Why the Sleeping Rabbit Can’t Sleep
Schlafender Hase’s proofreading software, TVT®, the Text Verification Tool®, has been catching errors on packaging and labels of life sciences products for 15 years now. CEO Frank Hessler and Head of Marketing, Kindrie Eaton take a look at the company’s past with a view toward its future and their rebrand.
Q: Why has TVT been around for 15 years?
FH: Because we know our users’ needs and for that reason know how to meet them. We know where errors are most likely to occur and have developed a software that can help prevent them. We have basically worked to make the proofreading process foolproof. TVT saves time and money, plus it works for all major file formats and all languages. It is also compliant with regulatory authorities; in fact, some regulatory authorities such as the EMA, MHRA and the German regulatory board use it themselves.
KE: Don’t forget, it’s also easy to use. It is intuitive and we have a variety of training methods for our users to develop their TVT skills. While you have to be an IT expert to develop TVT, you don’t have to be one to use it successfully. This is important for us.
Q: What are your brand’s strengths?
KE: Our users recognize and like our rabbit. The company name and especially the rabbit icon are unique. The rabbit isn’t just cute; It’s smart in many senses – intelligent, clever, witty, maybe even a little uncanny. There is something ironic and mysterious about a rabbit that sleeps with one eye open. Schlafender Hase means sleeping rabbit, but this doesn’t describe what we do. And for non-German speakers, the name is not just difficult to understand – it’s difficult to pronounce. On the other hand, the strength of the product name was its clarity. It is clear what TVT, the Text Verification Tool, means; it is a tool that verifies text.
Our previous company and product logos
Q: How has TVT changed in the last 15 years?
FH: The real question is: How has the industry we serve changed in the last 15 years? Changing customer needs drive our development. Not only do we meet these needs, we try to anticipate them before these needs become problems. Customers have to verify documents in new and different file types. Today’s customers must proofread documents in multiple languages, including languages from right to left; for some customers not just texts must be verified, but also images within texts as well as complex tables. Manuals for some medical devices, for example, are more than 50 or 100 pages. Our customers’ needs are always changing – and so are we. Yesterday’s challenges are today’s standard features.
Q: Why did you decide to rebrand?
KE: We wanted to bring the two branding elements closer together, much like the two sides of one coin. The rabbit is heads and TVT is tails. We think this will strengthen both elements of our brand. The personality of the rabbit will basically be the same but the logo font will change. We want to make it clearer and more unique. TVT will be integrated into our module names to emphasize that all modules will have the same reliability, user-friendliness and precision that they have come to expect from TVT.
Our new company and product logos
Q: How will the rebranding affect your website?
KE: We want our website to better reflect our strategy and our motto: More Proof. Less Reading. For our website this means: More information. Less Reading. Our new website was designed with visitors in mind – we really took the time to think about what information would be most important for them, and presented it in a way that is easier to understand and easier to find. It was also important for us to show some of our personality, which I think is represented in how TVT and the rabbit now coexist throughout the site.
Q: Is TVT going to be around for another 15 years?
FH: We are the trusted software for regulated industry. As long as products are delivered to consumers in labeled packages, and as long as information about products is regulated to protect consumers, I think there will be a need for TVT. Consumer awareness is continually growing and more products are being regulated. With this increased regulation—and at the same time increasing competition in all markets—the need for a tool that can ensure safety and increase efficiency will rise.
KE: We have proven that we can succeed in the most highly regulated industry, the life sciences. We feel this is a good measure of potential success in other industries that can’t afford to make mistakes in products packaging, instructions or labeling.
Q: How do today’s challenges effect your brand?
FH: Today’s challenge is remaining aware of what is required of proofreaders because their job is shifting. In many cases it is the proofreader’s responsibility to verify the final internally approved artwork against the printer’s proof. Verifying barcodes is another important task that we increasingly see our users having to manage. Customers also want to be able to check spelling during the entire proofreading process, regardless of file types.
KE: As a response to our understanding of today’s proofreaders’ challenges, last fall we introduced our TVT Artwork module, this fall we are releasing TVT Spelling and in 2020, TVT Barcode will be available. Proofreaders are no longer only responsible for an original document and a single copy of the original document. They are responsible for a variety of copies of an original document, such as human machine interfaces (HMIs), instructions for use (IFU) as well as a printer’s proofs for labels or packaging. In the case of a printer’s proof, where the entire PDF is artwork and not just an image embedded within text, TVT Artwork catches all deviations. TVT Spelling will catch spelling errors within all these documents along the way.
Introducing our Modules
Q: What can we expect for Schlafender Hase in the future?
FH: We expect a lot from ourselves and that’s why our customers can expect more from us. You can expect Schlafender Hase to grow to meet the new needs of its customers. Just don’t expect the sleeping rabbit to sleep…
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