Swedish Red Cross chose ImageVault

- Through strong images we can give a clear picture of what the Red Cross does, whether it is in a campaign or in an information context. It provides a greater understanding of others", says Susanne Rudstedt, Picture editor of the Swedish Red Cross.

The Challenge

The Swedish Red Cross intranet Rednet is addressed to officials and volunteers of the Red Cross in working in Sweden and abroad. The old image bank containing approximately 2000 images was hard worked, and only Picture editors could upload images to the image bank. Pictures that where to be published on the intranet had to be sent to the Picture editor by e-mail or CD. It was also difficult to access the images. All this made it vulnerable if the Picture editor was away, which could cause the image processing to stand still. In the previous system high-resolution images could not be uploaded. In rebuilding the image bank the Swedish Red Cross wanted to enable users to easily upload photos and make sure high-resolution images could be downloaded. They also wanted the pictures to be well structured and easy to find. It was also important to be able to publish pictures on the Rednet.

The Solution

The Red Cross brought in outside consultants who developed an appropriate description of needs. Then they looked around for the best product to meet all aspects of needs. ImageVault proved to be what the Red Cross was looking for. Meridium, with ImageVault, developed the image bank specifically according to the Red Cross' needs from the description. For example, five percent of the pictures are copyrighted and may not be downloaded and published without proper permission. On those pictures there is a stamp so that they can not be downloaded.

- Images are becoming increasingly important in our communications work and the use of pictures really has exploded lately. We want to highlight images because they attract attention. It’s also nice to be able to use slide shows, that give a good picture of what it actually looked like at a meeting or an event", says Susanne Rudstedt, Picture editor of the Swedish Red Cross.

Since the Red Cross had a new focus on images they required a larger picture tool than the one they had previously used. In order to create a good structure the pictures were divided up into sections - the more recent images from the 80s onwards were separated from the historical images. In ImageVault the Red Cross also found a good image-editing tool, which made it very cost effective. ImageVault made it possible to download high-resolution images to a computer and proved to be easy to use.

Results

Now the Red Cross intranet Red net has an image bank containing approximately of 4000 images and in a few years time there will probably be as much as 10 000 images stored there. It is easy to search the system and the images are well structured. A major benefit is that images now can be downloaded in three different formats - for PowerPoint, Web and in high resolution for print. Delegates, employees and volunteers of the Swedish Red Cross working abroad, can easily upload pictures and add information, index, to them. Once the images are uploaded, they are now available to all users immediately, and the idea is that they should also be accessible to the public in the future. Those working with the editorial now know that the pictures on the image bank are all cleared to be used, and there is no risk of being sued.

- Image Vault is very user-friendly. The Red Cross work with a lot of layout and advertising agencies, and the images are also accessible to them. We make special albums for them and maybe, by extension, we will also make albums for the press, says Susanne Rudstedt.

 Susanne Rudstedt's advice for a project like this is that you should assume that it takes time.

- Thorough planning is important. There are many details that have to run smoothly, for example keywords, and instructions for those who are seeking the Rednet, she says

About working with Meridium Susanne Rudstedt says:

- It has been a very positive experience. We have worked through phone conferences. That has been a very cost effective and a good solution. Meridium are innovative and they are responsive to needs. They also produce very quickly. It has become a friendly relationship and they are convenient to work with and have great sympathy for problems that may occur.