Understanding Digital Asset Management & How it Will Impact the Future

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Digital asset management is a term that sounds pretty ho-hum and dry, as far as business topics go. What's not ho-hum, however, is falling behind the competition and losing a lot of potential customers and business by not utilizing your full inventory of video, audio, and other digital assets. If you expect your company to survive, let alone thrive, in the new world of digital marketing, you need an effective solution for digital asset management.

Also known as DAM, this process is integral to making the most of your marketing dollars. At FuseBox One, we know how valuable evidence can be in helping you make business decisions, so we’ve compiled some information below, including a study on DAM solutions and how companies see and employ this process in their organization. We’ll also discuss the basics of what this process entails and why it matters to the future of your company, as well as how to choose the solution that is right for you.

Let’s start with the basics: what is this “digital asset management” thing all about?

What is Digital Asset Management?

This process is a lot simpler than many people think. Although the name can sound intimidating, the practice just involves creating an effective management solution to organize, track, and utilize all of the digital assets within your organization. At its most basic, this is a database of records.

This database, however, will include all rich media assets, such as videos, photos, music, podcasts, animations, and any other multimedia that you have created for various marketing efforts or other uses. Having a system in place to organize, store, and retrieve this media will not only make it more accessible, but it will guarantee less waste by reducing the chances that your assets will get lost in the shuffle.

Today's businesses need more diverse media tools and resources than ever before. Customers are demanding a more personalized experience that is media-rich, which means that you must respond with a well-designed strategy for employing your digital assets for maximum benefit to both your company and the consumer.

Put simply, without a DAM solution, you’re not going to be using your digital assets to the best of their abilities, no matter what you do.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

A study performed by IDC and Adobe has proven the many benefits of having appropriate DAM systems in place. Not only that, but it has also proven the lost revenue and other ways your business is falling short just because of poor or no management of your digital assets.

This report, entitled “Proving the Value of Digital Asset Management for Digital Marketers and Creative Teams”, surveyed a variety of creative services, digital marketing, IT, and asset management pros. In its findings, the role of DAM (digital asset management) is put into question and the fatal flaw of this entire process is brought to light:

Companies spend vast amounts of time, money, and talent creating and gathering various digital creative assets for marketing and other uses, and yet many are used incorrectly or never used at all.

According to the study, companies spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours creating new marketing assets throughout the year. Despite all of this time and money invested, as many as one-third of all marketing assets will never be utilized, or they will not be used to their fullest potential.

Who’s Using DAM?

While we’re telling you that every organization needs this solution, different people within each organization may utilize it. Typically, the majority are creatives and marketing professionals (69% total), with the other 31% being partners, other employees, and other vested parties. If you want the full breakdown, it looks like this:

Marketers: 36%
In-House Creatives: 23%
Agency Creatives: 10%
Other Employees: 15%
Partners: 13%
Other: 3%

There are several people throughout an organization and even within outside creative agencies that will have their hands in the digital asset management game, and different structures may work differently for one company or another. That's why it’s crucial to explore all your options for DAM solutions and make sure that you have the right people on the job, both within your organization and from the creative agencies and partners with whom you outsource.

The Clear Benefits

In their study, IDC discovered several benefits that come with having an effective DAM system in place. Here are a few of the biggest ones mentioned:

Increased revenue because assets aren’t wasted or duplicated unnecessarily due to poor management or organization
Increased productivity with easy-to-find assets that are readily available
Reduced asset creation expenses because you aren’t duplicating work or creating additional assets when you have some that would do the job
Reduced risks in marketing campaigns, since you have a strong, organized database from which to pull your best assets
Reduced waste and duplication, which resolves an issue for 64% of survey respondents
Increased marketing flexibility, thanks to the ability to oversee the entire database at a glance and make proper marketing decisions based on what assets you already have as well as what your audience expects

Get it Under Control Before It Gets More Complicated

Already, the world of digital assets is diversifying. Customers are demanding more and more unique content, along with a variety of personalized content and resources. This means that companies are creating as much as 10 times as many assets for the various channels and consumers. This does create a new level of flexibility for digital marketing, but it can also create a little bit of complication for those who are less familiar with DAM.

By taking the time to find and implement an effective digital asset management system now, you’ll be more prepared to handle whatever comes your way in the future.

Currently, 29% of all companies that already employ DAM solutions are looking for alternatives and new platforms that they can use. This is likely a sign of the changing demands from marketers, which comes from the changing nature of the consumer market.

42% of companies surveyed reported that they are currently planning to invest in or shopping for a new DAM solution—which shows just how critical this has become to everyone’s tech stack, regardless of their organization’s size.

This is clear evidence that now is the time to get on board with a new, more effective, and efficient DAM solution for your company’s future. The competition is only going to continue improving their efforts in this arena as they learn about its importance, and that’s going to leave you behind if you aren’t getting on board. If you wait any longer, you could lose a lot more money and time that you invested in marketing and creating assets that aren’t appropriately utilized.

How You Can Get Started with Digital Asset Management

The first step is to assess your needs and figure out exactly how your company can benefit from this new solution. There are totally custom platforms available, along with basic cloud solutions, creating systems that are as complex or as simple as your business needs them to be.

Smaller companies typically fare well with cloud solutions, while enterprise-level companies might need a fully-integrated platform to harness the full potential of this marketing solution.

What Makes a Good DAM Solution?

There is no single platform or solution that is perfect for everyone. However, a solid DAM interface should have a few basic elements. For starters, it should make it simple for anyone to contribute, find, and employ the use of various assets. Other important features include:

Browser-based sharing that is easy and user-friendly
Security to protect your assets while they are stored
Scalability to create the perfect solution for your business
Metadata, search, and workflow capabilities
Conversion support for various media formats
Editing and preview capabilities for various media

There are dozens of options, but as long as you focus on things like those listed here, it shouldn’t be hard to implement the best system for your business.

How Do I Know What’s Right for My Organization?

You don’t have to be an expert in digital asset management to find the right solution. However, you do have to have a little bit of insight so that you can determine what is best. The elements above are a great place to start. However, you’ll also want to think about a few other things.

How much space and dedicated hardware or software do you need? Larger companies may find that they require a more complex workflow or one that has dedicated servers and networks, while smaller companies may not need onsite hardware or servers at all. The growing market for cloud solutions is creating a whole new way for companies that have smaller needs to manage their digital assets in a scalable, secure, affordable environment.

Find a solution that can offer modern resources to help you best use and organize your digital assets. Make sure that it handles not only your current demands but the potential changing demands in the future that may arise as the world of marketing continues to evolve.

The Value of Agency Outsourcing

You will want some of your in-house creative and marketing team to have their hands in your DAM solution, but it might be better to leave the platform integration and utilization to an outside creative agency that is experienced with asset management. They will know how to help you get the right resources in place, no matter what type of business you have or what you need.

Running this program in-house is going to require a huge investment of your manpower from various people within the organization. Even if you find and implement the best technology, it’s no good without anyone to manage it effectively. Ultimately, if you’re doing everything in house, you’ll want 2-3 times the people and resource investment as you would have on a typical technology solution.

If you do choose to outsource, this is the point at which you will be able to save some money. It’s recommended by professionals to keep leadership in-house, such as the director or manager of your DAM solutions. However, you should leave things like implementation, day-to-day operations, migration, and other tasks to outsourced services that will have the right people and resources to get the job done for a reasonable cost, saving you money on the overhead that comes with getting started with and managing your DAM platform.

When you outsource your DAM needs, you’ll enjoy things like:

24/7 managed support and service, with people available to address all of your concerns and handle your various requests related to implementation or even day-to-day use of the system.
High standards of quality control and a much more focused effort on creating streamlined solutions. Since outsourced pros have more experience with DAM systems, they’ll know how to make the most of them from the start.
Dedicated and experienced professionals that aren’t being pulled away for other projects or distracted by other tasks.
Instant and ongoing access to skilled, trained professionals in a broad area of marketing and asset-related fields. You'll enjoy learning from the best practices of other companies and campaigns and get more broad-reaching success because they’ve seen and done more in this arena.
Infinite ability to scale up or down in the resources that you need. In the first year of migration, it’s critical to have flexibility because you might need one person or you might need five, and that could change from one day to the next.

There are several different benefits to choosing a managed service or outsourced solution for your DAM, but these are some of the most popular. If you’re ready to learn more about how professional solutions can improve your digital asset management from top to bottom, we’re ready to help.

Choose FuseBox One for Your DAM Solutions and More

Once you know that you need to get a handle on managing your digital assets, you’re already on a better path. With a solid plan and the right DAM platform, you’ll be able to reduce waste and expenses and improve your productivity and asset utilization in no time at all.

At FuseBox One, we have what it takes to be your total marketing operations partner, no matter what solutions you may need from DAM solutions to sales enablement and coaching tools, and so much more. With our assistance, you’ll be able to streamline your asset management and ensure that you’re getting the most out of every penny you invest in marketing and digital assets.

We can even help you create a custom DAM solution that suits the exact needs of your business, no matter what that might be. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to discuss every detail with you so that you know exactly what you’re getting and what your best options are.

Take the first step towards implementing your perfect DAM solution by scheduling your own free demo and get your business on the path to a more successful future.