AVP

Are people misusing brand assets in your company? If people persistently misuse brand assets or licensed images despite your DAM system’s permissions being configured, check for these issues:

Test the system permissions – are people able to access and download things they shouldn’t? If they can, update the user groups and/or system permissions.

Clarify asset usage rights within the metadata if not already doing so. Lack of clear information may lead users to incorrect assumptions about permissible actions with the content.

Are all assets stored in the DAM? It may be that people are getting access to content from file sharing tools (that could be outdated and/or lack metadata about usage rights). Sometimes enforcing compliance requires leadership intervention, including support with policies and/or sunsetting legacy systems.

🔊FREE TRAINING🔊

You are kicking off a major digital asset management project.

Maybe you’ve recently purchased a new DAM platform.
Or you are scaling your existing DAM system.
Or you are looking to optimize a struggling solution.

No matter which scenario you find yourself in, you’re nervous.

This is a major project, there is a lot of pressure, and the risk of failure is high.

The good news is, there is an easy way to create a simple and highly effective strategy for your DAM initiative.

And we’re going to teach you how to do it.

In this free training, led by Kara Van Malssen, you’ll learn:

How to prioritize user needs
How to use the DAM Strategy Canvas as a planning tool
How to make your DAM program scalable

Register now: https://bit.ly/4aRt04z

Your DAM system needs governance.

Proper governance of your DAM system can enable long-term effectiveness and sustainability. How so? The Governance portion of your DAM operational model includes your policies and standards that ensure data quality, create an effective user experience, and mitigate risks. Essentially, it’s a systematic way to maintain the integrity of your DAM system.

The first part of this is establishing policies.

Policies help maintain system health. You should outline your system policies into at least a few categories:

Collection policies: What assets are and aren’t in scope for the DAM? What formats and variations are accepted? What metadata is required upon submission?

Curation policies: Are all assets given equal treatment in terms of processing and metadata? What metadata is required prior to making assets accessible to end users?

Lifecycle management policy: How long are assets retained in the DAM system? What happens to the asset after it’s removed from the system?

Once you have this established, you're on your way to creating a functional system.

AI tools for working with audio are much fewer and farther between. But there are still methods available that can help you with your digital assets!

💬 Speech-to-text (STT) – Speech-to-text, also called automatic speech recognition, transcribes speech into text. STT is used in applications like automatic caption generation and dictation. Transcripts created with speech-to-text can be sent through text-based processing workflows (like sentiment analysis) for further enrichment.

🎵 Music/speech detection – Speech, music, silence, applause, and other kinds of content detection can tell you which sounds occur at which timestamps in an audio clip.

👫 Speaker identification / diarization – Speaker identification or diarization is the process of identifying the unique speakers in a piece of audio. For example, in a clip of an interview, speaker diarization tools would identify the interviewer and the interviewee as speakers. It would also tell you where in the audio each speaks.

AI has made managing collections of digital image and video assets easier with:

🖼️ Image classification – Image classification applies labels to images based on their contents. For example, image classification tools will label a picture of a dog with “dog.”

🕵️‍♀️Object detection – Object detection goes one step further than image classification. It both locates and labels particular objects in an image. For example, a model trained to detect dogs could locate a dog in a photo full of other animals. Object detection is also sometimes referred to as image recognition.

👨‍💼Face detection/face recognition – Face detection models can tell whether a human face is present in an image or not. Face recognition goes a step further and identifies whether the face is someone it knows.

🔠 Optical Character Recognition (OCR) – OCR is the process of extracting machine-readable text from an image. Imagine the difference between having a Word document and a picture of a printed document–in the latter, you can’t copy/paste or edit the text. OCR turns pictures of text into digital text.

This is the most common mistake people make when building a DAM program - neglecting taking the time to truly learn about the users, what they need from a system, and what motivates them. Without involving users, you may arrive at a seemingly logical and technically correct solution, but users may not see its relevance.

This risks the DAM program’s future viability. Users are likely to abandon a system that introduces stumbling blocks. Without involving users, you also risk focusing on the wrong problem or building solutions that don’t address their needs.

Invite your users to help you determine the right problem to solve and what adds value to their work. Put humans at the center of your DAM use cases.

Just because you’ve figured out how to tie DAM to strategic projects and goals doesn’t mean you’re done building your digital asset management business case!

It’s almost a guarantee that leadership will ask you how your system is saving the company time and money. This question is what trips up a lot of DAM managers—there are so many ways to answer it! Ultimately, you want to go beyond saying “DAM increases productivity” or “DAM reduces content spend.” Instead, go deeper with details on how, and try to quantify wherever possible.

Reducing content spend

Creative teams often incur significant expenses licensing content and frequently overlook the reuse of their original, unused footage, leading to unnecessary costs and a growing backlog of potentially valuable assets. Digital Asset Management presents a solution by organizing and repurposing a company's existing content, thereby reducing expenses on stock footage and enhancing the uniqueness and quality of creative projects. Implementing a DAM system not only saves money but also maximizes the return on investment of content creation efforts, aligning with executive expectations for cost-effective and high-quality output.

Boost efficiency and time savings

Implementing a DAM system can significantly streamline content creation processes, saving weeks of work by providing a centralized, easily searchable repository for digital assets. Without proper DAM system, creative teams waste time recreating assets or navigating bureaucratic delays to find or validate them, often compromising on quality or reverting to overused or generic stock options. By understanding the current inefficiencies in asset management from the creative team's perspective, businesses can better quantify the time and cost savings a DAM system offers, while ensuring better governance and use of high-quality, unique content.

The cost of inaction

Framing the importance of a DAM system in terms of the costs of inaction can be a powerful approach to secure investment. Highlighting the potential savings from avoiding unnecessary video reshoots and reducing the risk of costly license violations demonstrates the significant return on investment that DAM offers. This perspective can make the decision to allocate budget towards DAM more compelling, emphasizing the financial wisdom in preemptively solving these costly issues.

You aren’t getting your DAM budget because you aren’t using the right formula.

Imagine you're standing in your stakeholder's shoes—what's their biggest challenge right now? Start from a place of empathy, align with their goals, and then propose a solution. Here’s a powerful way to frame your pitch:

We understand that achieving [goal] is a top priority for [org name], as highlighted by [the timely primary resources consulted]. We are confident that implementing strategies [x, y, z] will advance this goal by [list specific benefits here].

The right framing can go a long way.

Have you ever had trouble getting a budget for your DAM initiatives? You’re not alone.

Securing a budget, as with most projects, starts with trying to understand the people (stakeholders) you’re pitching to. Remember, DAM doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is a service that delivers value to the organization and furthers its strategic aims. Therefore, to make a compelling case you need to look out, not in. Be able to tell leaders what’s in it for them, while empathizing with the prioritization decisions they have to make.

Start by asking the very basic question: how does the DAM advance my stakeholders’ goals (and what are those things)?

This simple exercise is going to help you consider how the DAM brings value to the people you’re pitching to. Remember, you’re trying to inspire and motivate leaders to support your vision for DAM. To do it, start by understanding theirs.

Look to existing resources to understand the priorities of your organization, division, and/or business unit.

A great DAM system relies on a great strategy.

A good strategy consists of a diagnosis of the challenge that you are responding to, a guiding policy that describes the approach you will take to responding to the challenge, and a set of coherent actions designed to carry out the guiding policy.

We can adapt this framework to data and digital asset management this way:

The diagnosis is the identification of the problem an organization has with digital asset management, use, and delivery. Specifically, the diagnosis details what impact this issue is having on people (e.g., users waste time looking for assets, assets are misused)

The guiding policy is that a use-case centered approach will be taken to solve these challenges.

The coherent actions are the key areas of investment that you will make to solve the challenge and meet users’ needs.

That’s how great strategy is done.

Comment below how your organization does their DAM strategy!

Okay, you’ve chosen the wrong digital asset management system but what’s the worst that could happen?

Here’s why a wrong choice can be costly:

1. Unwanted Expenses: Imagine realizing too late that your chosen DAM doesn't fit your needs. You're already deep into software implementation, including configuration and content migration. If you decide to switch systems, not only will you face the direct costs of ending the current contract, but you'll also encounter substantial staffing expenses to start all over again.

2. Broken Trust: A DAM that fails to meet expectations can damage the trust between you and your stakeholders. Once trust is lost, it's tough to rebuild. Stakeholders feeling frustrated may disengage, impacting system adoption and jeopardizing the project's success.

3. Lost Opportunity: The wrong DAM delays your time to value, prolonging the period before you can realize the benefits you sought from the investment. Meanwhile, the issues you aimed to solve—like workflow inefficiencies and content chaos—only worsen, potentially leading to the permanent loss of archival materials.

4. Project Viability: A poor DAM choice can undermine the entire project, affecting careers and leaving a challenging legacy. This risk is especially significant if the DAM implementation is part of a broader technology strategy backed by executive leadership.

Invest wisely in your DAM system—it’s not just about technology, it’s about safeguarding your investment, maintaining stakeholder trust, and enhancing operational efficiency.

If you build a DAM, will they come? Not necessarily.

It’s often too easy for people to stick with old habits, even after the new system has been launched. If you have checked all of the items listed above and the new system is still not getting traction, look closely at how you are managing the transformation.

Successful adoption hinges on change management, requiring both top-down communication from leadership and bottom-up user enablement.

It is critical that leadership communicates the purpose behind the DAM system—what problem it solves, what benefits it will bring to the organization.

But understanding the broader impact isn’t enough. You need to bring users into the conversation so they can understand not just the benefits to the company, but to them personally. They will need to clearly understand the process changes asked of them and the reasons behind these changes. And they will require support as they adjust to new practices.

Stop letting people use the DAM system as a dump.

Establish governance.

Allowing digital asset creators to upload content without adherence to standards or quality checks can quickly lead to disorder. Each contributor ends up with their own little silo within the system, organizing, labeling, and describing things differently.

Start by collaborating with key stakeholders to define clear DAM roles and responsibilities. Designate a product owner to establish asset organization and description guidelines. Educate contributors on DAM best practices, highlighting the benefits to their work.

Enforce quality control through guidelines for metadata entry and use of controlled vocabularies, complemented by automated and manual reviews.

What's the craziest file dumping scenario you've seen? Comment below!

If people say the DAM is hard to use, they’re right.

DAM admins have likely made the system a great tool for themselves, but not for end users.

Look more closely at users’ needs and available system capabilities.

If the system was implemented without engaging users early in the process to understand their needs, configured to meet those needs, and/or it was not tested with users prior to launch, there may have been some missed opportunities.

Take a step back and talk to your people.

Comment below on how you get your users involved in the DAM setup process.

If people persistently misuse brand assets or licensed images despite your DAM system’s permissions being configured, consider these options:

Test the system permissions – are people able to access and download things they shouldn’t? If they can, update the user groups and/or system permissions.

Clarify asset usage rights within the metadata if not already doing so. Lack of clear information may lead users to incorrect assumptions about permissible actions with the content.

Are all assets stored in the DAM? It may be that people are getting access to content from file sharing tools (that could be outdated and/or lack metadata about usage rights). Sometimes enforcing compliance requires leadership intervention, including support with policies and/or sunsetting legacy systems.

Here’s how to make a DAM strategy that works → https://bit.ly/3vSJBGA

A digital asset management strategy is an organization’s planned response to the challenge of needing to organize, secure, and deliver digital assets to the users that need them, now and in the future.

More specifically, a digital asset management strategy identifies priorities so you can put resources where they will have the most impact. To state the obvious — you can’t do everything at once. A DAM strategy will tell you where to start, where to go next, what to put on the back burner, and what success looks like. Good strategy is as much about what you won’t do as it is about what you will do.

Our approach? Put users first. A user-centered DAM strategy centers on understanding and addressing user needs, and developing a cohesive response that will effectively address those needs.

Learn how to do this here ---> https://bit.ly/4aNUM2j

Shots from the cocktail hour photo booth at DAM LA - it was a great time! Shout out to Orange Logic for co-hosting!

So, when does a DAM strategy matter? Anytime you face hurdles in finding, using, or safeguarding digital assets.

Learn how to fix it here ---> https://bit.ly/3U35TPg

Did you get a shiny new DAM system but people still can't find things, are misusing assets, or complaining about it not being easy to use?

Don't give up!

Before you throw your DAM system, read this and learn how to combat these common issues. --->

DAM system struggles? Don’t rush to blame the platform. - AVP If you're facing challenges with your DAM system, it might not be the software's fault. Explore common issues and what to do about them.

is in full swing! Visit our booth to meet some of the folks who make up AVP and get some free resources for your DAM needs.

If you couldn't make it to DAM LA, don't worry! We still have something that can help you craft the perfect DAM strategy: https://bit.ly/3xauDfi

If you're not doing these 7 steps, your digital asset management strategy is doomed to fail. 👎

Read how to do your DAM strategy the right way here -> https://bit.ly/49K6fzC

🔊 Look, you got that DAM thinking it was going to solve all your problems.

BUT, you forgot that you need a strategy with it to make it fully effective.

Otherwise, you’re just throwing money away. 🗑️

🍀 Luckily, AVP has you covered.

Our FREE DAM strategy canvas and step-by-step guide will direct you through crafting a digital asset management strategy that works.

Get the canvas today! →

AVP's DAM Strategy Canvas AVP offers a holistic, pragmatic approach for achieving DAM success in your organization.

We are looking forward to 2024 where Kara Van Malssen will be a contestant in the Stump the DAM Consultant session. Bring your toughest, thorniest, most intractable Digital Asset Management conundrum or challenge and Kara will compete to offer you the best advice in 2 minutes or less.

We hope to see many of the DAM community at this year's face-to-face gathering! Find out more about the session and register for $100 less with code AVP100 here: https://bit.ly/48BDpA9

We're excited to share that Amy Rudersdorf will be one of the speakers at Henry Stewart’s next in-person event — . Amy will be taking part in The Great DAM Bake Off, where she will judge a series of succinct, comparative presentations on the latest DAM solutions.

We hope to see a lot of folks from the DAM community this year!

Find out more about the session and register for $100 less with code AVP100 here: https://bit.ly/4bOKpfZ

If you are attending Henry Stewart's event, don’t forget to stop by the session on DAM for 3D Digital Product Creation, where Kara Van Malssen will be taking part in a panel discussion on the developing world of 3D product asset production and management, the relationship of DAM to Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), and the advantages of integrating a 3D content library for on-demand product design and customization.

Learn more here and register using code AVP100 to save $100 on your ticket: https://bit.ly/48nL6Kg

You might have been thinking of getting your DAM strategy together for a while but it don’t know where start. 🤔

AVP has you covered!

AVP’s DAM Strategy Canvas is a one-page document that helps you create and organize your DAM strategy, making it easy to execute.

PLUS, it comes with an in-depth step-by-step guide with all the details on how to fill out the canvas and the why behind each step.

And the best thing? It’s free.

Get the DAM Strategy Canvas today →

AVP's DAM Strategy Canvas AVP offers a holistic, pragmatic approach for achieving DAM success in your organization.

This is why your DAM is failing...

You have a DAM system without a DAM(n) strategy.

It's like going on a trip without having a map or GPS and expecting to make it to your destination.

That's just not how it works.

We've created a free guide to developing a DAM strategy that will get your DAM system heading in the right direction. In this step-by-step process, you will unlock the secrets to a DAM strategy that truly delivers. With this guide, you'll discover how to:

➡️ Get everyone united with the DAM strategy
🚀 Tailor your DAM initiatives to maximize resources
💡 Prioritize and sequence your efforts with precision to eliminate time waste

Get on the right track today 👉 https://bit.ly/3SJUAcG

📢 Attention! Today @ 1:25 PM EST - Don't miss Amy Rudersdorf's session Preserving Digital Assets: A Gap in the DAM Marketplace at 2024 presented by Henry Stewart!

Courses Sessions This session will address the pressing issue faced by cultural heritage organizations in their pursuit of effective digital asset management and digital preservation.