Most content marketers don’t talk about “workflow problems.”
They talk about delays in creation processes and inconsistent brand messaging across blog and social media posts. A last-minute piece of content that went out off-brand and a local team that couldn’t find the right asset. A campaign launch taking three rounds of back-and-forth to go live!
In every one of these situations, the cause is often the same: disconnected systems. When content creators and marketers rely on siloed tools, every handoff adds friction. And every friction point costs time, budget, and brand equity.
More content creation tools, more friction
Today’s content creators juggle a growing arsenal of solutions; Adobe for video content creation, Canva for social media graphics, Figma for UX mockups, Dropbox and SharePoint for file sharing. Then there are dedicated DAM or brand portal systems. At the same time, they’re expected to move faster, generate content in real time, and deliver high-quality assets in every content format – from blog posts and case studies to short-form video.
But if those tools aren’t talking to each other – if your DAM doesn’t sync with your creative suite, or your templates sit separate from your keyword research and content strategy documents – every step of your content creation process takes longer. What feels like a few minutes lost here and there quickly adds up to days of delay, rework, and waste across your teams and target audiences.
7 hours are wasted by Marketers due to poor asset management and disconnect workflows
Source: Net Imperative
7 hours are wasted by Marketers due to poor asset management and disconnect workflows
Source: Net Imperative
The hidden cost of fragmented content creation workflows
Disconnected workflows lead to visible problems:
- Assets created outside of brand guidelines
- Designers duplicating work because they can’t find existing templates
- Marketers waiting on files that should have been self-serve
- Local teams improvising content without the right approvals
But the real cost is what you don’t see – slower speed-to-market, budget overruns, and gradual erosion of brand control. When content marketers and content strategists face too much friction, they cut corners on quality content. They pick the fastest tool, the quickest social media platform, or the simplest video template – sacrificing consistency and governance just to hit deadlines.
Integration is not about IT – it’s about outcomes
Discussing integrating design tools with content systems like DAMs can sound technical – like an IT project. But for marketers and brand managers, integration means:
- Speed – Content creators stay in their preferred tools and pull approved assets instantly, whether they’re working on blog posts, social media posts, or video scripts.
- Consistency – Templates, logos, and visuals are locked to your brand standards in every piece of content and every content format.
- Control – Local teams can generate content on demand—without risking off-brand assets or delays.
- Clarity – Everyone works from a single source of truth—no more “Where’s the final version?” emails or Google Docs chaos.
- Ownership – Original creatives are safely stored in your company’s DAM, not scattered across personal drives or multiple content creator accounts.
Integration isn’t just about smoother workflows – it’s about unlocking real scale for your content strategy without losing governance or creativity.
Leading brands are already there
Case studies show that integration delivers real results for global teams:
- Orkla Health manages over 80 sub-brands, each with unique content needs. By connecting its DAM with creative tools, Orkla replaced complexity with clarity – so every internal or external content creator works from the same foundation.
- Helly Hansen runs four seasonal campaigns a year across 26 countries. With brand assets embedded directly inside their teams’ daily tools, they can create faster, localize smarter, and stay fully aligned – whether they’re drafting a blog post, designing a banner ad, or producing a TikTok video.
These brands aren’t just producing more content – they’re doing it with less waste, fewer review rounds, and stronger brand equity.
Want to see how this works in practice?
On July 30, I’ll walk through a real-world example of a connected content workflow with our partners at CI Hub.
You’ll see how the full Adobe CC suite can integrate directly with your content system to deliver the efficiency and consistency that global content marketers and brand managers depend on.