We all know that marketing is getting harder. There’s been a massive growth in online channels and consumers are increasingly calling the shots in their relationships with brands.
Marketers are creating an enormous amount of content in order to attract and retain the attention of consumers and the sheer quantity of content required often throws up tricky marketing production and management issues. The focus must not only be on the quality of content and consistency of message but also on managing all the different types of content for different channels, sometimes in multiple languages.
No surprise, then, that so many businesses are turning to digital asset management technology to help manage and automate this marketing complexity.
The human factor
Like any software platform, however, a brand management system won’t manage itself. The return on investment (ROI) you get out of it is directly proportionate to the management you put into it. The ROI can be considerable if one (or more) individuals are tasked with responsibility for the efficient running and maintenance of the system. This is your DAM Manager.
Many digital asset management vendors call the DAM Manager the ‘super admin’. This person not only knows in-depth how the software functions, but they are also able to train colleagues internally, create new users, amend metadata, decide on permissions, manage workflows and update brand guidelines. Most importantly they curate the content in the system to ensure that the content available is approved, on-brand and current.
Naturally, if you are thinking of implementing a digital asset management platform, you’ll want to ensure you appoint the right person. Forrester Research¹ gives a great summery of the DAM manager’s job description.
¹”You’re a Content Publisher Now, So Get Your DAM House In Order”, Forrester Reseach, Inc., November 7, 2016
Here’s a little detail on some of those points:
The tech-savvy ‘conductor’
Enterpreneur and blogger, Jeff Bullas, describes digital marketers as orchestral conductors. They have to deal with multiple loud, noisy instruments and ensure they are all playing the same tune. That’s essentially what a DAM manager has to do too.
He or she must co-ordinate their brand’s digital assets, metadata, permissions, users and so on yet also have a deep strategic understanding of why the business is using DAM software and how to deliver the results that are required.
A pharmaceutical company client, herself the DAM Manager, gives an insight into the results her company has achieved when she says “[the Brandworkz DAM platform] has helped us strengthen brand consistency, create an engaging customer experience, align and educate employees and build a strong corporate brand.”
A successful DAM Manager must conduct the orchestra of content, people and technology seamlessly and productively in order to deliver those kind of results.
The strategic thinker
To be successful, a digital asset management platform must be built on a solid strategic foundation. What will the contribution to the business be of implementing it? How will it be used? Which user groups will it serve? What’s our measure of success? A strong strategy will contribute towards a smooth-running system, ensuring it and develops and grows it as the company grows. Things will change and adapt, but if you’ve chosen a DAM platform with a flexible underlying architecture and scalable infrastructure, if there’s an individual tasked with maintaining the system, and a vendor who’s looking to the future, the DAM will evolve as your business evolves.
Wade Bayliss, who is in charge of JLL’s DAM strategy, makes it clear how important choosing the right vendor is when he says “we feel we are partnered with a company that is looking to the future as much as we are.”
The communicator
In our experience with our own clients, the DAM manager is the main point of contact between the system vendor and its users. He or she will take feedback, comments and criticisms from internal users and communicate these with the vendor to ensure the system is always improving.
Technical support issues, sourcing additional modules or requesting integrations into other marketing platforms will all be part of their remit. And in many cases, the DAM manager will deliver front-end training for their users. It’s important there’s a strong relationship between client and vendor.
Alex Cotton, who oversees the DAM for Dr. Martens sums it up well when she says “the team at Brandworkz are always there to help, learn from their clients and find even more ways to improve the software, which is all you can ask for.”
The analytical type
A DAM manager is the analytical type. A key area of responsibility will be reviewing the reports in the back end of their DAM platform. They’ll analyse usage, evaluate trends, work out which is the most-used content and research what users need; all part of measuring the Return on Investment.
In fact, the DAM Manager at our client Turismo de Canarias is using the reporting feature in their Brandworkz platform to identify which of the Canary Islands destinations are most popular, based on the most downloaded images and videos from their Brand Centre.
Find a DAM manager with these attributes and there’s no doubt that your digital asset management system will be able to perform at its optimum efficiency and will deliver results, business benefit and ROI.
To learn more about digital asset management, get in touch with us at www.brandworkz.com.
