Welcome to Widen

My Bio

I’m Kathy Lewis and welcome to Widen. As the Marketing Assistant at Widen Enterprises, I am the first person you see when you walk in the door and the first person you talk to when you call. Prior to Widen, I was a kitchen designer for everything from apartments to million dollar homes. Yes, I know, a major occupational change on my part, but I do not look back and only look to the future of what I can do to contribute to Widen’s success.

Being part of the Widen Marketing Team as the receptionist, many people refer to me as the 'manager of first impressions.’ I wear many hats at the front desk, including: chief greeter, operator, CRM administrator, campaign manager, travel agent, order filler, A/V display expert, interior designer, and video transcriber just to name a few.

My purpose for blogging is to give the average person a look at Widen through my eyes, in a simplified manner. I promise to minimize the technical talk in this blog. I think you’ll value my spirit for what we do here. Again, welcome to Widen!

Why Widen for Digital Asset Management Solutions and Service

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the thirteenth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. After 21 years, Widen has never let Edge down. Edge thinks of Widen as a partner in providing digital asset management solutions and services. Cheryl explains that there is not another company that can provide the capabilities and service levels that Widen provides to the Edge catalog publishing workflow. Widen has delivered DAM tools and services that provide a huge impact to the catalog production process. Widen has helped Edge cut page production timelines down by 20-30 minutes per page. Edge has been able to reduce freelance time while increasing efficiency with their internal staff. Watch the video to learn more about why Edge has stayed with Widen through 21 years of working together.

Leveraging Software as a Service for Digital Asset Management

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the twelfth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. At the start, Edge did not have a lot of IT resources. They needed to figure out a system to make up time and be better prepared and “always on.” The Widen SaaS structure ensures Edge will always have their images and other digital assets available. As a DAM software as a service provider, Widen provides Edge with business continuity and disaster recovery. Watch the video to learn about the extraordinary example of service Widen brings to a partner in need.

Meeting Client Challenges with Catalog Production and Digital Asset Management Workflow

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the eleventh video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. There isn’t a challenge relating to the catalog production and digital asset management workflow that hasn’t been looked at. Cheryl is amazed that Widen is a company that doesn’t stop coming up with new ideas. “Widen is a color house that doesn’t stop coming up with new ideas.” Watch the video to learn more about meeting client challenges with DAM services.

Working with Widen as a Partner for DAM and Catalog Production

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the tenth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. A partner is someone that will let you know when there is good news or bad news. They let you know when there’s a problem. They let you know when there’s a solution. They let you know when there are better ways to do things. The relationship between Edge and Widen is more like a partnership than a vendor-client relationship. All employees are working together for a common goal. Watch the video to learn more about working with Widen as a partner.

Trusting Widen

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the ninth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. The trust factor is the people. The trust factor is that Edge will always know that if something needs to be fixed, it will be fixed, and they know when they can expect the fix. The trust factor is doing what you say you can. Watch the video to learn more about the trust factor between Edge and Widen.

The People at Widen

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the eighth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. Every company believes they have great people. We certainly do. When looking at a technology implementation, it’s important not to forget about the people behind it. Widen people have a work ethic that is very similar to the work ethic at Edge. Honest, approachable and open-minded are a few qualities that Cheryl uses to describe Widen’s people. Widen and Edge have essentially grown up together in their maturity of developing catalog production efficiencies. Widen has been providing services to Edge Advertising for over 21 years and the people behind the operation are big part of it. Watch the video to learn more about the people at Widen.

Soft Proofing Impact with Catalog Production Processes

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the seventh video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. The most recent addition Widen has provided to Edge is the Project Collaboration application. This application has helped provide a soft proofing workflow to create efficiencies in the collaboration processes and speed up catalog production. Watch the video to learn more about the soft proofing impact of digital asset management.

Digital Asset Management Implementation in Steps

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the sixth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. It’s done in steps. The step by step process allows Edge to be more careful. Edge has very strict deadlines that they must adhere to with their catalog production output. Widen has helped Edge rollout new features and advancements in their digital asset management implementation with a phased approach without biting off more than they could chew. Watch the video to learn more about taking steps in the digital asset management implementation.

Putting Ideas in Motion with Widen Software as a Service

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the fifth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. Edge is a small office with a small IT department. Over the tenure of the relationship, Widen has been there to provide ideas to improve Edge catalog processes… some worked, some didn’t. Widen and Edge have been exchanging ideas and adding new technologies to create efficiencies in the catalog production process for quite some time. Watch the video to learn more about how Widen and Edge go about putting ideas in motion.

Evolution of Digital Asset Management at Edge

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the forth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. Edge has tried lots of things with Widen to streamline the catalog production process. Edge has over 600 vendors that they deal with in their catalogs. That’s a lot of copy and information to go with all of the products. Before DAM, all of that data was kept with the copy writers. In the early 1990’s, Widen and Edge went beyond the catalog production process to develop a database that became the start of Widen Digital Asset Management and Catalog Production systems. Now, all of their catalog data is in a central location where the correct information can go in the appropriate catalog. All images, logos, charts and product information is part of the Widen digital asset management and catalog publishing system. With the help of Widen digital assets management and catalog production technologies, Edge is saving about 75% of the time involved with their catalog production processes from 10 years ago. Watch the video to learn more about the evolution of digital asset management between Edge and Widen.

Saving Money with Premedia Technologies and Digital Asset Management

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the third video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. Widen has helped Edge save money in a number of different areas, but primarily by creating efficiencies in their processes by being more streamlined in the catalog production timelines. Widen has been able to create efficiencies that has allowed Edge to realize both cost savings and time savings. Edge has been able to maximize their employee productivity by recognizing efficiencies with the help of Widen DAM asset management and premedia production technologies. Watch the video to learn more about saving money with DAM and premedia technologies.

Achieving Catalog Production Objectives with Widen DAM Software and Catalog Production Services

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This is the second video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. Watch as Cheryl explains the how the first objective with catalog production is accuracy. The main goal is to get the best product information in the catalog for the dealers and to always keep their deadlines. Edge has been able to produce their catalogs in the same amount of time over the last several years while adding more vendors and more pages to each catalog. Essentially, they have done more work (more output) in the same amount of time by creating efficiencies with the help of Widen digital asset management and catalog production technologies and services. Watch the video to learn more about achieving catalog production objectives with Widen DAM software and catalog production services.

Widen Customer Interview with Edge Advertising

Sunday, March 14, 2010 by Kathy Lewis

This series of posts features a video interview with Cheryl Rugland, Agency Director for Edge Advertising. Edge Advertising is the in-house agency for the Le Mans Corporation, a distributor of powers sports products—products related to motorcycles, all terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and jet skies—with brands including Parts Unlimited and Drag Specialties. Edge is one of Widen’s longest-standing customers and uses Widen for a number of services from catalog production to digital asset management. With the help of Widen services and technologies, Edge produces over 10,000 catalog pages per year. Watch the video for an overview of Edge Advertising.

Top 10 Widen Digital Asset Management Blog Posts of 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009 by Kathy Lewis

We continue with another Top 10 list with the top ten Widen Digital Asset Management blog posts of 2009 in the Widen world of Software as a Service, web based DAM, video asset management, content management and structure and other posts dealing with digital asset workflow.

1. Getting to a Digital Asset Management ROI, posted on Friday, August 7, 2009 by Mark Norris (The Next Big SaaS)

2. The Future of Digital Media Management: Being Prepared for the Video Demand, posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 by Matthew Gonnering (Ramblings of a Mad Marketer)

3. Types of Digital Asset Management Systems, posted on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

4. How Widen Software as a Service Applies Digital Asset Management Best Practices, posted on Monday, June 15, 2009 by Matthew Gonnering (Ramblings of a Mad Marketer)

5. What is the best way to store videos in a Digital Asset Management System?, posted on Thursday, July 30, 2009 by Al Falaschi (The Impact of VAM & DAM)

6. Digital Asset Management Best Practices: Focus on Metadata Part II, posted on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Widen Marketing

7. The Marketers Guide to Justifying Investments in Digital Asset Management, posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

8. Understanding the Digital Asset Life Cycle, posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

9. Level of Risk for Digital Asset Management Implementations, posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 by Matthew Gonnering (Ramblings of a Mad Marketer)

10. Video Asset Management In High Demand As Viewership Climbs and Marketers Use More Online Video, posted on Monday, November 2, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

Top 10 Widen Premedia Blog Posts of 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009 by Kathy Lewis

With the season of “lists” upon us, here are the top ten Widen Premedia blog posts of 2009 in the Widen prepress services world of digital photography, color retouching, digital sampling, catalog production, color management, and wide format printing.

1. RAW Presets for Photoshop CS4 & Lightroom: Canon 5D Mark II Nikon D3 Nikon D300 Nikon D700 Nikon D3X, posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Matt Anderson (Industrial Retouch and Color)

2. Call Me Mr. Biv, posted on Friday, October 24, 2008 by Mark Pajari (The Color Space)

3. Digital Asset Solutions: Adding Micro Contrast and Detail to Digital Images by Matt Anderson, posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 by Matt Anderson (Industrial Retouch and Color)

4. Smart Objects Part Déux, posted on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by Matt Anderson (Industrial Retouch and Color)

5. A technical observation of post processing styles, posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 by Matt Anderson (Industrial Retouch and Color)

6. Edward Cullen Sparkle... For All You Twilight Fans, posted on Monday, July 27, 2009 by Joy Hamel (Premedia Arts)

7. Assigning, tagging, converting, and embedding ICC profiles in Photoshop, posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 by Mark Pajari (The Color Space)

8. Hair Mask Quick Tip for Color Retouching, posted on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 by Joy Hamel (Premedia Arts)

9. Into the Light, posted on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Joy Hamel (Premedia Arts)

10. Wide Format Digital Printing at Widen, posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Joy Hamel (Premedia Arts)

To Know Your Brand is My Mission

Friday, January 30, 2009 by Kathy Lewis

Here at Widen, we welcome any prospective client, current customer or vendor to come meet us and tour our facility. Ok, coming to Madison, Wisconsin in January may not sound too fun for you at -10 below zero, but we try to make it an exciting adventure for everyone.

I have a very nice 42” LCD TV behind my desk that is our welcome sign, where we put up the guests names, company web pages, and logo. We had the social media experts at Sway come share some insights with us today. (There’s some really great stuff that they’re doing in the social media space to propel marketing into 2009 and beyond!) So, getting back to my blog title, I must do my research on the company before I put the information up on the screen. The reasoning behind that is I have several employees that walk by the front desk asking who is coming, when are they coming and what does that company do. (Plus, I enjoy getting to know all the different companies and industries we have the pleasure of working with).

We may be meeting with them for digital asset management demos, business branding initiatives, video management or premedia services. Regardless, we have the opportunity to touch several top brands and make our mark the efforts for brand consistency and marketing distinction.

So, I like to do a little research on the companies visiting us so I may answer the questions that are brought up to me when anyone walks by. If you would like to stop by and take a tour, be our guest. I’d like to put your name and company up on our welcome sign.

Images… Images…Where art thou?

Friday, January 16, 2009 by Kathy Lewis

I have been asked to find digital images that we can display throughout our building. Not being real familiar with the Widen Media Collective, I took it upon myself to try to do it on my own. And lo and behold it is a pretty simple system to use. I just typed in a specific keyword on each Collective site and was able to pull up amazing images. We have many companies we work with and thousands of images, so it was pretty fun to get a little more comfortable with our digital asset management programs. It was so very simple to order up an image and have it immediately sent to my inbox within seconds, so I was able to send it to our Graphic Designer for her to add the company logo to it and it was off to our prepress production department.

I wanted to get an image from one of our newest customers for our internal Widen gallery so I went to the National Trust for Historic Preservation Media Collective site to see if there happened to be any images in their digital asset library and they already had several images up and ready to use. So I chose one of their images and it will soon be on the wall near my desk. It is so nice to walk through our company and see all of the images that we have produced and we store here at Widen. My next project is to have a few products displayed here with an image created by our color production team once the product has been photographed in our photo studio. It is just amazing how it all comes together and how it falls into place so simply.

Widen Delivers Service with a Smile

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Kathy Lewis

“And That’s the Truth" video interview with Jim Magruder, Senior Marketing Communications Manager of InSinkErator, Division of Emerson Electric Co.

Customer service is definitely key when it comes to sales and service. If you don’t have service to back up the sale, what good are you? I'm a customer service person, always have been and probably always will be. The customer always comes first, regardless of how busy you may be with your normal everyday duties. For Jim Magruder at InSinkErator, he admits he is a non-technical person (like me) and for him to be able to have an expert on the other end of the line to help him with digital asset management solutions to solve his problems is a wonderful thing for him. Widen delivers on what we say and deliver with a smile.

The Value is People

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Kathy Lewis

"The Value is People" video interview with Jim Magruder, Senior Marketing Communications Manager of InSinkErator, Division of Emerson Electric Co.

Please don’t leave me all alone to figure it out!

Software as a Service is a wonderful thing. To be able to have the technical expertise to call on to solve any digital asset management workflow problem you may have is indeed a wonderful thing. Here at Widen, we enjoy making peoples life easier and simpler as Jim Magruder of InSinkErator admits in this video. He did not want an installed software provider that would leave him on his own to try to figure things out. He prefers working with people and experts on all of his software issues. Widen technical experts are always available so you are never left all alone.