FileMaker Pro is the creative solution for Brains Design

Advertising and design agencies strive to find innovative and creative ways to bring their clients' marketing plans to life. However behind the creative power are the very real and demanding business needs, such as taking briefs and turning around jobs within tight deadlines, juggling multiple job schedules and keeping within the client's budget. Sydney based Brains Design, one of Australia 's premier advertising and creative design agencies specialising in the information technology and telecommunications industries, has found the answer by creating a solution based on Studio Manager and FileMaker Server.

Studio Manager is a FileMaker Pro based vertical market application built for creative services businesses. This solution has allowed Brains Design to create an integrated system to manage all aspects of the advertising production process.

Three years ago, the executive team identified that if the agency were to grow any larger, it required an integrated system to manage all aspects of the advertising production process - from quoting and task management through to invoicing, supplier negotiation and overall business management. The solution needed to be scalable to grow with the company. Brains Design has successfully used FileMaker based Studio Manager for three years and has grown from 10 employees to the current 14 full-time and up to six freelance staff.

"It's an amazingly efficient way of storing information electronically for open access. In many ways the FileMaker Pro database has become our corporate memory - capturing details of suppliers, clients and other contacts that are often lost when staff move on," says Dof Dickinson, Creative Director, Brains Design.

Clear return on investment to the business has been achieved by saving time and increasing productivity combined with a low total cost of ownership. "Time really is money in an advertising agency. The FileMaker and Studio Manager solution repaid itself in a month by saving time and making us more productive," says Dof. "We couldn't run without it. It provides a framework to develop the systems and processes to manage your business so you can grow."