SAN DIEGO After launching in 1998, DriveCam introduced the world’s first video-event recorder designed to improve the way people drive. Mounted on the windshield and capturing sight and sound inside and outside the vehicle, the ground-breaking product has reduced vehicle damages, workers’ compensation and personal injury costs by more than half in more than 70,000 commercial and government vehicles.

DriveCam’s video event recorder automatically captures the critical seconds immediately before and after the triggered event, such as hard braking, swerving, collision. Saved events are analyzed and used in ongoing driver coaching programs to improve behavior and lower risk. Over-the-road fleet managers around the world have taken notice.

“Business has been though the roof,” said Bruce Moeller, DriveCam president and CEO. “We have grown 100 percent each year. We started in the United States and developed this market; but now we getting quite popular globally.”

In 2007, Inc. Magazine included DriveCam on its list of the 500 fastest-growing, privately held companies in the U.S. for the third consecutive year,.  In 2006, the company short-listed as one of the top 200 contenders for the "Red Herring 100 North America" list.

Vehicle fleets in Europe, Asia and parts of Australia are lining up to see how DriveCam can help improve safety and lower expenses. As a result, DriveCam needed to quickly localize brochures for international markets – an endeavor loaded with pitfalls.

From design elements to copy, a company’s message and brand can easily get lost in translation. Unless translators are native speakers, they often mix up local dialects, inflections and other cultural distinctions. These little mistakes can raise questions about a company’s professionalism and even offend potential local customers in foreign markets. And a brochure with picture of an American bus is not going to resonate with English customers used to seeing British right hand drive lorries on the streets.

On top of that, merely shipping materials overseas is often a problematic and costly task. This lengthy process often involves navigating a maze of complicated rules, regulations and foreign custom logistics.

“After facing global marketing’s typical problems for a couple of years, we decided to try Yamagata’s XLdoc marketing Web portal,” said Moeller. “We are now saving about 50 percent in design and shipping expenses and getting finished product brochures to overseas dealers in three days rather than two weeks. But the biggest benefit has been keeping total control of our corporate branding.”

DriveCam marketing and sales personnel can log into their custom XLdoc marketing Web portal from anywhere in the world. They can use XLdoc to quickly create and customize marketing materials with everything from languages and regional images to dealer contact information.

In the exact quantities needed, materials are printed locally at the Yamagata office nearest to DriveCam’s overseas sales office. Once the order is placed online, brochures are delivered within three business days.

XLdoc makes it easy to target and communicate with customers, while maintaining your all-important corporate branding,” said Shiro Fujimoto, president of Yamagata America. “DriveCam is using XLdoc to quickly create and customize marketing brochures with everything from languages and regional images to dealer contact information.”

How It Works

DriveCam sales and marketing reps log into XLdoc and select a brochure. Then, they can choose the version that best communicates with his or her marketing area, whether it is in London, Tokyo, or New York.

Sales partners can also customize brochures to connect with customers in their native tongue. By adding or subtracting regional images and filling out appropriate dealer contact information, they can quickly build a truly localized brochure.

XLdoc also lets DriveCam personnel place a printing order for the exact number of brochures needed. The Web portal interfaces seamlessly with YAMAGATA’s global network of digital printers. When an online order is approved, a corresponding order is emailed to the local print supplier for production and delivery.

XLdoc’s digital on-demand printing is a major advantage for last-minute and short-run jobs. Users can choose exactly the number of documents they need without paying for a full, traditional print run. Plus – with print facilities in Asia, the United States and Europe – DriveCam has bid farewell to wasted time and expenses related to obsolescence, warehousing and shipping.

“The idea that a Web portal can do all this is a major shift in thinking,” said Moeller. “It gives us worldwide brand consistency and presentation, all while adhering to cultural and language differences around the world.”

About DriveCam and Yamagata America

DriveCam is a global Driver Risk Management company that reduces claims costs and saves lives by improving the way people drive.  By combining sight and sound, expert analysis and driver coaching, DriveCam has reduced vehicle damages, workers’ compensation and personal injury costs by more than 50 percent in more than 70,000 commercial and government vehicles.  DriveCam has the world’s largest repository of events reflecting actual risky driving behaviors.  For more information, visit www.drivecam.com.

Established in 1989, Yamagata America Inc. helps companies transcend language, cultural and geographic barriers to effectively communicate with customers around the world. Copy is translated to accurately reflect regional nuances and cultural tradition. Web sites, data sheets and product manuals are produced with the right look for target markets. Documents are printed and distributed when and where they are needed. For more information, visit www.yamagataamerica.com.