Structure for digital assets
A DAM helps companies to
- provide suitable materials for different markets and channels,
- make media quickly available via metadata and search functions,
- manage versions and approvals,
- define access rights and usage policies.
With a Digital Asset Management system, all teams worldwide have immediate access to the currently valid versions of images, logos and documents. This is the only way to launch campaigns error-free and without wasting time.
From MAM to DAM
A traditional Media Asset Management (MAM) system stores images and videos centrally and makes them available for download – regardless of whether a file is still up to date or legally approved.
A Digital Asset Management system, on the other hand, checks whether an asset is still valid before it is displayed. If a new campaign replaces an existing image, the old version is removed from the active inventory and documented in the archive instead.
A real-world example: A retail company replaces a campaign image because the image rights for the original photograph have expired. If the old image remains in circulation unnoticed, there is a risk of warning letters and claims for damages. A DAM system removes the image from further use once the licence expires and, for every new search, displays only approved visuals to users.
This automated control relieves marketing teams of a task that, with growing volumes of content, would otherwise quickly become a source of errors: manually keeping track of which version is currently valid.
The DAM within the Marketing Management System
Without integration into the MMS, the DAM remains an isolated archive. This means that an approved image must be exported and imported into another system for printed materials or online campaigns – with every such transfer presenting a new opportunity for errors or outdated versions.
As an integral part of socoto’s Marketing Management System, every asset is available directly within the modules where it is needed: in advert creation, in the brochure planner or for social media distribution. Retail partners and national subsidiaries access the same, currently approved version – without a separate login and without manual data transfer between two systems.
Three signs that the time is right
These patterns in day-to-day work point to the need for a DAM:
- Staff find themselves searching for the same image multiple times because there is no centralised metadata search. This ties up resources.
- Having several similar versions in the system leads to repeated enquiries.
- Teams use images for local campaigns for which they do not have authorisation. This can have legal consequences.
Does this apply to your organisation? If so, please feel free to get in touch!
