own
User levels determine functionality and authority. marketing spend and in the process regulate spend
OBM has tiered country, company, region, and to fit the budget. OBM allows management to
branch details management tool which proved centralise all printing with one pre-approved
invaluable to managing their rapidly changing printer. This means that bulk discounts can be
company and staff information. negotiated and Blue saves thousands in printing
This information spilled into the companies costs annually.
stationary to rapidly edit business cards and
letterheads.
OBM is Blue central repository for their marketing
material. The Branding is pre-designed and cannot
be changed. The system holds these items in print
ready PDF format so they can be sent straight to
print.
The regional managers and agency use OBM to re-
order point of sale material from a centralised
printer.

4.
Case Study, Blue FS
Problem 3
A streamlined order process
Blue marketing department and operations had a
headache of managing their international marketing
spends.
When looking at something as simple as the
ordering of a standard business card through the
right channels, blue realized why they needed
OBM.
Solution 3
OBM allows quick and easy ordering of any
branded items but also crunches an elaborate
approval process into a few simple steps. This
process is managed by the approval process. Sign
off on larger orders is escalated to higher
management. Operations is kept in the loop with
regards to marketing spend.
Problem 4
Managing marketing campaigns
Blue run multiple campaigns in multiple countries.
With the constant additions and archiving, Blue had
a headache in managing their digital assets.
Solution 4
With OBM as the central repository for all branded
material, old campaigns can be archived and new
campaigns added.
Notification to the branches is made via the
communications section. One mass email to all or
targeted emails to countries have made this
process simple.
Every Company and business can put
OBM to use and see the benefits
immediately.

5. Case Study, Nissan Diesel
Nissan Diesel South Africa has 60 dealerships
nationwide. Problem 2
Osmosis Brand Manager (OBM) was implemented Brand consistency
to store and order all company marketing material The most important element of branding is
from a single interface. consistency. What Nissan Diesel had experienced
was incorrect colors and stretched text appearing
Why? in publications and stationary.
Problem 1
Solution 2
Providing marketing material to a OBM allows it’s users to change personal or branch
dealership network specific details within set parameters.
There are a lot of people in the dealership network Now dealerships are able to customise their
who need access to Nissan Diesels corporate ID. stationary and adverts within the Nissan Diesel
This was time consuming. The dealerships tend to brand bible.
take matters into their own hands. In the process They simply edit the necessary details and send
the brand gets debased and branding becomes the job off for approval.
inconsistent. Branding is now consistent.
Solution 1 Problem 3
OBM can be accessed from anywhere in the world
at anytime. No control of marketing spend
OBM provided Nissan Diesel with a tiered As every dealership was producing their adverts
dealership list of dealerships their company and and stationary there was no idea of how much was
staff information. being spent. It was very hard for head office to
OBM serves as a central storage space for the keep track of costs incurred n short it could not be
Nissan Diesel branded marketing collateral. accurately measured.
The system holds these items in print ready PDF-X
format so they can be sent straight to print or
publication. Solution 3
The Branding is pre-designed and cannot be OBM operates from a database that keeps track of
changed. the orders from each registered user. Now head
The only editable elements are the variable details office is able to pull detailed reports of orders and
such as name, telephone number, street address can clearly see exactly how much money the
etc. dealerships are spending, and what they are
This means that anyone with access can go online, spending it on.
select the item they want to order, change the Now each dealership is responsible for it’s own
relevant details without touching the branding and marketing spend to fit their budget.
send it off to a pre-approved printer. OBM allows management to centralise all printing
with pre-approved printers. This means that bulk
discounts can be negotiated saving thousands in
printing costs annually.

6.
Case Study, Nissan Diesel
Problem 4
Problem 5
No approval process
When looking at something as simple as the Quick, global changes to material
ordering a standard business card through the right
Nissan Diesel often launches new Trucks to the
channels, Nissan Diesel realized the process is
market. These must be made available to the
extremely time consuming and goods take too long
dealership network. Using the present adverts they
to be approved and delivered.
are able to simply add a new product image and
default copy.
Solution 4
OBM allows for quick and easy ordering of any
branded items but also crunches an elaborate
Solution 5
We realize that artwork is not static, with OBM as
approval process into these few simple steps.
the central repository for all artwork elements
The user logs into OBM.
including fonts, image libraries, and PDF formats,
The User will then select which branded item they
With the communication section, one mass email
want to order and is presented with a preview of
can be sent to the dealerships introducing them to
what it will look like.
the new product and instructing them to place their
The User can enter the relevant details and selects
orders, OBM will do the rest. No need for time
quantity or insertion date with relevant costs based
consuming, expensive presentations.
on pre-arranged rates.
The User places the order and emails will go out
the approval process. Every Company and business can put
The person who needs to approve the order can OBM to use and see the benefits
do so by viewing the final artwork and Purchase immediately.
order/Copy instruction.
If all is in order they approve the job by a click of a
button and all relevant details are sent to either the
printer or publication.
This entire process takes about 10 minutes to order
and approve.

7. Required Information
An Internal Expert company under a country (or vica versa) and so
on. This user fits under approval center "x".
There should be an individual from head office
This structure is directly related to the User Level
appointed to manage the implementation of
requirements below.
Osmosis Brand Manager (OBM).
Ideally such a person should be appointed at the User Levels
outset of the project.
This individual will need to facilitate the gathering of The OBM system allows for many levels of use, i.e.
required information. what a user is authorized to view, order or approve
etc.
It is recommended that the appointment of the
Internal Expert be considered as soon as the User Levels are central to the functioning of the
project is signed off. OBM.
This individual should: OBM user levels relate primarily to marketing
managers, branch and company managers and
• Be Internet literate billing positions – this requires some research and
• Be vested with the authority of being consideration on the part of the client, in
responsible for the OBM implementation conjunction with the developers.
• Have the authority to gather the
information listed in this document Client will need to consider:
• Have understanding of supplier
arrangements • who is allowed access OBM
• who is to edit what in which template;
What follows is a broad summary of critical • who will be responsible for approval
information for successful implementation. • who manages budgets.
• who signs off purchase orders
Company Structure Once we have an understanding of the company
structure and procurement process therein we will
There need to be a top level understanding of the
make user level recommendations. These will be
company, its subsidiaries, divisions and branches.
discussed with client.
This needs to be understood by the developers in
order to structure the OBM interface accordingly.
The developers need to understand that e.g. a user
falls under a branch, a branch under a company, a

8.
Required Information
New Users Example 1 - National Franchise
Franchise (places order) > Head Office Marketing >
When a new user registers on the system two key Head Office Finance
attributes need to be addressed:
• Assigning the user a User Level Example 2 - National Company
• Approving the user for OBM access Branch (places order) > Branch Manager > Branch
Billing > Head Office Manager > Head Office Billing
Once the User Level structure is defined, the
internal expert or “high-level” key personnel users
Example 3 - International Company
can manage new users that register on the system.
Branch (places order) > Regional Manager >
Country Manager > Country Billing > Company
Manager > Company Billing > Marketing Head
Approval Process Office > Head Office Billing
The approval process is critical to the ordering of These approval processes need not necessarily
material online. Orders incur hard costs and need take place in order, but may do so if desired.
to be approved by more than one person in a
company.
User Levels are central to the order approval
process. While most users will be allowed to place
orders, only a select few will have the authority to
approve an order.
Each item that may be ordered needs an approval
process attached to it – which may be generic or
specific (e.g. the users that need to approve a
magazine advertisement placement may be
different from those who might approve basic
company stationery such as a business card order).
The OBM automates this process, calling upon the
appointed persons via email to log in and take the
necessary action.
The following are examples of approval processes,
listing the key personnel who might be designated
to approve an order on OBM:

9. Required Information
Suppliers Distribution
Once an order is approved you are able to send Printed goods require delivery and often storage.
the purchase order to the supplier. OBM transmits Quiet often warehousing creates economies of
this to the client’s designated supplier in scale savings for client.
electronic/digital format. The most common
examples of suppliers required by the OBM are as These logistics and costs need to be evaluated and
follows: considered during implementation.
• Printer (for marketing material) Trees experience allows us to advise the client on
• Packager these issues with transparency.
• Media Booker or Publisher
While centralized production, collection and
Tree needs to liaise directly with suppliers during distribution may be ideal for brand consistency –
the OBM setup process to: this is not always practical. OBM allows for
• Educate them on the quoting procedures centralised or dispersed models.
• Understand the suppliers capabilities
• Vet the supplier Successful distribution is essential for the success
of the overall OBM system.
In our experience attempting to use unsuitable or
uncooperative suppliers can be a frustrating, time
consuming and expensive process. We constantly
Payment
are working on reporting ways to ensure this
Who pays the bills? The purchase order generated
doesn’t happen.
reflects the arrangement between client and the
supplier.
With regards to tender processes, requirements
need to be discussed and clearly laid out for the
OBM and client need to be mutually clear on how
supplier.
purchase orders are settled.
Every item that is loaded on to the OBM, be it
If integration is need to existing bookkeeping
stationery or advertising or other, and needs to be
software this can be arranged? However most
allocated a supplier prior to being made live on the
clients have found this isn’t necessary
OBM system.
When loaded items can include guidelines for
production i.e. paper weight, colour requirements,
run quantities, bulk discounts, completion dates
and so forth.

10.
Required Information
Templates newspaper printing requires colour
correction)
“Templates” are corporate identity items that are • pantone colours,
available for a user of the OBM program to order. • paper weight
(e.g. one particular business card design). • editable fields
• user level rights
Usually it is an advertising or design agency that
needs to supply the initial template source files in
PDF to the developers. Printing of final OBM PDF proofs for signoff by
client (at completion of BMT setup) signals the end
Templates are made up of a base PDF, source of development, ensuring that the finished product
images, source text, and specific code which matches the original
enables a user of the OBM to create PDFs ready for
use by a commercial printer. For instance a Additional Considerations
template could be an A5 Flyer which:
Internal Communication
• can use numerous images relating to The OBM, by its very nature, holds employee
different products contact information.
• can use various default texts
(e.g. English or French) There is enormous scope for adapting it to a full
• can have editable text fields Intranet or expanding the OBM with additional
functionality. Simple examples would be, business
These elements drawn together will be used by the directories, face book applications, forums, polls,
Program to form a print-ready PDF. job listings etc
NB: any variation in the size or layout or colours of Implementation
a CI item will require a separate template
How to get extended client company to adopt the
use of the OBM system is an internal challenge
Template Requirements because people simply resist change
• Template supply should take place at the This is the most vital and the most overlooked part
beginning of the OBM setup of IT. Without serious commitment in this area the
• An approved 300dpi PDF file is supplied implementation is likely to fail to deliver return on
to the developers for each template investment in the first year of adoption.
• Time is needed to process each template
PDF to a OBM compliant template For this reason please see our separate document
• Information is needed on the destination on Change Management (i.e. guidelines for
supplier for each template (e.g. implementing the OBM).

11. Implementation
Implementation of new software within a National terms of ordering corporate identity (CI) material.
or International company requires commitment at Any CI requirements (from a business card to an
the highest level and training that reaches down to outdoor billboard or advertisement) now need to
the lowest level of software user. Without such be ordered online.
authority and action the implementation is likely to
fail to deliver return on investment. Persons responsible for placing such orders
(whether they be at a Branch, a Regional, a Country
The Osmosis Brand Manager (OBM) is specifically or a Head Office level) need to be aware of the
designed to be intuitive to the average Internet user OBM system, its capabilities and how to use it.
and is accompanied with step by step online Indeed they need to be aware that they are
documentation. However, our experience has required to use it – for it is in bulk ordering that
taught us that the success of a OBM much of the financial savings of the system lie.
implementation is directly related to the effort and
commitment of the client to making it a success. The following key points are thus strongly
recommended regarding OBM implementation:
Change Goals
An Internal Campaign
Overall
To increase efficiency, decrease production costs, An internal company campaign should be run in
ensure consistent branding and support much the same way as an external marketing
administration in terms of the ordering and campaign would be. This should involve all levels of
approval of marketing (CI) material. internal communication such as the following:
Procurement • Launch Event
• Presentations
To consolidate all marketing material procurement
• Intranet
to the central system.
• Email
• Newsletter
Employees
• Documentation (OBM help files)
To ensure that all employees who need to order
• Training
such material are registered and educated users of
the OBM. (i.e. that they use the system to place • Support
such orders, be it for stationery or press
advertisements). …continued 1
Defining the Change
Staff throughout the client organization are now
being asked to follow a very different procedure in

12.
Implementation
Key Departments & using the OBM system. This is what is referred to as
the “training the trainer” principle, where the OBM
Personnel developers are able to focus their training and
documentation efforts on this and other key
The following key departments and employees employees – who in turn pass on their expertise to
should be involved in the campaign/change the wider employee base. This individual should:
process:
• Be Internet and computer literate
Marketing Managers • Be vested with the authority of being
At all levels – the system is designed to alleviate responsible for the OBM
much of their departments’ workload. • Monitor OBM use on a daily basis
• Monitor the internal education process
Internal Communications • Co-ordinate support of employees using
the OBM
It is recommended that this department, or the
• Provide email and phone support where
Marketing department drive the change process.
needed
• Maintain and monitor OBM user lists and
Training Department
their access levels
All traditional training avenues should be pursued,
however they function within the company. Hands-
User Levels
on person to person training needs to be pro-
These deserve a special mention as they are central
actively delivered to departments/branches
to the functioning of OBM. For any order placed
there will be a hierarchy of users who need to
IT Department
approve said order. Our expert should be very
This department needs to be informed and aware
familiar with this process and monitor it in case of
more than involved. They may see and suggest
individuals being on leave etc.
additional functionality such as a contact
database/intranet link.
…continued 2
Help Desk / Call Centre
In the same way as any training department should
be active, phone & email support should be
available.
One Internal Expert
A single person or persons within the client
organization should be made responsible for the
functioning, use and support of other employees

13.
Implementation
Phases familiarize themselves with the system –
and to follow up with any further
questions.
Depending on the size, structure and geographic
• This list may then compared to the
distribution of the client company employing OBM
registered users on the OBM, for a
a phased approach may be recommended to
percentage success rate
ensure smooth rollout. A basic example for an
international company would be as follows:
Ordering Costs
• A list of ordering costs over a fixed period
Phase One - Head Office
may be generated at the outset of a Phase
This may be kept very small, say 25 designated
(e.g. Country X orders Y amount of
employees. The chosen internal methods to be
marketing material on average every three
used in the larger campaign may be tested here on
months)
a micro level. Users, once informed, should register
• OBM order figures and costs may then be
and test runs of order placement may be generated
compared to these previous figures once
if desired.
users are registered and using the system
in place of the traditional previous
Phase Two - National paperwork and agency based processes.
The above model may then be tweaked and rolled
out in an improved form per-branch.
Conclusion
Phase Three - International
The client company holds the keys to making its
Again this rollout would be based upon lessons
learnt at the National level and then duplicated on OBM implementation a success. The OBM
a per-country basis. Additional training and support developers are best employed in terms of “training
resources should be made available.. the trainers” within the client company. Dedicated
and authorized employees should then drive the
Measuring Effectiveness use of OBM internally and form the point of contact
with the developers.
The effectiveness of the OBM implementation may
be measured in the following ways …end.
Registration
• A list of personnel that should be using the
OBM may be generated at the outset of a
Phase (e.g. it could be decided that 25 of
100 head office employees need approval
and ordering access to the OBM). They are
then trained and asked to register and

14.
Osmosis Agreements
The Osmosis Brand Manager (OBM) is internet-
based software designed to streamline the
License Agreement
management of a company’s corporate identity
This is a traditional Software License. It provides a
(CI). This includes the storage, viewing, updating,
legal context for both parties while licensing a
ordering and re-ordering of CI material from a
single copy of the program to the client. The
single internet interface. The tool protects brand
content of this agreement includes the following:
consistency while allowing any approved
employee to make their own information updates
• Copyright
and place orders for business cards, stationery,
• Confidentiality
clothing, posters, brochures, billboards, point of
• Updates
sale material, advertisements etc. This is a brief
• Warranty
summary and not a full list of OBM features.
• Disclaimers
Customized features are further available on
• Termination
request from Tree Organic Technology.
As software, it should be understood that the Service Agreement
OBM Program is being licensed by Tree Organic
Technology to the Client - as defined by two legal This is a traditional Service Level Agreement. It may
documents: be defined as the financial agreement between
Tree Organic Technology and the client regarding
• License Agreement the costs associated with the License Agreement.
• Service Agreement This includes the specification of licensing, hosting
and support fees and services. The content of this
agreement includes the following:
• Services
• Copyright
• Confidentiality
• Cancellation
• Remuneration
• Implementation & training
• Dispute resolution
• Program logistics
• Duration

15. Price Structure
Osmosis is comprised of setup fees, a quarterly Training and Implementation
hosting fee and an annual license fee :
• Setup Fee : these fees are once-off and The implementation cost provided includes web-
vary according to clients’ needs based help documentation and limited remote
support – both of which are suited to users who
• Hosting Fee (quarterly) : this is a flat fee are internet and computer literate. Any other
(per version/type of Osmosis) implementation needs or training requirements that
• License Fee (annual) : this is a per-county may arise will be quoted for separately. The same
cost, on a sliding scale applies to any associated travel or accommodation
Optional extras and custom solutions are available. expenses.
These are quoted for individually.
Small Business Version
Enterprise Version (includes 10 order templates)
(includes 40 order templates)
Sections: Order Job, View Jobs, Details, Help
Sections: Order Job, View Jobs, Details, Print/Media Tools: Stationery, POS, Outdoor,
Communications, Files, Reports, Help Press, Magazine, Packaging, Signatures
Print/Media Tools: Stationery, POS, Outdoor,
Press, Magazine, Packaging Category Start Quarterly Annually
Digital Tools: Digital Signatures, Email & Setup
Newsletter Generator, Files Section 10 Order
5000
templates
Implementation 700
Category Start Quarterly Annually
Hosting
Setup Maintenance,
750
Design 1000 server, dbases
40 Order License
15200
templates Software
Implementation 2500 license, 1250
upgrades
Hosting
Maintenance, Total 5700 750 1250
2500
server, dbases
License First year total: 9 950
Software Following years: 4 250
license, 5000
upgrades
Total 18700 2500 5000
First year total: 33 700
Following years: 15 000

16.
Price Structure
Order Templates Invoicing
It is important to note that any variation in the size The License fee and Hosting fees are invoiced on
or layout of a template item will require a separate and dated from the Osmosis launch date as
template (i.e. if there are multiple A5 flyer layouts specified in the Service Agreement. 100% of annual
there will need to be multiple A5 flyer templates). license and quarterly hosting fees are due on
This will increase costs accordingly on a per- invoicing, in advance of the period.
template basis.
The following invoicing structure is binding upon
Optional Extras the signing of an Osmosis Setup cost estimate:
• Initial 50% of invoice due within 30 days of
signing of the quotation
Category Price
• Remaining 50% of invoice due on
Design (client look and feel) 1000 completion of work in the quotation (or
An average per-template cost (orders of within 90 days of commencement of work,
10 or more will result in a lower per 380
should delays be caused by client)
template cost)
Additional languages per language With regard to the annual License fee the following
10000 discounts apply:
across the entire system
Currency conversion across countries 10000 • 2 years paid up front = 10% discount
Integration with existing employee • 3 years paid up front = 15% discount
20000
details system
Market research tools 10000
Custom report generation (per report) 2000 Confidentiality
Dynamic template library 5000
It is understood and agreed that any information
received by the recipient in connection with this
Licensing & Hosting document or the Osmosis software, will be
maintained as confidential and will be used only for
Annual license includes: the purpose of the business relationship between
• unlimited users in the number of countries
Tree Organic Technology and the recipient. Neither
being licensed, periodic software
upgrades party may publicize or disclose the contents of this
Quarterly hosting includes: document or the functionality of the Osmosis
bandwidth, hosting, maintenance, email software without the prior written consent of the
•
technical support other party first having been received, unless
Acceptance of an Osmosis quotation is subject to required by an applicable law.
the signing of a Software License Agreement and a
Service Agreement.