It allows Ballon Media to access Klopotek's software functionality without having to care about technical issues or pre-investing into a software replacement project. Klopotek's SaaS solution is completely pre-configured based on best practice business processes: this enables Ballon Media to directly use the system after a short set-up period and compact user training.

Ballon Media will use Klopotek's system to manage all processes in the areas of

• Title Management & Product Marketing

• Editorial & Production

• Contracts, Rights & Royalties

• Customer Marketing

Alexis Dragonetti, managing director of Ballon Media, states: ‘Ballon Media is a young company that is the result of a merger of two publishing houses that were respectively editing children books and comic books. The merger and the development of both businesses create new organizational challenges. In parallel with the traditional book business we also face growing licensing activities and have projects in the audiovisual field. Ballon Media will be therefore a crucible of multimedia projects in the future.

To keep up with our growth and the broadening of our activities, we were looking for a tool to support the several business processes. After a thorough selection process we have chosen the Klopotek SaaS system as this solution not only covers all our current needs in one single system but also supports us in defining new future business models.

We are extremely confident that the expertise Klopotek and its project team offers, will help us ensure the optimization of our present and future business processes. Since the Klopotek solution is in use by many small, medium and large publishers, we see this as a strategic choice in our business development.’

About Ballon Media

Since 1 April 2008, "Ballon Media" is the name of the merger company regrouping children’s books publisher ‘De Ballon’ and book distributor ‘Balloon Books’. Ballon Media incorporates three main activities:

- Ballon Kids is a children’s books publisher specialized in mass market pre-school books which are sold in Belgium, Holland, France, Canada and Switzerland on their first release. Following a strong export sales tradition, Ballon Kids books are further sold in more than 40 languages all over the world. The label holds the worldwide rights to a popular series of reading and pre-school books featuring Musti, one of toddlers’ favorite television stars.

- Ballon Comics is a publisher of comic books, the most famous being "Jommeke" which has sold 56 million copies so far. "Jommeke" is a true Flemish character young readers have grown up with for more than 50 years which hasn't lost any of its dynamism. The publication of issue 250 in May 2010 was accompanied by an important marketing campaign featuring a special edition with lenticular cover, a drawing contest offering the winner a personal "Jommeke" cover in print and an official series of "Jommeke" stamps.

- Ballon Distribution is the exclusive distribution organization of Ballon Media’s own labels in Flanders and Holland. The organization also distributes Dutch editions of the books of Dargaud, Dupuis, Le Lombard, Kana and Blake & Mortimer, all of which are well-known French (speaking) comic book publishers with whom a long lasting partnership has been established. www.ballonmedia.com/

About Klopotek

Klopotek is the leading supplier of software and consulting services for print and online publishers of books and journals. More than 350 publishers specializing in different areas, with over 14,000 users, rely on Klopotek's software to help them manage their business and achieve their goals. Klopotek has nearly 20 years experience in delivering innovative solutions to publishers around the world.

Klopotek software supports the entire publishing value chain for print and digital products, including contracts, rights and royalties management, editorial planning, production management, product marketing, sales and distribution all the way through to order processing and customer service support. There is also a variety of solutions available for comprehensive business information, reporting and advanced integration technologies, which link Klopotek to other systems, websites or content management tools. All products support latest technologies and standards such as XML or ONIX.

Klopotek Software is available in-house and ‘as a service’ – internet-based, pre-configured, without the need to purchase computer hardware.

The Klopotek SaaS solution, which embodies best practice processes for publishing, is currently available for Title Management & Product Marketing, Editorial & Production and Contracts, Rights & Royalties.

The company has offices in Europe (Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich and London) and the USA (Parsippany/New Jersey). www.klopotek.com

Contact Ballon Media
Alexis Dragonetti, Managing Director
A.Dragonetti@ballonmedia.com

Contact Klopotek
Carl Mann, Director of Sales Europe
Carl.Mann@klopotek.com