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DAM - Digital Asset Management

Management of media, graphics and documents

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Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a category of software that enables the creation, management, and distribution of media files such as graphics, videos, and documents for marketing and sales purposes. DAM provides benefits such as delivering media files in the right format for different communication channels, ensuring brand communication and reuse of existing material, streamlining collaboration between internal and external stakeholders, and complying with legal requirements.

DAM stands for Digital Asset Management and is an enterprise-wide discipline.

It simplifies and speeds up the delivery of media files such as graphics and videos in the right formats and resolutions for different communication channels.

DAM systems help organizations create, manage, and distribute media files such as graphics, videos, and documents.

Our team has successfully and sustainably rolled out and trained DAM systems in over 70 countries worldwide. We create a customized concept for your company and guide you through the entire DAM rollout.

Benefits of Digital Asset Management

Each communication channel has unique media file requirements. For example, the website requires completely different formats, resolutions and file types of your products than your print catalog. And while the various online marketplaces such as Amazon, Google Shopping and eBay are all online sales channels, each marketplace has its own terms and conditions. For most companies, this means a lot of work for the in-house graphics department or high costs going towards an external agency.

DAM systems provide immense cost reductions and efficiency benefits, as any number of formats, resolutions and file types can be automatically generated as derivatives of the original image and routed to the appropriate channels. DAM systems therefore offer the possibility of seamless connection via interfaces, e.g. to systems from the marketing technology stack (e.g. CMS, PIM).

The company’s own corporate brand and the product brands represent a valuable asset in marketing communications. This must be protected and ensured through consistent visual language.

DAM systems support companies by providing a central “single point of truth” for media files. Local file repositories and the multiple retention of assets in the respective communication channels give way to central asset management in the DAM system. For example, if a logo is updated in teh DAM, it is automatically shared in all connected communication channels (e.g. website, online store, marketplaces) within seconds.

Organizations that work extensively with external agencies in their media processes benefit from a holistic approach to digital asset management across the enterprise. Media files are no longer managed externally in agency systems, but exclusively in the company’s own DAM system. This significantly reduces agency dependency and the risks associated with changing agencies.

The creation of new media files such as product photos, application images and video material is associated with high costs and time. The reuse of existing materials therefore offers the opportunity to create new marketing communication materials more quickly and cost-effectively.

DAM systems provide a complete overview of the available material. This allows marketers to quickly and easily select existing images, videos, or other creative content and use it for their business case. This gives new life to existing assets without exhausting the marketing budget.

Every single asset typically goes through many individual steps in the media process (e.g., photo shoot, image editing, tagging) and is used by different people in the creative process. Photographers, graphic designers, brand managers and external agencies are among the key stakeholders. Where once file sharing was done via email, Sharepoint, and Dropbox, a DAM system provides collaboration on assets with layered access and editing permissions. Comments and inquiries can thus be placed directly on the asset in real time. Feedback and correction loops are drastically reduced, and asset production is faster and more budget-friendly.

Another decisive advantage is that the unauthorized use of asset material in individual communication channels can finally be eliminated. Especially purchased asset material such as stock photos are usually subject to tight licensing conditions. DAM helps prevent unauthorized use by including a digital rights management component that also considers legal and compliance teams and clearly governs asset use.

The high effort and cost of media files should ideally also be reflected in concrete benefits in marketing communication. But what happens when assets that have been expensively produced or purchased are ultimately not used? The cost of licensing photo rights, as well as the high demand for storage space, must be monitored regularly to keep the marketing budget under control.

DAM systems therefore offer metrics and dashboards that provide information on asset usage, adaptation, and expiration. Budget managers thus gain deep insights into actual asset usage and can take action to allocate resources as needed.

Your way to Digital Asset Management

Status-quo analysis of your media processes

We analyze your entire media process, examining the systems, processes and participating stakeholders involved. Weaknesses and potential for improvement in the creation, management and expiry of assets are revealed and relevant fields of action and measures are formulated.

Requirements gathering for digital asset management

Get an overview of your unique digital asset management needs. During requirements engineering, we consider not only functional requirements for the new DAM system, but also process-related, organizational, and strategic criteria.

We document all requirements and user stories so that a DAM software can be selected in the next step.

100% independent and neutral selection of your new DAM system

We are 100% independent of software vendors and integrators. This allows us to provide an unbiased perspective on DAM software. During the software selection process, we assist you in gathering requirements, creating longlists and shortlists of suitable vendors, as well as vendor presentations and subsequent price and contract negotiations.

Implementation and introduction of the DAM system

With our experienced team of DAM consultants and certified project managers, we fill your internal capacity and competency gaps, contributing to a successful DAM implementation. As the intermediary between your team, the software vendor, and the integrator, we represent your company’s best interests and protect you from costly detours and mistakes during the implementation.

International roll-out and training of the DAM system

Media processes are never just located locally at the headquarters, but are also used internationally at other company subsidiaries. Scaling the benefits of a DAM requires am integration of subsidiaries and international teams in the system. For example, assets can be created and deployed centrally by headquarters, while country organizations only need to perform key customizations and localizations, saving resources and budget.