Managing branded assets more effectively

The SwiftPrez add-in includes a smart Brand Assets Library feature, which enables users to access branded content such as existing slides, photography, icons and illustrations directly from the PowerPoint ribbon.

Censeo wanted to expand this feature as a way to centrally manage a large portfolio of both Censeo and client-branded content. Without centralised management, the company had struggled with ensuring its consultants used consistent and up-to-date content.

To address this requirement, YOUpresent provided Censeo’s content administrators with a sync engine within DeckPro. Administrators can now manage both Censeo and client-branded content on a server, and instruct the sync engine to push new content to all connected users’ PCs. In this way, everyone at the firm can access the latest version of any template or asset directly from PowerPoint.

“Historically, the onus was somewhat unrealistically on individual consultants to ensure they used appropriate content. DeckPro makes content so easily accessible that using any other content would be challenging and feel like a waste of time.  The days of trying to figure out how best to disseminate new content via file shares and emails are now a thing of the past.” – Evan Hodges-LeClaire

Censeo requested several additional time-saving features for its specific needs. For example, consultants sometimes have to change the template being used for a given presentation, but doing so manually requires tedious updates of layouts and styles. With DeckPro, all custom layouts are now automatically adjusted when the template is changed, saving users precious time. Users can also choose and easily change the template that is used whenever they open PowerPoint or create a new presentation.

DeckPro also offers Censeo users improved formatting features, with custom buttons in the PowerPoint ribbon to quickly change the formatting of bullets, tables, subtitles and more.

“Thanks to the PowerPoint add-in which YOUpresent developed for us, our consultants can now create better presentations in a fraction of the time it used to take.” – Evan Hodges-LeClaire

Ensuring brand consistency and quality

A consistent look and feel in all presentations can be a difficult goal to reach, especially for companies with many users such as Censeo. The standard SwiftPrez add-in helps solve this problem by automatically checking finished presentations for compliance with company style guides.

For DeckPro, Censeo requested an additional support function, with custom buttons in the PowerPoint ribbon enabling users to quickly and easily reference a Censeo style guide or request email support.

Finally, Censeo wanted to streamline the proofing process. Multiple users are often involved in the creation of a presentation, and the workflow can be complex to manage. DeckPro includes a proofing module, which provides a set of tools for the author to manage the status of the presentation. Features include custom comment insertion with resolution management and cross-slide navigation, easy deletion of all slide notes in the presentation, and clearing and setting of file metadata.

“By making it easy and satisfying for users to ensure standards are followed and there is no stray content in their presentations, DeckPro leads to better quality Censeo presentations.” – Evan Hodges-LeClaire

A productive partnership

Companies with multiple PowerPoint users often struggle to manage templates and asset libraries effectively, and their productivity and consistency suffer as a result. Many are also unaware of the vast customisation options that PowerPoint add-ins can provide, but Censeo saw the potential.

As a result of the fruitful collaboration between the two companies and the resulting DeckPro solution, building quality presentations is now a faster and more pleasant experience for Censeo consultants.

“We recognized the potential to streamline and improve this process, and YOUpresent was the perfect partner to help us do so.” – Evan Hodges-LeClaire