In an era where technology and tools are rapidly evolving, the marketing, sales and design processes seem to be stuck in a time warp, often plagued by bottlenecks and a lack of inter-departmental understanding. This is the problem that Jennifer Chen and Mikhail Abramov identified during their 15 year tenure as art directors in New York City, leading them to establish dipp – a platform designed to streamline workflows and foster effective collaboration between marketing and design teams.

Launched three years ago, dipp allows for a more efficient process where, for instance, a marketing team can update prices on their ads through a simple spreadsheet entry, eliminating the need for a designer’s intervention. This Taipei-based startup recently secured $1.5 million in seed funding and is set to introduce generative AI-powered features. With its innovative approach, dipp has managed to attract some of the biggest names in the industry, including Levi’s, Estée Lauder and Rakuten, primarily serving Fortune 500 companies with high product rotation rates and a presence on multiple marketplaces.

dipp: Revolutionizing Marketing and Design Workflow

Before Jennifer Chen and Mikhail Abramov founded dipp, they had spent 15 years working as art directors in New York City. They observed that despite the ongoing technological evolution, the marketing, sales, and design process remained the same, often plagued by bottlenecks.

Tackling Departmental Miscommunications

Chen explained the vicious cycle that often slows down the entire process, as salespeople, marketers, and designers fail to understand each other’s needs and workflows. This realization birthed dipp, a platform aimed at automating much of the workflow and enhancing collaboration between marketing and design teams. Launched three years ago, the Taipei-based startup recently raised $1.5 million in seed funding from investors including SparkLabs Taiwan, Palm Drive Capital, and Tezign. They are also set to launch generative AI-powered features soon.

Streamlining Ad Design Process

To use dipp, brands set up a brand guideline that includes information like fonts, colors, and layouts. This data is then converted into an editable dipp file. Prices and other ad-related information are uploaded into a spreadsheet, thus allowing visual assets to be edited in batches. This feature is particularly useful for brands, which typically generate 300 to 500 images at a time. With dipp, they can achieve this in minutes.

Aiding Fortune 500 Companies

Most of dipp’s clients are Fortune 500 companies in apparel and beauty, selling upwards of 500 SKUs. These brands, including Levi’s, Estée Lauder, and Rakuten, often have large sales and marketing teams but shortage of designers. dipp also works with e-commerce enablers or agencies that help brands distribute products across multiple channels.

Expanding Market Reach

Starting in New York, the dipp team decided to relocate to Taiwan after recognizing the market potential in Asia. They are now expanding their operations into Southeast Asia, with new clients in Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand. Chen highlighted that brands in Asia often sell through multiple online channels simultaneously, each with its own unique visual content guidelines. This information is incorporated into dipp’s platform, allowing brands to automate their ads to suit different marketplace requirements.

Upcoming AI Integration

dipp is now working on integrating generative AI into its platform to bridge the gaps between marketing and design departments. For instance, it will enable marketers to generate image drafts using prompts to present to designers. It will also automate the design review process, checking details like character limit and formatting to meet marketplace and social media requirements. The recent funding will aid dipp’s team expansion, particularly in its R&D and business departments.

Takeaways

dipp’s strategic move to automate and streamline the marketing and design workflow is a significant step towards enhancing efficiency in e-commerce operations. The company’s upcoming integration of AI into its platform will further revolutionize the design review process. If dipp’s value proposition continues to resonate with brands, its impact on e-commerce workflows across the APAC region could indeed be disruptive, as Seamon Chan, founding partner of Palm Drive Capital, predicts.