First-class content for the local region

Carsten (C): Thank you very much for taking the time for this interview. Let's start right away: Who is VMM? Can you give us a brief introduction?

Markus Ableitner (MA): You’re welcome! VMM MEDIENAGENTUR celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2024. Starting out in 1994 in the computer press sector, VMM is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the German newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine”. VMM specializes in corporate communications in the local region – for associations, tourism professionals and the regional economy. The portfolio ranges from content and graphics creation for high-quality magazines to digital offerings such as social media, websites and video.

C: What does VMM produce with vjoon K4? What kind of publications do you produce?

MA: We produce a wide range of content with K4. Our core products in the print sector are magazines from the business sector, such as IHK magazines for Bavarian Swabia, Mainfranken, Coburg, Brandenburg and Neubrandenburg. Other clients include Stadtwerke Augsburg with a customer magazine and a sustainability report (CSR is currently a big topic for companies and we offer CRSD readiness checks). VMM also designs special newspaper supplements for the Augsburger Allgemeine, such as the “Themenwochen” or the “Future Week”. The most recent additions are a tenant newspaper and an employee magazine for a municipal housing company in Munich.

C: How long has VMM been working with K4?

MA: We have been using K4 since 2006, when this step [editor's note: the use of an editorial system] was necessary when we produced “bayernsport”, the weekly(!) association magazine for the Bavarian State Sports Association. Every Monday was the deadline, 52 pages, 48 issues per year, published until 2019 – that was only possible with vjoon K4. The introduction of K4 was a significant step for us and made our production process much easier.

C: Which role does vjoon partner mainblau play in your K4 project?

MA: mainblau is our central partner for the implementation and adaptation of K4 to our specific requirements. Not only did they support us during the introduction, but they also continue to provide us with uncomplicated advice on integrating new features and optimizing the workflow. Many thanks at this point to Steffen Scherrer and Florian Bläsing.

C: Wie groß ist das Team bei VMM, und welche Rollen gibt es im Workflow?

MA: We have editors, graphic designers, proofreaders and translators. Our editorial team comprises around 8 people, and 7 in the graphics department. We also have a pool of “permanent” freelancers who are perfectly connected via K4. K4 enables all team members to work together smoothly and efficiently, regardless of location, which makes the entire workflow leaner and faster.

C: What specific problem does K4 solve?

MA: A major problem was the bottleneck in production shortly before the deadline. Thanks to K4, it was suddenly possible to produce simultaneously. While graphic designers were doing graphic jobs, the content could already be edited or proofread. The tasks no longer had to be completed en bloc, but could be done according to a rights and roles principle. Deadlines were therefore no longer at risk and production reliability was increased immensely for everyone involved in the process.

C: Can you name any measurable KPIs that you have achieved with vjoon K4?

MA: Definitely! By using K4, we were able to shorten the production cycle of our publications by up to 40 percent – this was already the case for the previously mentioned publication “bayernsport”. Employees and customers were happy, as a massive amount of overtime was saved on the deadline day. The centralized management of content and efficient coordination between the teams also reduced the error rate and further increased the quality of our products.

C: What do you like most about K4?

MA: Never again PDF corrections, K4 makes it possible. We also particularly appreciate the flexibility of K4 when it comes to modifying the workflow for the respective customer, because in corporate publishing, customers have very different workflows. This can be quickly adapted to the respective requirements via an easy-to-use workflow editor.

C: What are the future plans for K4 and the cooperation with vjoon?

MA: We plan to further expand the integration of K4 and implement new features that optimize our digital workflows. Our goal is to continuously increase production efficiency and at the same time increase flexibility in content creation. In cooperation with vjoon and mainblau, we want to continue on this successful path.

C: Thank you very much for the interview and we look forward to continuing our successful cooperation.