A global, accessible app that brings the brand together and standardises it for an international team

ORGANISING THE BRAND TO MOVE FORWARD IN A COORDINATED MANNER 

CAF had an extensive archive of logos, photographs, videos, presentations and templates used by internal teams, subsidiaries, suppliers and the media. The Marketing team centralised the management and distribution of these resources via a shared network organised by project – a model that needed to evolve as the volume of resources and their potential uses increased. 

The challenge was particularly evident in cross-functional searches. A photo shoot carried out on the Lisbon tram, for example, might contain images useful for discussing passengers, sustainability or urban mobility, but the resources remained linked to the original project. This made reusing them less efficient and made it difficult to ensure that everyone was always working with the most up-to-date versions.

UNDERSTANDING, IDENTIFYING AND USING THE BRAND 

The Brand Centre is organised around two complementary spaces. On the one hand, the Brand Book brings together CAF’s verbal, visual and digital identity guidelines (logo, typefaces, colours, photographic style, UX/UI system, best practices and templates for the main touchpoints). On the other hand, the multimedia gallery centralises the photographs, videos and other assets needed to put these guidelines into practice.

Both spaces combine public and private content; in other words, the Marketing team can decide which resources are shared openly and which require authentication, whilst the roles system adapts visibility and management capabilities to each profile. For CAF staff, access is integrated with the existing corporate authentication system. 

The repository translates CAF’s complexity into an architecture organised by business lines, categories and subcategories. Each resource includes cross-cutting tags that enable content to be found beyond the project in which it was created. The search engine and combined filters facilitate locating content by keyword, format, category or tag, with options for previewing, viewing metadata and multiple downloads.

A TOOL THAT THE MARKETING TEAM CAN KEEP ALIVE 

For the Brand Centre to function as an everyday tool, it was not enough simply to make it easy to consult; it also had to offer agile and intuitive management. CAF’s Marketing team can now update guidelines and content directly within the interface using a block-based visual editor. Changes are displayed in real time, reducing the learning curve and eliminating the need to rely on technical staff for every update. 

The repository follows the same principle. It allows users to upload folders containing a large number of files, check the status of each upload and carry on with other tasks whilst the process is completed. During the upload, administrators can add the metadata and tags defined in the content architecture, ensuring that each resource is correctly categorised and can be found straight away. This autonomy makes the Brand Centre a dynamic environment, where guidelines, templates and materials can evolve alongside the brand and remain constantly up to date.

A TAILOR-MADE SOLUTION FOR A GLOBAL ORGANISATION

CAF required a level of customisation that would be difficult to achieve with a standard SaaS solution. The platform had to accommodate its content structure, access profiles, corporate systems and security requirements, as well as operating in Spanish, Basque and English.

It was also essential to deploy it on CAF’s own infrastructure. This bespoke development allows CAF to retain control over its data and hosting, and to expand the repository without relying on external storage plans or licences tied to the number of users.

From the user experience and content model right through to permissions, the editor and management processes, every layer has been designed entirely bespoke for CAF. The result is a scalable platform, ready to meet current needs and incorporate new features without being constrained by the pre-defined modules of a third-party tool.