iWRITER perfect solution for TenCate

Multinational TenCate is divided into six divisions worldwide, each with its own marketing strategy. The corporate communication strategy monitors the short-term collective image as well as the long-term collective reputation of the company. Jaap: 'In terms of communication, it used to be quite fragmented and messy. Fifteen years ago, the 30 production and office locations of TenCate each had their own corporate identity with address details, telephone numbers, VAT and bank account numbers, but also own websites and many other forms of communication. There was no centrally regulated branding at that time.'

In 2006, TenCate had consolidated its branding process. The goal was to transform corporate identity monitoring into collective corporate communications by the divisions themselves. Employees were starting to understand that it not only offered great visual value, but also improved recognition and built trust with existing and potential customers. It was decided to present the organization as a global player - as a multinational with a single corporate identity. In order to achieve this, TenCate had developed software to manage and use corporate identity templates. However dissatisfaction with this system grew: "The old system had become inefficient. Too cumbersome with poor and limited accessibility. It became outdated. As a result, support for this system slowly but surely crumbled.'

In 2014 TenCate switched to the cloud and with that to Microsoft Office 365. Jaap: "It was the perfect moment to determine how we could roll out and manage our corporate communications on a higher level using a solution that worked seamlessly with Office 365. We also made the transition from corporate communication to corporate marketing. The holistic approach, so to speak. Clarity was the guiding principle in this. When considering the new tool, ease of use was the most important condition. If a program is not user friendly (or intuitive), people will look for alternatives. The tool must also be logical and work automatically. The former system was not fully integrated in the old Office environment, you actually had to open the program containing the tool. Our goal was to make it as easy as possible for people, so that they could use it automatically. Brand enforcement was from then on a fact!’

TenCate almost immediately found iWRITER. In consultation with colleagues from the Corporate marketing and Corporate IT departments, we examined the possibilities. "IWRITER has proved to be the perfect replacement. iWRITER is modern and fits perfectly in our Office 365 suite''. After a professional presentation and demonstration of the product, the team was convinced. Jaap: ''Immediately we knew: this is a good product and it will help us.'' Roel adds: "That iWRITER had won the Best User Interface Award during the Microsoft Office App Awards, also played a major role in the choice of a tool. "The fact that iWRITER won this award indicates that it must be user-friendly. This was the deciding factor to start a Proof of Concept (POC)." 

After a proof of concept with iWRITER – during which the product was tested by various international colleagues and departments - TenCate quickly decided to roll out iWRITER to everyone in the organization. Jaap: '' iWRITER is an excellent product, it’s accessible and well-organized. It fits well within Microsoft Office 365 and is functional and easy to use. It helps to profile the visual identity and allows you to establish multiple identities very easily. It could easily be used for all six divisions and other subsidiaries''. Roel adds: "I particularly appreciate the ease of use, everyone within each layer of the organization can work with this system. In addition, when it comes to iWRITER you are assured of the latest and best technology and perfect integration with Microsoft Office 365.''