Introduction
We spoke with Ana Gaman, Graphic Design Officer, to hear more about how the European Investment Fund (EIF) uses Foleon to speed up content creation and boost audience engagement.
“We chose Foleon because of the value and versatility of the platform. The fact that we can empower multiple types of users to create Foleon content is a real game-changer. The analytics and reports that Foleon generates for each content asset also help us better understand our reach and readers’ needs.”
Ana Gaman
Graphic Design Officer
Tell us about the EIF and your role.
The EIF helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grow and prosper in Europe, promoting innovation, supporting employment, and improving the economy. We design and deploy financial instruments that enable banks and funds to better serve SMEs.
As the EIF’s Graphic Design Officer, I’m responsible for creating engaging and impactful visuals for our campaigns, ranging from presentations to data visualizations and visual identities. I also act as a brand guardian, making sure our content adheres to our brand guidelines.
What role does content play at the EIF?
Content plays a big role at the EIF, whether that’s data, thought leadership, SME success stories, quotes, testimonials, or impact metrics. We sit at the intersection between policy and implementation, and we have multiple key audiences: from policymakers to financial intermediaries to SMEs and, more generally, EU citizens.
On the other hand, we don’t have direct relationships with the general public. That’s why content is key: we want to raise awareness about our work and create lasting partnerships with our institutional and business clients.
The challenge
What challenges did you face before using Foleon?
Before Foleon, we created print publications and relied on our website to publish content online. While print is very effective, especially when targeted toward events, our reach was limited.
Besides that, many colleagues wanted to share our content assets digitally. The PDF version we used for this was not very practical:
- PDFs are not easy to share. Most of the time, they’re too heavy to send by email
- Once a new version is available, PDFs can’t be easily replaced
- A static PDF can’t include any multimedia resources, such as video or animations
We wanted to create more immersive and interactive content which wasn’t possible using our fixed website CMS as that doesn’t offer much freedom and design flexibility to create tailor-made content.
How did this affect your company?
The lack of a quick and flexible solution for publishing resulted in longer timelines for creating content. In addition, any updates had to go through the printing process.
What solutions did you evaluate?
We considered several solutions, including WordPress and Wix. However, these solutions required considerable web development skills and existing infrastructure. In the end, the off-the-shelf solution and ease of use that Foleon provides really made it an easy choice.
The solution
Why did you choose Foleon?
We chose Foleon because of the value and versatility of the platform. The fact that you can use it in so many different ways, from an interactive brochure to a newsletter or a microsite, appealed to us. The platform is ready to go and easy to implement.
Customizing the navigation for each content asset is also a significant advantage compared to developing a website page.
Who uses Foleon in your company?
In terms of content creation and design, several marketers work with Foleon. The fact that we can empower multiple types of users to create Foleon content is a real game-changer for us: we can be flexible in managing our projects and workload.
Foleon enables the whole team to collaborate on interactive content assets — as the brand guardian I can easily add visual assets that are brand compliant, while my colleagues apply their expertise on other aspects, such as editorial or layout.
Within our team, several colleagues use Foleon, and we’re thinking about ramping up our content production by expanding the skillset to other team members.
For which phases of the customer journey are you creating content with Foleon?
We mostly create content with Foleon for raising awareness about our various initiatives, for education, and for communicating impact and results. Using Foleon, we even created a content resource center.
How was the transition from your previous content format to Foleon?
We mainly created our content using the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator and InDesign). We still continue to, but we found that adapting the content to Foleon is really easy. It’s also very exciting to think of ways to enhance the content experience using Foleon’s interactive elements (video, animation, embedding data visualizations).
Adobe is a designer’s full toolkit for solving visual communication problems because of its powerful creation tools, but it doesn’t allow us to publish content online. This is where Foleon comes in. The Foleon platform offers nice layout and design features with the ability to roll them out online quickly. With these two together, it’s really easy to create impactful online experiences and share visual stories with the world.
The results
How has Foleon changed your company?
Using Foleon has improved the EIF’s digital content production. We’re now able to react quickly to communication needs and create engaging content. The analytics and reports that Foleon generates for each content asset also help us better understand our reach and readers’ needs.
What results have you seen so far?
We improved our readership numbers, particularly for our annual reports. The 2018 and 2019 reports (which we created with Foleon) accumulated over 5000 visitors, representing a wider reach than our print copies.
In regards to our “VC Factor” research report (spotlighted in this story), distributing it as a Foleon Doc resulted in a 5x increase in the number of subscribers to the EIF Research and Market Analysis newsletter.
We also share our Foleon work across the organization and everybody appreciates the unique interactive features.
How does Foleon contribute to the overall objectives of your company?
Foleon helps us target specific EIF communication needs. We love that we can keep a series of content assets consistent using the theme branding settings and templates while also creating custom themes for bespoke initiatives.
The EIF has a complex range of initiatives, from Europe-wide programs to country-specific activities. Foleon helps us promote each activity with a bespoke interactive solution.
The inside scoop
Do you have any tips for other Foleon customers?
Don’t be afraid to use Foleon for any content asset you’re working on: you can use it to create brochures, landing pages, libraries, and micro-sites. The possibilities are endless!
See it for yourself
- Organization: European Investment Fund
- Featured content: “VC Factor” research report
