Digital asset management can be a game changer for your team. But how do you convince your boss that it’s worth the investment?
Here are 10 things your boss needs to hear you say.
1. We’re wasting time.
We don’t have an easy way to search for our photos, videos, etc., so we can’t find what we need.
We spend hours digging through folders on our computers and servers. We have to sift through a bunch of different locations, from Dropbox accounts to email inboxes. Not only is this frustrating (for both the people who are searching for the assets and the people who are waiting for them), but it’s a huge waste of time.
With a DAM, we could run a quick search to find the assets we need in seconds. Research shows teams using PhotoShelter for Brands (formerly Libris) save over 26 hours a week. With a DAM, we would stop wasting time, which would let us use that time on more important things and help us meet our deadlines.
2. We’re wasting other people’s time.
People can’t find the assets they need on their own, so we’re wasting time with back-and-forth. (Note: Think about your stakeholders, whether they are staff members in another department or external partners, like journalists or sponsors. Share specific examples where this back-and-forth slowed you – and them – down.)
We send countless messages to try and help them find the right photo, video clip, graphic, etc. Then we have to start the “dance,” going back and forth about how we will deliver the content (“Your Dropbox or mine?” or “Should I add it to this folder on the server?”). All of this wastes time for multiple people. It’s not efficient, and it bogs down every project.
With a DAM, our stakeholders would have one go-to place where they can find assets on their own. We can make searching and downloading self-service. We can even make different collections for specific partners, so they see what they need, and only what they need.
Plus, this can have a ripple effect where our stakeholders will use better content. Check out this quote from Children’s Aid Director of Marketing and Communications Patrick Egan on how DAM helps the nonprofit’s stakeholders:
“Someone emailed us and said they were putting together a donors presentation, and they literally said, ‘do you have a picture of kids in a classroom raising their hands?’ We know that these kind of requests are going to come to us, and if everybody knows that we have that ability of finding a picture of kids in a classroom, or kids cooking a meal, then that helps them envision what they want. And the system allows us to do it quickly and efficiently overall.”
3. We’re losing money.
We invest heavily in creating new visual assets, but we’re not using them to the fullest. (Note: If you can calculate how much your team spends on the creation of visual assets, share that number.)
Since we can’t find them, most of our assets sit unused. Without a go-to place to store our files, valuable assets are getting misplaced, forgotten about, and lost or deleted all the time.
Plus, we’re paying for sub-par solutions like Dropbox and thumb drives, which are actually adding to the problem.
With a DAM, everyone on the team can access our archive and quickly find the assets they need. We would actually be able to find all of our assets, so we could use them more effectively.
With a DAM, we can get higher ROI on every asset. In fact, the majority of PhotoShelter for Brands clients say the #1 benefit of DAM is the ability to maximize your visual media library.
Check out this quote from Sacramento Kings Creative Director Ryan Brijs:
“Before, it was photo after photo being taken and not being used, not being used the right way, or just sitting on a server. I would say 80-85% of the photos weren’t being used properly.”
Now that the Kings use digital asset management, he says:
“It’s so much easier to know what we have and to be able to share quickly. Instead of us just waiting for the time to use the photos, we can share them with the parties who are interested right away.”
4. We’re duplicating costs.
We’re recreating assets we already have.
Sometimes, since it’s so difficult to see what we have and what we don’t have, we accidentally recreate assets that already exist.
And sometimes, we recreate assets we know we have, but can’t find.
With a DAM, we can easily see all of our assets. We can stop duplicating costs. Plus, we can easily identify holes in our collection, and only invest in assets we really need.
5. Our brand is suffering.
Right now, we don’t have any way to keep people from using off-brand, outdated or not-yet-approved assets. People are publishing content that’s hurting our brand. (Note: Share specific examples.)
With a DAM, we can make sure people only have access to content that is finished and approved for use.
6. We’re risking a lawsuit.
Right now, we have trouble tracking usage rights. Assets could easily be misused (if they haven’t already), putting the company in serious danger.
Violating a copyright agreement could lead not only to a costly lawsuit, but it could be a PR nightmare for our brand. Check out these examples of copyright battles between creators and brands.
With a DAM, we could easily track usage rights using metadata. If we embed the copyright information in the file, we can dramatically reduce the chances of violating our agreement.
7. Our content is literally walking away.
People leave, and when they do, they take with them personal Dropbox accounts, email inboxes, thumb drives and hard drives filled with our content. If that content doesn’t live in a place that’s controlled by the company, it could be gone for good.
And, our outside content providers aren’t always going to be our “friends.” We often rely on our photographers, videographers, and agencies to “hold” our prior shoots, and we turn back to them whenever we need something. But sometimes those relationships go bad. When that happens, who’s holding the assets, and how do you get them back?
With a DAM, we can be the guardians of our own content. We can ensure that when someone leaves, our content and institutional memory stays behind. We won’t have to rely on the tools and availability of our outside content providers, and we can reduce the risk of outsiders holding our content hostage.
8. We’ve already got a head start.
We already use cutting-edge tools, like the Adobe Creative Cloud.
DAM platforms like PhotoShelter for Brands integrate with the tools we’re already using, like Photo Mechanic, Adobe Lightroom and the Adobe Creative Cloud. Using these tools together will make our workflow even simpler and easier, saving us time day-to-day and on a tight deadline.
9. Our competitors are doing it.
Hundreds of brands like ours use DAM to work faster, including our competitors.
Check out some examples in these industries:
10. We have to build an archive for the future.
Right now, we’re failing to preserve our work and our brand’s history.
With a DAM, we can build a powerful library that will be useful for years to come. Long after we’ve all retired or moved on to other jobs, our assets will still be searchable and organized for future projects.
Check out this quote from photographer Ed Pfueller, who covered the Pope’s 2015 visit to Catholic University and made the images easily accessible using digital asset management:
“These pictures will be used 100 years from now.”
