Mastering brand salience begins with brand consistency
Papirfly
5minutes read
What is brand salience?
Brand salience is the multifaceted way in which your brand is thought of or noticed when a customer makes a purchase or a decision. It is a foundational component of achieving brand equity – the culmination of consumer perceptions, loyalty, and the inherent value attributed to your brand, forged through sustained interactions and experiences.
Brand salience then refers to the degree of which you are maintaining your brand’s position with key moments of interaction. When done successfully, your brand has firmly established itself in the minds of consumers, standing out prominently in the ever-crowded marketplace.
Mastering brand salience
At the highest levels of brand salience, the ideal is to have your brand name be synonymous with the solution that customers are seeking. For example, we don’t “search the internet for information using Google”. Instead we “Google” things. We talk less and less about watching TV, and more and more about binging Netflix.
These brands are so easily recogniseable that we’ll even refer to them when in actual fact we are using their competitors. We’ll “Google” a problem using Bing, or we might refer to “watching Netflix” when we may generally mean another streaming service. Similarly, we might order Coca-Cola or “a Coke” in a restaurant, be sold a Pepsi, and continue to refer to it as a Coke.
In these examples, a particularly strong brand has entered culture to the extent that it has become a household object. These are also the brands that will be referred to in films, music and TV shows. Their presence helps artists to quickly set a scene that audiences are familiar and intimate with.
When it comes to your industry and niche, whether your brand becomes a verb or not, the opportunity for your brand or product name to be at the forefront of your target audience’s mind when considering their pain point is always up for grabs – wherever they are in their buying journey.
What creates brand salience?
There are different ways to think about brand salience. One famous model, put forward by Kevin Lane Keller in his book Strategic Brand Management, frames brand salience as ‘how aware your potential customers are of your brand’. Importantly, this should be the right type of awareness – positive emotions and associations, not scandals and bad press.
In Keller’s model, brand salience can be summed up with the question “Who are you?”. To consider how salient your brand currently is, you should consider questions like:
Is our brand easily recogniseable?
How well are our branding efforts communicating a clear and consistent brand identity?
Is our brand clearly differentiated from its competitors?
The important thing is being at the top of your customers’ minds, with the emphasis on timing crucial for successful branding. In a digital economy where time is short and attention spans are limited, your window of opportunity is small – every moment, every thought, and every association counts, at every point of contact.
Achieving brand salience
The key is to have an easily recognisable and well differentiated brand, which customers recall the moment they need to make a purchase. This means brand consistency across memorable high-quality interactions throughout your marketing channels go a long way to help.
But how do you build this understanding into your branding efforts? There are two key points to consider here: memory, and attention.
A matter of memory
Quickly, think of a brand you use or buy from regularly. The chances are that several different memories of consistently positive interactions will come up.
Everything potential customers know about your brand, everything they have in the back of their minds, and everything they associate with it comes from a string of memorable moments.
Similarly, think of someone you trust in your personal life. In the same way you will likely recall several consistent, positive moments that confirmed this was someone you could trust – selflessly making you or someone feel good and therefore forging a positive connection.
While the people who make us feel good in our lives are close to hand, your brand may be far away from customer’s minds. Having a clear and consistent marketing strategy that builds trust with your target audience over time is essential. You want to associate your brand with strong, positive emotions which will be recalled when a potential customer goes to make a purchase.
Not only will customers be reminded of your product, they will also think of the types of experience associated with your marketing campaigns – as well as values, commitments and partnerships that they know you stand by.
Building up your brand with consistent messages and visual elements that reinforce positive and aspirational states of mind, you’re much more likely to be recalled positively at the time of purchase.
Are you paying attention?
However impressive the associations you’ve built up with your brand, they count for little if they don’t come to mind when it’s time to buy.
Whether it’s in a brick and mortar store, or via a digital platform, you need to make sure your brand jumps out at your customers. Successful branding stands out, no matter what the competition is doing, how you’re feeling, or what the weather is like.
This is where the work you’ve put in to build up positive emotions and associations with your brand pays off – and is paid forward by loyal customers, with 94% of consumers claiming they would recommend a brand to others with which they are emotionally engaged.
Trust and empathy plays an important part here too. We rate brands far more on feelings and associations than on information alone. Rather than talking just about what we do, gaining people’s attention by consistently placing them – or people that could be them – at the centre of the message is key. Often speaking directly to their needs.
For example, if we were told “We help you to just do it” next to a Swoosh, the brand (which we don’t even have to name or clarify the true slogan for – great brand salience right there) may not be as motivating and inspiring to millions of people worldwide.
Past experiences of a customer’s attention being ‘grabbed’ by a brand will shape the likelihood that a customer will pick up your product over one of your competitors. As a result, you need to make sure that every customer experience is consistent with your branding intentions – building momentum and trust with each experience.
Putting brand salience into action
Achieving brand salience is a complex and ongoing process that involves various factors beyond consistent branding efforts. The important thing is to remember that the aim of your marketing is not simply to persuade customers to buy your product. It is also to build up and refresh positive memory structures, so that your brand grabs their attention when the time comes to make a decision.
Being ready for those decisive moments means adapting to the needs of your customers, wherever they are in the world – by location and digital channels. Maintaining brand consistency, while being agile in your marketing operations, can empower teams anywhere in the world to activate your brand.
The best way to maintain brand consistency is to establish clear brand guidelines that are available and enforced across your business, as well as centralising all digital assets in one place so teams know where to find those images that are crafted into amazing assets that create positive memories and grab their attention.
Empowering your people to build brand salience in a way that is intuitive and effective ultimately creates the foundation of your brand equity success.
Navigating the future of brand management with integrated DAM solutions
Papirfly
3minutes read
Papirly’s recent webinar “Beyond DAM: Shaping the Future of Brand Management Strategies,” brought together a distinguished panel of industry experts to delve into the evolving landscape of Digital Asset Management (DAM) and its pivotal role in brand management and compliance. The session featured insights from Chuck Gahun, Principal Analyst at Forrester; Jane Robinson, Global Employer Branding Director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG); Priya Patel, Senior Market Research Analyst at G2; Thomas Larzilliere, CEO of Keepeek; and Papirfly’s own Max Sihvonen, CoSo.
The webinar explored three main areas:
the latest technological trends in DAM,
the increasing demand for personalised and localised content across diverse channels,
the significance of efficient asset management in creating on-brand assets
A consistent theme throughout the discussion was the synergy between DAM and brand management. This highlighted the need for solutions that not only manage digital assets but also ensure brand consistency across all platforms.
Emerging trends and consumer expectations
The panel unanimously agreed that consumer expectations are driving the need for more sophisticated DAM solutions. Chuck Gahun emphasised the societal shift towards interactive engagement, necessitating brands to centralise assets to deliver immersive experiences across multiple touchpoints. This is pushing DAM solutions to evolve, incorporating features like 3D models for virtual reality and API-driven content delivery to meet the demand for personalised experiences.
Priya Patel shared insights from G2’s user reviews, noting an increased demand for DAM features that support integration with marketing and creative software, digital rights management, analytics, and workflow management. These features are crucial for brands to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace by delivering high-quality, relevant, and on-brand content swiftly.
The integral role of DAM in brand management
Jane Robinson shared BCG’s journey of implementing Papirfly to drive global brand consistency. The DAM platform has become a “one-stop shop” for BCG’s employer branding needs, allowing for the creation of personalised and customised assets that adhere to global brand guidelines while enabling local teams to add a personal touch. This balance of global consistency and local relevance has been key to BCG’s employer branding strategy.
Thomas Larzilliere discussed the evolving role of DAM in content production and brand compliance. With the proliferation of content across various platforms, maintaining brand governance has become more complex. DAM solutions are central to managing this complexity, ensuring that assets are produced correctly, efficiently, and in compliance with brand guidelines.
Key insights and future directions
The webinar showcased not only the current state and evolution of DAM but also revealed key insights pivotal for the future of brand management:
The imperative for agile content strategies: One critical takeaway was the growing need for brands to adopt agile content strategies that can quickly adapt to market changes and consumer behaviours. This agility is facilitated by platforms that go beyond traditional DAM, offering robust analytics and insights that allow brands to pivot and personalise content in real-time.
Enhanced collaboration across teams: Another revelation was the increasing importance of fostering collaboration across creative, marketing, and IT teams. Integrated DAM and brand management solutions are breaking down silos, enabling cross-functional teams to work cohesively towards common branding goals, thus accelerating content lifecycle processes from creation to distribution.
Security and compliance in Digital Asset Management: With the rise in digital content, ensuring the security and compliance of digital assets has become a forefront concern for brands. The discussion highlighted how modern DAM systems are incorporating advanced security features and compliance tools to protect brand assets and adhere to global regulatory standards.
These insights highlight the journey beyond traditional DAM, emphasising the critical need for brands to adopt holistic, secure, and adaptable brand management platforms. This will be essential for staying competitive and thriving in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
For further exploration on how these trends impact your brand strategy and how Papirfly’s brand management platform can support your brand’s growth, catch the webinar below, or learn more about our platform.
Staying on-brand is no small feat – especially for global enterprises.
As well as managing digital assets, you’re handling an intricate brand ecosystem of audiences, regions, identities, distribution channels, campaigns, creative teams, and external partners. The pace is relentless. Expectations are rising. And brand visibility has never mattered more.
This is where Digital Asset Management (DAM) becomes a powerful advantage. For busy brand and marketing teams, DAM isn’t just a storage solution – it’s a central engine for efficiency, consistency, and compliance.
Here are seven ways a Digital Asset Management system can help you stay on-brand in 2025, whether you’re focused on scaling content creation, improving asset distribution, or reducing the manual processes that slow teams down.
1. Centralize your digital assets in one secure library
DAM helps you stay on-brand by… giving all team members access to pre-approved assets, ensuring consistency and accelerating speed to market.
A DAM provides a single, secure platform for all your digital assets, whether that’s campaign photography, product videos, approved artwork, or final marketing collateral. Without it, assets are often lost in silos: hidden on local drives, buried in inboxes, or split across tools and agencies.
Without a Digital Asset Management system, brands often struggle to find and use their digital assets. They can be scattered across the organization and external agencies, hiding on desktops, departmental drives, and intranet sites. This creates major risks: from accidental use of outdated or restricted assets, to costly delays and rework.
By centralizing everything in one global library, you eliminate those risks. A powerful DAM enables you to bring thousands, even millions, of assets together in one brand portal. Now creators can easily access the assets they need – with smart search, version control, and metadata built in. Usage rights and consent tracking also ensure compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR.
And by making it easy to find, reuse and repurpose assets, you reduce duplication, save time, and cut creative costs.
2. Establish a one-stop destination for brand guidelines and assets
DAM helps you stay on-brand by… giving everyone access to up-to-date brand guidelines and approved assets
A Digital Asset Management system is more than storage – it’s a distribution platform. Through branded portals and shareable links, you can securely share assets with anyone who needs them, inside or outside your organization.
DAMs are often used to create a brand hub. This becomes a one-stop destination for guidelines, templates, imagery, logos, and tone of voice resources. It also provides a powerful tool for brand education, enabling teams to understand and apply your brand vision the right way, whether they’re internal designers or third-party vendors.
Because it’s structured, searchable, and user-friendly, it’s far more accessible than static PDFs or outdated SharePoint folders.
A sales enablement hub for dealers and distributors
A media portal with press-ready assets
An employer brand space for HR and internal communications
3. Empower local teams with Templated Content Creation
DAM helps you stay on brand by… giving teams the ability to create localized content without straying from global brand standards
Local marketing teams need flexibility. They often face market-specific demands – from retail promotions to localized brochure – that require rapid turnaround. Without the right tools, these teams are likely to go rogue. The result? Off-brand materials that weaken overall brand equity.
The best Digital Asset Management systems integrate with Templated Content Creation tools. This gives local teams access to editable templates—pre-approved, pre-designed, and fully on-brand. They can customize them using approved imagery, copy, and layouts, without needing design expertise. Advanced, AI-powered DAMs will even offer automatic translation into different languages.
This unlocks true efficiency. Local markets get the autonomy they need. The central team maintains quality control. And your brand remains consistent across every region and channel.
Does everyone create content that’s on‑brand, every time?
Find peace of mind with better brand governance.
Does everyone create content that’s on‑brand, every time?
DAM helps you stay on-brand by… automating compliance and consent processes to ensure every asset that goes out of your organization is safe to use
Navigating the ever-changing landscape of GDPR and compliance is complicated, time-consuming and fraught with risk. But a modern Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution can make it much quicker and easier, ensuring every asset released is compliant and ready for use, whether it’s an image, video, voice clip or quote.
Some DAMs have built-in consent management features that do everything from capturing permissions via QR codes, emails or printed forms, to instantly flagging assets based on consent status. Assets without proper clearance remain restricted to admin-only access, reducing the risk of accidental misuse. And if someone revokes their consent? The DAM automatically withdraws every related asset across your ecosystem, including timed expirations for short-term approvals.
By providing automated tools for managing privacy and consent requirements at scale, the best Digital Asset Management solutions enable teams to focus less on complex legal checklists and more on the quality of their creative output.
5. Automatically archive out-of-date assets
DAM helps you stay on brand by… flagging outdated assets that need retiring or replacing
The use of out-of-date assets is one of the biggest risks to your brand identity. Old logos. discontinued product images. Visuals from the last campaign but one. They all do immediate damage to your brand.
DAM software helps you eliminate this risk through lifecycle management and automatic archiving. Set expiry dates, flag outdated content, or trigger reviews based on usage.
You can also use built-in analytics to inform decisions. If an asset is underused – or looks out of step with your current identity – you’ll know it’s time to retire or replace it.
In this way, a DAM makes managing digital assets simpler and safer than ever.
6. Protect embargoed assets
DAM helps you stay on-brand by… streamlining digital asset management workflows and safeguarding assets against premature use
Speed matters. But so does control. If you’re launching a new product or campaign, you want creators and partners ready to go – without risk of letting unreleased brand assets fall into the wrong hands.
A Digital Asset Management system gives you advanced permission controls and usage rights, so you can restrict asset access by team, role, region, or project. For example, you can allow a graphic designer download rights but a marketing manager view-only access.
You can even set timed releases, so assets automatically become available at launch. This keeps your brand protected and your workflows streamlined.
7. Apply brand treatments at scale with AI
DAM helps you stay on-brand by… automatically editing digital assets to match your brand visual identity
Automation has always been one of the key benefits of Digital Asset Management systems. As DAM software grows ever more sophisticated, that automation is taking ever more forms – including AI marketing automation.
Many Digital Asset Management solutions now include AI marketing tools in one form or another. The best AI tools for marketing enable organizations to automate and scale a wide range of what were once manual tasks. For example:
Photography treatment – the AI marketing tools in your DAM can automatically apply brand treatments to images, so all photography is in the brand style.
Resizing – modern DAMs use AI marketing automation to resize assets on demand for different web, print, and email templates.
Tagging – the AI in your DAM can automatically identify the content of uploaded assets and tag them with meaningful metadata, saving you hours of mindless effort.
How DAM software helps you build and maintain brand consistency
The all-in-one Papirfly Suite combines Digital Asset Management and templated content creation to help teams showcase, manage, and create on-brand content – consistently and at scale.
Learn more about how our suite of solutions can help you protect and strengthen your brand, now and in the future.
FAQs
What is Digital Asset Management (DAM), and how does it support brand consistency?
Digital Asset Management (DAM) is a central platform that stores, organizes, and distributes digital assets. DAM solutions like Papirfly help brands stay consistent by providing controlled access to approved content, reducing duplication, ensuring compliance, and enabling faster, on-brand content creation across teams and regions.
How does DAM software help global teams create on-brand localized content?
DAM systems with integrated templated content creation allow local teams to adapt pre-approved assets while preserving brand integrity. This makes localization faster and more cost-effective, and creates regional flexibility.
How does DAM software simplify compliance with GDPR and other regulations?
DAM software automates consent tracking and compliance management. It restricts access to assets without the correct permissions and can revoke or archive content if consent changes. This minimizes legal risk and helps brands protect their reputation.
What risks does Digital Asset Management prevent in brand marketing workflows?
DAM helps eliminate the use of off-brand content, outdated visuals, and unauthorized assets. With features like lifecycle management, permission controls, and embargo settings, it safeguards brand identity while streamlining asset usage across teams and campaigns.
How is AI used in modern DAM software to maintain brand consistency?
AI in DAM automates tasks like tagging, image treatment, and asset resizing. It applies brand styles to visuals, categorizes content with metadata, and ensures assets are formatted for each channel.
7 reasons Digital Asset Management is essential for employer branding teams
Papirfly
9minutes read
Employer branding is more important than ever in 2024. Remote and hybrid working. A globalised recruitment landscape. Widespread skills shortages. A demanding talent pool and candidates’ market.
Brands face stiff competition to secure the best people and to keep them. And employer brand professionals are the frontline in talent acquisition and employee engagement.
You know that a strong employer value proposition is a candidate magnet. It helps your organisation attract and retain the talent it needs for success. But creating a consistent, compelling employer brand is a challenge in itself.
So many touchpoints. So many stakeholders. So little time.
If you’re here looking for an answer – a way to ‘do more with less’ – then you’re in the right place.
From working with employers of choice like Unilever and Vodafone, we know Digital Asset Management software can revolutionize employer branding efforts – helping create a strong brand presence on every platform and in every locality.
Here’s what you need to know.
Employer branding is crucial – but hard – in 2024
In a landscape characterised by skills shortages and increasing choice, great candidates have the upper hand. You’re in a global competition for talent – both to attract it and retain it.
Businesses that win the war will secure in-demand skills and value-aligned individuals to drive their ambitions forward. Businesses that lose… not so much.
But it isn’t just the (current) candidates’ market that’s making employer branding more important. It’s our shifting expectations of employers. From ‘the great renegotiation’ inspired by global lockdowns – to the influx of Gen Z into the workplace – we’re demanding more of employers than before.
Employee engagement is key. We want great benefits, work-life balance, and an inclusive company culture. But we want meaningful work, authenticity, corporate ethics, and societal impact too. And people aren’t stupid. Employers need to walk the walk… or their people will.
In thischallenging employer branding environment, businesses need to improve their employee value proposition, embed it, and communicate it consistently across every touchpoint.
In the burgeoning digital landscape, there are so many places to communicate your brand. Managing that to maximize impact and consistency is getting harder. Your platforms and digital brand assets seem to multiply exponentially – but your budget and hours in the day don’t.
And that’s before we even think about localising employer branding campaigns to maximise their impact in different regions and cultures.
If this problem sounds familiar, Digital Asset Management (DAM) software is the answer.
An avalanche of assets is overwhelming employer brand teams
An avalanche of digital brand assets is overwhelming employer branding teams. Digital assets are the images, artwork, video, audio files, campaign materials, PDFs, guidelines etc that you use to market your business internally and externally.
There are the digital brand assets you use as building blocks to create campaigns – your photoshoots, your graphic design files etc. You need easy access to these to create brand content quickly and efficiently.
Then there are the employer branding materials you create – your finished artwork, campaign materials, brand guidelines, templates, etc. You need to be able to distribute these easily to the people who’ll use them.
There are so many of them because employer branding is increasingly digital. You need to create employer branding content for your company website, social media channels, third-party sites, campaigns, employee advocacy, and more.
That means you’re creating and managing more digital assets than ever. And that can get messy, real quick. And that’s a serious risk to your employer branding efforts.
You cannot manage brand assets at scale without an appropriate system. And that spells risk for your team and the wider business.
Challenges managing employer branding assets
Wasted time – Searching for assets that are hidden away in the wrong place or have file names like ‘IMG07624.jpg’ – not helpful.
Wasted money – Recreating assets from scratch because you simply can’t find them and your stakeholder needs the content ‘yesterday’.
More risk – Using outdated assets because you don’t know which is the most recent version – or using restricted assets because there’s no way to know.
Inconsistency – Because people are frustrated with the current system and just start doing their own thing.
Problems distributing employer branding materials
Distribution issues –Getting brand assets to the right people at the right time. You can have the best employer brand ever…but it’s useless if you can’t get it out there.
Diluted brand – People simply not knowing how to apply your employer brand and putting out materials they think are right… but aren’t on-brand at all.
Missed opportunities to localise – Issuing one-size-fits-all campaigns because you don’t have time to optimize materials for different markets.
You might be so used to the scenarios above that it feels normal.
But it’s not.
There is a better way.
7 reasons your employer brand needs DAM
To excel in the ever-more demanding future of work, you need to reclaim control now. Savvy businesses leverage Digital Asset Management for employer branding. They know a DAM platform makes brand content creation easier and brand asset distribution foolproof.
Digital Asset Management (DAM) software provides a single space to store, access, and use your digital assets – like images, videos, brand collateral, and multimedia materials that support effective employer branding.
DAM makes it easier for every team that touches your employer brand – HR, recruitment, marketing, regional managers, employee advocates – to stay on-brand. And it accelerates campaign activation. It’s a two-for-one win for ambitious employer brands.
Here are seven things DAM can do for you – whether you work in employer branding, corporate branding, marketing operations, creative services, or any other team with digital-asset-heavy workflows.
1. Cut costs and maximise efficiency
Using Digital Asset Management software for employer branding saves you time and money. A centralized digital asset library – for brand content creation, management and distribution – streamlines your processes. This efficiency translates into better resource utilization and cost savings.
Team members can quickly locate and utilize the necessary materials, reducing the time spent on searching and requesting assets. Internal and external contributors can collaborate in the cloud, bypassing messy manual processes. And branding materials can be distributed instantly.
2. Make more space for strategy
Your personal creativity and strategic approach are key differentiators for your brand – but they’re drained by the demands of the job – and your great ideas and good intentions get lost in admin.
Using DAM software reduces time spent on pointlessly ineffective processes – like fruitlessly searching for assets and manually emailing them to people – so you’ve got more time for stuff that actually adds value – like strategically shaping your employer value proposition and getting creative about how you communicate it.
3. …And localisation
You know you should be localising campaigns to increase their relevance to regional audiences. From changing photography to accurately reflect local demographics and cultural norms, to offering materials in multiple languages. But you simply don’t have time.
With efficiency gains from using a Digital Asset Management system, your team can dedicate more time to impactful campaigns for specific audiences – supporting recruitment and DEI goals. And, thanks to easy distribution via your brand portal, you can make sure each region only accesses materials meant for them.
4. Guarantee your brand consistency
In employer branding, consistency is key. A strong, consistent and recognizable visual identity increases brand recognition and supports organizational objectives around talent acquisition, recruitment, and engagement.
A Digital Asset Management platform doubles as a brand asset management portal – an online space where stakeholders can access branding guidelines, employer branding materials, templates, approved image sets etc.
This empowers your wider collaborative team – everyone from external design agencies to regional divisions to employee advocates – to find, use, and create on-brand materials for the organization.
5. Enhanceyour agility
How many times are opportunities passing you by? Like experimenting with a new platform or localizing assets for higher regional impact. Without efficient Digital Asset Management, your slow processes can limit your agility.
Centralized DAM software lets you quickly locate, modify, and repurpose digital assets, accelerating content creation and increasing overall creative capacity. This lets you respond promptly to emerging opportunities, ensuring a dynamic and consistent brand experience.
6. Reduce brand risk
The biggest risk to employer branding efforts is unfit-for-purpose processes. We’ve shown how a digital asset library can address this issue.
Beyond this, DAM software also mitigates risks associated with the misuse or unauthorized access of sensitive brand assets – thanks to robust access controls and permission levels. Plus, version control features reduce the risk of using outdated materials, preventing inconsistencies and potential damage to the brand image.
Imagine job descriptions using a retired logo, or a social post using a photo where the participant has since withdrawn their permission for use. Centralizing assets – and removing and archiving assets that should no longer be used – protects against this kind of risk.
7. Empower employees to become brand ambassadors
If you want to help your employees advocate for your employer brand, you need to give them on-brand tools and materials. A DAM used as a brand portal gives employees easy access to a curated collection of brand assets.
They can share branded content on their social media platforms – such as job ads, announcements, and the popular ‘new position’ celebrations to LinkedIn – so your brand benefits from their authentic excitement about working for you. This builds trust with the audience, as it comes directly from the voices and experiences of employees.
Key features of DAM for employer branding
A single source of truth keeps assets secure but accessible
A DAM system provides a single secure repository for all your brand assets. Cloud-based DAM is accessible 24/7 online. No more assets lost and languishing on desktops, attached to emails, or in different departmental folders.
Metadata puts files at your fingertips
A DAM applies metadata to assets to make them findable in a few clicks. You don’t need to know file names anymore. Just search on keywords that describe the file you want – and see beautiful visual previews to identify the file you need.
Automatic version control keeps you up-to-date
No more time wasted wondering which file is the latest version. You’ll always see the most recent version in your DAM – but with a full audit trail and ability to revert to previous files if needed.
Integrations make design processes easier
A DAM is designed to integrate. Integrate it with InDesign or your website CMS to give designers immediate access to all your brand assets without even leaving the window they’re working in.
Online portals effortlessly deliver assets to end users
A DAM doesn’t just make your content creation processes easier. Distribution is easy and instant, anywhere in the world. Upload finished employer branding materials and guidelines to your online brand portals for easy internal and external access.
Permissions protect embargoed assets
Worried online access means a free-for-all? It isn’t. Permission controls mean people only see what you want them to. Protect embargoed assets and commercially sensitive content.
Workflow automation accelerates creation
A Digital Asset Management platform automates so many processes you perform manually at the minute – saving you tonnes of time. For example, bulk uploads, instant content sharing, and one-click, in-app editing (eg applying crops and ratios for different platforms).
Employer branding teams to power up with Papirfly
You know the employer branding landscape is changing. Your systems need to evolve to cope. Digital Asset Management software is a game changer for busy, ambitious employer branding teams. Papirfly’s platform is a full suite of enterprise-grade brand management tools, including a portal for brand guidelines, Digital Asset Management, on-brand templating, campaign management, real-time data analytics, and more.
Transforming content creation for global brand, DSV
Employer Branding
Empowering employer branding – insights from SAP and Papirfly
Papirfly
3minutes read
Papirfly and SAP recently joined forces to showcase an engaging discussion on SAP’s employer branding and employer ambassador program.
The session, led by Papirfly’s VP Marketing Siril Jacobsen and Nneka Mmeh, Global Employer Branding at SAP emphasised strategic collaboration and innovative approaches to employer branding. Papirfly’s brand management platform enabled SAP to harness the power of their workforce in storytelling, turning employees into brand champions.
This partnership not only enabled SAP to enhance their employer branding but also showcased the transformative impact of leveraging employee experiences in attracting and retaining top talent. The discussions provided actionable insights into
creating a compelling employer value proposition (EVP)
emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and employee empowerment in building a strong, engaging employer brand
The power of employee ambassadors
SAP’s journey into enhancing its employer branding strategy with Papirfly’s support shows a commitment to not only attract but also to nurture talent by fostering a culture of inclusivity and empowerment. The creation of an employee ambassador program exemplifies SAP’s innovative approach, leveraging the voices of its workforce to amplify the company’s values and culture. This initiative, driven by Papirfly’s brand management platform, enabled SAP employees worldwide to share their authentic experiences. As a result, it humanized the SAP brand and significantly improved its market positioning as an employer of choice.
Revolutionising talent attraction through brand consistency
The webinar highlighted the importance of brand consistency across all channels and the role of Papirfly’s platform in achieving this for SAP. By implementing a centralised employer brand management system, SAP was able to streamline its messaging. This ensured that the employer brand resonated well with its global audience. This strategic move not only enhanced the company’s visibility but also guaranteed that potential candidates received a coherent and compelling narrative about what it means to work at SAP.
Strategic insights for employer branding professionals
For employer branding professionals, the discussion provided invaluable insights into the strategic planning and execution of a successful employee ambassador program. From revamping the employer value proposition to leveraging social media and digital platforms for storytelling, the webinar offered a blueprint for organisations looking to elevate their employer brand.
The role of Papirfly in SAP’s employer branding success
Papirfly’s role in this journey was highlighted as more than just a platform provider. It was a strategic partner enabling SAP to leverage technology for brand management and employee engagement. The use of Papirfly’s solutions facilitated a seamless integration of brand assets, storytelling, and employee advocacy, setting a new standard for employer branding excellence.
Measurable success – the impact of SAP’s employer branding strategy
Increased engagement: SAP saw a remarkable increase in employee engagement on social media platforms, where ambassador content received higher interaction rates compared to standard corporate postings.
Improved talent acquisition: By leveraging employee testimonials, SAP saw a substantial improvement in its talent acquisition efforts. The data showed a notable decrease in time-to-fill for open positions. This highlights the effectiveness of a strong employer brand in attracting qualified candidates swiftly.
Enhanced employer brand perception: Surveys conducted before and after the implementation of the ambassador program indicated a significant improvement in SAP’s employer brand perception among targeted talent pools. The positive shift in perception reflects the impact of humanising the brand through employee narratives.
Greater employee retention: The initiative also played a crucial role in enhancing employee retention rates. By empowering employees to share their experiences and become brand advocates, SAP fostered a deeper sense of belonging and loyalty among its workforce. This contributed to a decrease in turnover rates.
Enhancing efficiency and savings: The financial efficiency gained through SAP’s partnership with Papirfly particularly highlighted a staggering $100,000 saved in potential agency costs in 2023. This reduction in potential expenses was achieved by utilising Papirfly’s platform for in-house brand management and content creation, bypassing the need for costly external agencies. The strategic approach not only streamlined SAP’s marketing expenditures but also illustrated the effectiveness of leveraging internal capabilities to foster a compelling and authentic employer brand. This also shows the tangible benefits of SAP’s innovative employer branding strategy
A blueprint for future success
The collaboration between SAP and Papirfly showcases the transformative power of employer branding when executed with strategic intent and the right technological support. For companies looking to attract and retain the best talent, the insights shared in this webinar serve as a blueprint for leveraging employee voices to create a compelling and authentic employer brand. To discover more about how SAP utilised Papirfly’s brand management platform to get set up for success watch the webinar in full.
Digital Asset Management in 2025 – the only guide you need
Papirfly
20minutes read
If you’re drowning in digital assets – if you’re losing productivity as well as files – you need a Digital Asset Management platform.
This in-depth guide to DAM is for savvy brands that want to get their products, services, and marketing messages out there – fast, at scale, and on brand.
Take a deep dive into DAM to
Understand what DAM actually does
Decide if investing in DAM is right for you
Discover how DAM creates bankable business benefits
Confidently make the business case in your organisation
If you’re looking at competitors and wondering how they do it all, they’ve probably got a DAM system. Let’s see if you need one too…
Introduction to Digital Asset Management
What is Digital Asset Management?
Digital Asset Management is simply the practice of properly managing your digital assets. If you’re not familiar with Digital Asset Management, you’ll certainly be familiar with the problems it solves – like chaotic content creation, lost digital assets, manual workflows, and imperfect processes.
‘Digital assets’ is a way to describe digital files. But not just any file. A digital asset is a file you’ve invested money in creating and can use to create value for your business.
Files like images, video, audio, and artwork are digital assets. Anything you can use and combine to deliver strategic goals for your business. For example, by creating marketing collateral, employer branding materials, or ecommerce listings.
Why is Digital Asset Management important?
Digital Asset Management is important because these intellectual properties cost – and make – you money. You need to manage them like you would any other business asset – to protect your investment, get ROI, and reduce any risk associated with them.
It’s also essential for efficiency in our digital world – where content is exploding, digital platforms are brand battlegrounds, and digital transformation can make or break a business.
More on this at the end of the section.
What is Digital Asset Management software?
Digital Asset Management software – also known as a DAM system or DAMS – is a platform specifically designed for managing your digital assets. Organizations typically use it to replace unfit-for-purpose filing systems – like Google Drive, Dropbox, or departmental folders – that simply can’t cope with digital assets at scale.
A DAM platform provides a single, central space to store, secure, search, and access valuable digital files. The key elements of DAM that make it an improvement on the likes of Google Drive are:
Centralisation to make assets available for use throughout the organisation
Metadata and taxonomy to make assets infinitely more discoverable
Robust permissions to ensure people only access what they’re supposed to
Automated workflows to accelerate processes and workflows
DAM is more than just a digital asset library. Effective Digital Asset Management cuts your costs, improves efficiency and productivity, and gives you a significant advantage over your non-DAM-using competitors.
DAM is more than just a digital asset library. Effective Digital Asset Management cuts your costs, improves efficiency and productivity, and gives you a significant advantage over your non-DAM-using competitors.
Four types of Digital Asset Management software
You might hear people mention different types of DAM software – like cloud DAM, on-premise, enterprise, and headless. Here’s a quick introduction to the differences.
On-premise DAM
On-premise DAM – sometimes shortened to on-prem DAM – is Digital Asset Management software that you manage in-house. It’s installed on your internal infrastructure and you’re responsible for upgrades, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
Cloud-based DAM
Cloud-based DAM – sometimes just called cloud DAM – is a DAM system you subscribe to. It is hosted, managed, and used in the cloud. The software vendor is responsible for all upgrades and maintenance. We’ll compare on-premise vs cloud DAM below.
Enterprise DAM system
Enterprise Digital Asset Management is just DAM at a larger scale. Some DAMs market themselves specifically at the enterprise market because they have features that make it suitable for large-scale deployment. For example, more storage, unlimited licenses, or global/local support options. However, the underlying functionality is the same.
Headless DAM
Headless DAM is a Digital Asset Management platform that is designed to work in the background. It doesn’t have a front-end for people to search and access digital assets. It exists to power processes behind the scenes, like linking to a PIM system and automatically sending images to an ecommerce website.
Why is DAM so important in 2025?
The business case for Digital Asset Management grows every year. The main imperative is using digital advances to streamline and automate processes, saving businesses like yours time and money.
But societal trends are increasing the pressure even more – from the avalanche of digital assets to remote working, and online competition to cybersecurity.
If you’ve been toying with the idea of DAM, 2025 is the time to act. Here’s why.
The avalanche of digital content
The growth in online platforms means ambitious businesses are producing more content than ever – for your website, social channels, intranet, third-party sites, email marketing – not to mention traditional print media too.
To keep up, businesses are producing an unprecedented volume and variety of content – images, videos, audio, webinars, product tours, slide decks, POS materials, brochures etc.
Without an appropriate way to store, manage, and access this content, businesses risk being swamped by it – undermining their efficiency, productivity, and brand. DAM is the way you’re looking for.
The shift to remote work and collaboration
Businesses are benefitting from several remote work trends in 2025. As well as flexible working, organizations are increasing capacity, lowering costs, and delivering 24/7 operations by using freelancers and offshore support.
A cloud-based DAM system enables seamless remote collaboration by providing secure access to digital assets – from anywhere in the world with an internet connection – significantly enhancing productivity in the era of distributed workforces.
The value of brand in a distracted society
The online landscape is growing evermore competitive, as digital tech makes it easier for challenger brands to set up shop online. And we are an easily distracted society, looking at more content, across more devices, in ever more complex contexts.
Our attention spans and patience online are low and research says brands have only 8 seconds to grab it. In this context, an instantly recognizable brand is one of your most valuable assets. And yet many organizations struggle due to difficulties communicating and distributing the brand internally.
A DAM system fixes that by providing easy access to approved brand assets, style guides, and marketing collateral. So you can deliver a cohesive and recognizable brand experience across every channel.
Rising concerns about data security
With the growing frequency and sophistication of cyber threats, data security has become a top priority for organizations. DAM software addresses these concerns by offering robust security features, access controls, and encryption to protect digital assets from unauthorized access, ensure compliance with data protection regulations, and prevent intellectual property theft.
Features and benefits of Digital Asset Management software
1. Centralisation and organisation
All too often, your creative teams spend more time searching for files than actually using them. They’re hidden on people’s desktops, attached to emails, in third-party FTP sites, or hidden behind meaningless file names like ‘Image_38.jpg’. This wastes so much time that it’s almost impossible for your team to be agile and efficient. A digital asset library solves all that.
Centralized repository
A DAM system is a centralized repository for your digital assets. So instead of your digital assets being stored in random folders across your organisation, they’re all in one place.
And – in the case of cloud-based DAM – that place is accessible 24/7 from anywhere with an internet connection.
That means authorised users have almost-instant access, so they can spend less time searching for assets and more time making magic with them.
Version control and audit trail
Another feature of DAM is automatic version control, so your team always knows they’re accessing the most up-to-date version of a file. Version control also keeps an audit trail of any amends made to a file, so you can see what’s changed and when.
This is vital for any digital assets that require accuracy – like technical documentation or brand guidelines.
2. Search and discoverability
How does a DAM system make digital assets so discoverable? Through a double whammy of taxonomy and metadata. This gives people lots of different ways to search, browse, filter and find the file they need, fast. So no matter how big your digital asset library grows, it’s always quick and easy to use.
Metadata
Metadata is information added to a file to make it more findable. For example, in a footwear photoshoot, a single image may be tagged with the shoe make and model, material, style, color, and which season it belongs to.
This gives people numerous routes to find the image they need compared to knowing what the file is called or where it is saved.
Metadata also provides valuable contextual information about assets – like usage rights or embargo information – to ensure they’re used correctly.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the use of systematic terms and categories to create a sensible folder structure. This means people can also navigate logically to images if they want to.
For example: Brand name > Footwear > Fall 2025 collection. But – to be honest – the search functionality in DAM is so good that most people will use that.
Visual search results
Search results in DAM systems are usually displayed as visual thumbnails that let you quickly see file content – even text-based documents – so you can confidently choose the one you want. No more clicking into anonymous thumbnails hoping to get lucky.
3. Security and sharing
A DAM system secures your assets and protects them from unauthorized access. It also reduces risk and frustration associated with sharing assets via email or external transfer processes (expired WeTransfer link anyone?)
Permission controls
Permission controls ensure that only authorised users have access to specific assets – and they can only do what you want them to – like view, download, or edit assets. This enhances digital asset security and stops awkward faux pas like using embargoed assets before their release date.
Encryption
DAM uses encryption to protect data and assets. This adds an additional layer of security, making it more challenging for unauthorized parties to access or manipulate the content of digital assets.
Secure file sharing
A DAM reduces the risk associated with transferring sensitive assets via email and third-party sites. Users can simply access the assets they need from within the system – whether that’s through their own account, link sharing with external contractors, or a public-facing portal.
Branded portals
You can create branded portals in a DAM to share curated asset collections with particular audiences. For example, an organisation-wide portal to share brand guidelines and logos. Or a sales enablement portal to share marketing materials with different branches.
4. Collaboration and automation
Don’t let anyone tell you DAM is just about centralising storage. Modern DAM is so much more than the media library it started out as. Today it is a hub of collaboration and automation, designed to accelerate and streamline any process that uses digital assets.
Cloud collaboration
Cloud-based DAM provides an online space for collaborating on content creation processes. For example, a photographer can upload a photoshoot, your marketing can approve or reject them, route them to an offshore touch-up studio overnight, ready to serve up to your graphic design team the next morning – all without leaving your DAM.
Task automation
DAM can automate manual tasks for faster delivery. There are so many time-saving DAM hacks you’ll wonder how you lived without it.
Anything from using AI to recognise asset content and tag them on upload, to automatically creating on-the-fly renditions of assets for use on different platforms – for example, converting a high-res CMYK tiff to a 72dpi RGB jpeg for use online.
Workflow automation
DAM lets you fully automate tasks to accelerate time to market. For example, receiving, quality checking, and publishing millions of product images to an e-commerce website with no human intervention.
AI tools
Many DAM systems offer machine learning and AI to speed up processes – from tagging assets with metadata to predicting the best search results to serve up. See the Future Trends section for more on AI in DAM.
5. Integrations
Virtually any system that needs access to digital assets can integrate with your DAM – and your DAM can feed images, video, documents, and data directly to that system. Here are some common DAM integrations and how they work.
DAM + CMS
Most CMS have a media library where you can store images. But finding those images again isn’t always easy. Integrating DAM with your CMS gives web editors powerful search and retrieval tools – so they can quickly find the perfect assets to bring your website to life.
DAM + design software
A DAM integrates with graphic design tools so designers can search and find the perfect visual assets without having to leave the window they’re working in. This keeps them in the zone and their creative juices flowing – while allowing for seamless editing, version control, and collaboration.
DAM + PIM
PIM is a Product Information System – software used in manufacturing, retail, and ecommerce. Integrating DAM and PIM lets you automatically pull images from your DAM into catalogues and websites, so you can get your marketing out there – and start making sales – faster.
DAM + CRM
Integrating a DAM with your CRM system accelerates the process of creating on-brand communication with customers. Sales and marketing teams can pull assets into messages – automatically cropped and formatted for optimum display.
Benefits of Digital Asset Management software explained
DAM feature
DAM benefit
Centralisation
– Central accessible digital asset library – Single source of truth creates clarity/reduces confusion – Everyone can quickly find and use the files they need – Increased visibility into assets reduces duplication – Productivity and creativity go up
Metadata
– Digital assets are easier to browse, search, and find – Contextual information ensures confident, compliant use of assets
Version control
– Everyone is working with the latest versions of assets – Keeps an audit trail of changes and approvals – Prevents version conflicts and confusion
Access permissions
– Ensures that only authorised users have access to specific assets – Safeguards sensitive information and intellectual property – Ensures compliance with data protection regulations – Prevents unauthorized use and reduces legal risk
Collaboration tools
– Supports communication and remote collaboration – Streamlines project execution and reduces time to market – Facilitates use of contractors, gig workers, and offshore providers
Portals
– Provide access to approved brand assets for all creators and end users – Supports better brand consistency – Mitigates brand risk
Workflow automation
– Streamlines workflows through automation – Accelerates project completion – Reduces manual interventions and human error – Improves human resource utilisation
Integrations
– Reduces duplication through syncing and sharing data – Facilitates cross-departmental workflows – Accelerates processes and improves efficiency
Analytics
– Insights into asset usage help optimize future commissioning and creation strategies
Marketers use DAM to centralise and organise digital assets, ensuring everyone involved in campaigns can collaborate efficiently. DAM gives creatives access to up-to-date assets and artwork, accelerates creation workflows, and allows for rapid distribution to end users.
DAM for agencies
Creative agencies create and use a high volume of digital assets for customers. They use DAM to streamline and accelerate production processes, and protect and manage assets for different customers. Agencies can even offer DAM services to customers as an additional revenue stream.
DAM for publishers
Content creators and publishers build their business on distributing written, visual, and multimedia content. They need a DAM to store and access this content quickly during the creation processes, manage production and approval processes, and power automated publishing workflows.
DAM for ecommerce and retail
Retail employs DAM to organise and distribute product images, marketing visuals, and multimedia content. This streamlines product launches, enhances customer experience, and supports effective merchandising strategies in a highly visual and competitive landscape.
DAM for employer brands
Businesses work hard to attract, recruit and retain top talent. Employer branding teams create campaigns that position organizations as an employer of choice. Using a DAM helps streamline this process and create a consistent employer brand across every platform.
DAM for corporate brands
A strong brand delivers a competitive advantage. Corporate brands use DAM to centralise and distribute brand assets. This improves brand consistency by sharing brand guidelines and assets with everyone involved in promoting the business.
When should we invest in Digital Asset Management technology?
Most businesses reach a critical point where the business case for DAM becomes undeniable. Here are five operational challenges that DAM can solve. Do any sound familiar? If so, you probably need to invest in DAM.
1. Your systems are inefficient and productivity is compromised
Problem: You face avoidable frustrations, bottlenecks and delays due to disorganised assets.
Solution: DAM centralises your assets and streamlines workflows, reduces time spent searching for assets, and minimises manual interventions. Replacing unfit or decentralized storage enhances overall efficiency and productivity.
2. You need to cut costs, without cutting corners
Problem: You’ve been asked to cut costs. Or worse, ‘do more with less’. How do you maintain quality?
Solution: DAM accelerates and automates workflows, allowing you to do more with the same headcount. Or to maintain existing services when faced with budget and staff cuts. Time savings come from less duplication, waste, and higher operational efficiency.
3. You have sensitive assets you need to protect
Problem: You have sensitive or embargoed assets and no way to prevent unauthorized access.
Solution: DAM’s access controls and user permissions let you restrict access to authorised users only. This helps manage GDPR compliance requirements, prevent potential legal issues, and protect against leaks of time-sensitive assets (accidental or otherwise.)
4. You need to improve brand consistency and governance
Problem: Multiple departments or divisions involved in marketing pose a risk to brand consistency.
Solution: DAM provides a central place to share and distribute brand assets – from brand guidelines to approved imagery – so everyone can create and use on-brand materials. Templates – and even translation tools – help divisions localise materials while staying on-brand.
5. You want remote access and online collaboration
Problem: You want to take advantage of remote workers, the gig economy, and offshore contractors.
Solution: Cloud-based DAM enables online collaboration from anywhere with an internet connection. Users can upload, download, view, edit, comment, and collaborate online, supporting a global workforce.
6. You’ve outgrown our old storage systems
Problem: Your business and digital asset demands have grown and your current system can’t keep up.
Solution: DAM scales with you. So no matter how many digital assets you accumulate – or how many staff you have – people can always search, retrieve, and access the files they need, fast.
7. You want to raise your content game
Problem: Competitors are running rings around you with higher quantity and quality of content.
Solution: Implementing a DAM system supports content creation at scale. With DAM in your corner, you’ll be able to create, distribute, and publish more content to more platforms.
8. You have a digitisation strategy
Problem: Legacy processes and manual workflows are holding your business back.
Solution: Put DAM at the heart of your digital transformation journey and build new processes around fit-for-purpose tools. Don’t think about how DAM can digitise your processes – think how it can revolutionise them.
The business case for Digital Asset Management software
The business case for DAM
DAM delivers significant operational, financial, and competitive advantages to brands. Here are three benefits of Digital Asset Management software that you can take to the bank.
1. Higher operational efficiency
DAM improves your operational efficiency in a variety of ways.
By helping people assets instead of endlessly searching for them
By reducing the time creatives spend recreating lost assets
By automating tasks like resizing and cropping images
By translating written content and transcoding video
By automating manual workflows
By reducing context-switching
We could go on and on… These faster processes save you money but they also give you a competitive advantage – getting you to market faster and better than ever before.
2. Resource optimisation
Resource optimisation is concerned with getting the most valuable work from your people. And when they’re engaged in manual admin that’s way below their pay grade – or fruitlessly playing ‘hunt the asset’ – you’re not getting ROI.
DAM eradicates low-grade work and puts assets at people’s fingertips so they can spend more time adding value to your business – through strategy, creativity, and understanding your customers better.
3. Resource optimisation
As well as efficiency gains, DAM delivers cost benefits you can take to the bank. It’s not just about using your human resources more efficiently. You save money because:
People can access existing assets and repurpose them instead of starting from scratch
Enhanced visibility into your asset stock reduces the risk of duplicated work or purchases
You reduce your risk of costly legal exposure
Agencies and content creators can also commercialise their DAM – selling their artwork or selling Digital Asset Management as a service.
The ROI of Digital Asset Management software
The Return on Investment from Digital Asset Management software can vary depending on factors like your specific use case, the size of your business, the functionality of the software, and how many people use it.
Papirfly combines powerful DAM functionality with a suite of branding tools. A composite business based on our most typical customers* achieves
212% Return on Investment (ROI)
$1.17m Net Present Value (NPV)
80% reduced effort in asset creation
$200 average agency spend avoided per asset
Payback in less than 6 months
What does DAM software cost?
Here are some DAM costs you need to be aware of.
Upfront costs –Usually only applicable to on-premise deployment – the cost of buying a license for the product and costs associated with the infrastructure you’ll need
Subscription costs –Cloud DAM will charge per user per month (also known as ‘seats’) and may have a minimum number of users
Storage costs – A certain amount of storage may be included in your fees – you may need to pay more for extra capacity
Number of assets – Some pricing models consider how many assets you need to store
Features –Some DAMs may have an all-in price tag, others might charge extra for advanced features
Customization – You may need to pay for product Customization or custom integrations
Maintenance, support and upgrade fees – You may need to pay a monthly fee for technical support and training – plus an annual renewal fee
Migration costs – You may choose to pay the vendor or a third-party to migrate your assets to the new DAM
In-house costs – Don’t forget to factor in-house costs like the time it will take to research and implement the system – perhaps funding for a DAM librarian role
When totting up the cost of Digital Asset Management software – and calculating your potential ROI – you need to remember how much your current content chaos is costing you.
How to choose and implement a DAM system
How to choose a DAM system
Choosing a DAM system takes research, consultation, and consideration. Rush it and you’ll regret it. Here’s a very quick overview of how to choose a DAM and make sure your first choice is the right choice.
1. Determine your requirements
Once DAM is on your radar, think about it from an organization-wide point of view. DAM is a centralized digital asset library that serves all business functions. You don’t want different departments to implement their own separate DAM solutions – that undermines the whole point.
Once you know who’s going to use your organisation-wide DAM, start determining and prioritising your collective needs.
What does the DAM need to do?
What’s outside the scope of the project?
How many assets do you have and what type?
What workflows need automating?
What systems need to be integrated?
Write a requirements document to start shortlisting DAM systems – and share it with your shortlisted providers when the time comes.
2. Research your options
In 2025, there are over 100 DAM platforms on the market. Start with online research to narrow down your options. Don’t just click on the ads at the top of your search results – just because they have the biggest ad budget doesn’t mean they’re the best DAM for you.
Search for DAMs that serve your sector successfully, look for external endorsements from the likes of Forrester Wave, and check out user review websites like Capterra.
Create a shortlist of products and do a side-by-side comparison against your requirements document. Whittle it down to no more than five and speak to the vendors for an online demo. Which ones feel like a good fit? Invite your favourite vendors to give a demo to your main stakeholders before deciding which to buy.
What to look for in a DAM platform
Implementing a DAMS takes time and money. But it isn’t just about investment, it’s about impact. The right DAM system can be transformative. Beyond price and features, here’s how to pick a DAM platform that will deliver…
Functionality
The majority of DAMS have similar functionality. However, some may be targeted more toward specific use cases – such as branding or ecommerce. Define the requirements of your DAM – for example, do you need it to act as a brand portal or integrate with a PIM system – and make sure your shortlisted DAM systems deliver that functionality. Look for existing customers in your sector and check out reviews.
Scalability
Don’t just think about your current digital asset needs. Your number of assets is only going to grow. Ensure the DAM system is scalable to accommodate your future needs and growth plans to avoid outgrowing the DAM solution you choose. If you expect your user base to grow, make sure you can scale accordingly, within your budget.
User experience
An IT system only delivers ROI when people use it – and use it properly. If your DAM system is hard to use, people will bypass it and continue to store files on their desktops and departmental folders. Choose a DAM system that is intuitive and easy to use. That will encourage widespread adoption and reduce the learning curve.
Integrations
Consider the DAM system’s ability to integrate with other essential business platforms. For example, your website CMS or PIM system. This helps create seamless cross-department workflows that enhance productivity. It also reduces data duplication and silos.
Vendor support
Regardless of whether you deploy your DAM on-premise or in the cloud, you’ll need support from your vendor – during set-up and beyond. Check that they’ve provided adequate self-service documentation and ask how much support you can access as part of your contract.
Deployment options
Consider the pros and cons of on-premises vs cloud-based DAM (see table below). The choice comes down to how much control and responsibility you want to take on, as well as questions of data sovereignty.
On-premise vs cloud-based DAM: pros and cons
On-premise DAM
Cloud-based DAM
Access
Restricted access
Anywhere access
Scalability
Limited by your in-house storage capacity
In theory, unlimited storage, but with costs attached
Maintenance and updates
You are responsible for upgrades and maintaining the system
The provider is responsible for upgrades and maintaining the system
Security and control
Direct, maximum control
Reliant on provider
Customization
Customization options via your in-house team – maximum flexibility but limited by IT capacity
Some customization usually availability via support request – may incur additional cost
Integrations
Via your in-house team
Some available out-of-the-box and others via your own team using APIs
Upfront costs
Bigger upfront costs – you buy the platform outright
Lower upfront costs – you buy subscriptions (seats)
Deployment
Slower due to need for infrastructure set up
Faster as minimal infrastructure needed – simply deployed online
Data sovereignty
Greater control over geographic location and data sovereignty
Less control over geographic location and data sovereignty
Five best practices for Digital Asset Management
Be strategic about DAM
Your DAM implementation should align to your organisational objectives. Common goals include improving workflow efficiency, enhancing collaboration, ensuring brand consistency, cost savings, optimizing resource utilisation, and digital transformation. Use your objectives as a North Star to inform your needs analysis, your KPIs, and your choice of DAM system.
Audit your assets and workflows
Your DAM provider will have a LOT of questions. Come prepared. Know how many assets you have, what types, what you need to do with them, who is involved, how many users you have, what types of access they’ll need etc. Download our Digital Asset Management checklist to help you start thinking…
Don’t just replicate, innovate
Implementing DAM is an opportunity for change. Don’t waste it. Talk to people currently involved in content, marketing and branding processes. What challenges do they have? Where do bottlenecks occur? What could be improved? Talk to your DAM vendor about how other customers use the software. DAM is transformative – think big.
Plan for onboarding and training
No matter how intuitive your new DAM system, people will still need training and support in order to use it. Different levels of user need different levels of training. Admins, for example, will need in-person training, while casual users can self-serve training videos or how-to guides. Make sure you have a communication and training plan to help you roll out your new software and get people excited about using it.
Commit to the long-term (Digital Asset Management governance)
Digital Asset Management is an ongoing commitment. The key principle of DAM is to manage your digital assets so people can confidently find and use the right ones. If you neglect your DAM system, this gets increasingly difficult. In businesses with a large volume of digital assets, you may need to appoint a DAM librarian who is responsible for Digital Asset Management governance like
Regularly archiving old or outdated assets
Checking your metadata and categories are still fit for purpose
Adding, training, and removing users as required
Applying software and security updates
Monitoring and optimizing DAM performance
Future trends: AI in Digital Asset Management
AI for metadata application
Most DAMS these days use AI to automatically add meaningful metadata. The DAM recognises the file content and adds keywords to describe it – even if you’re bulk uploading 1,000s of assets.
You can also use machine learning to train a DAM to recognise your specific products or people who work for you. This makes the whole process of getting assets into your DAM super fast. This will become an ever-more standard feature of DAM systems.
AI-powered search recommendations
Another area AI will improve is predictive search results. Predictive algorithms analyse user interactions, search patterns, and content usage to provide personalised recommendations. This helps users discover relevant assets faster and put them to work.
Generative AI and DAM
Generative AI will become prevalent in DAM as the technology becomes more reliable. Some DAM systems already include generative AI to edit assets – for example, applying brand treatments to images or videos. A new application will be that users won’t just be able to search for assets by typing in keywords, they’ll be able to create them using AI.
Digital Asset Management Glossary
Here’s a round-up of key DAM terminology used in this guide to Digital Asset Management.
Access Controls – Mechanism restricting user access to digital assets based on permissions.
Audit Trail – Record of user actions within a DAM system for accountability.
Cloud DAM – Digital Asset Management hosted on cloud servers for accessibility.
Customization –Tailoring DAM system features to meet specific organisational needs.
Data Sovereignty – Control and management of digital asset data based on geographic location.
Generative AI –Type of Artificial Intelligence that creates new visual and text content.
Governance – Policies regulating digital asset creation, modification, and usage.
Headless DAM – DAM that is decoupled from a front-end interface.
Hybrid DAM – Blend of on-premises and cloud-based DAM hosting for flexibility.
Integrations–Seamless connectivity between DAM system and other software applications.
Machine Learning–Enables DAM to learn and improve through experience.
Metadata –Descriptive information associated with digital assets for organisation and searchability.
On-Premises DAM – Local hosting of DAM system infrastructure for maximum control.
Optimisation –Continuous improvement and refinement of DAM system performance.
Permissions –Authorisations defining user rights and actions within a DAM system.
ROI – Measure of financial gains resulting from DAM implementation.
SaaS DAM – DAM provided via the Software-as-a-Service subscription model AKA cloud DAM.
Scalability –Capability of DAM system to handle growing volumes and user needs.
Security –Measures protecting digital assets against unauthorized access or breaches.
Taxonomy –Hierarchical classification system for systematic organisation of digital assets.
User Adoption – Degree to which individuals actively use and embrace the DAM system.
Version Control – Management of different versions of digital assets to ensure consistency.
Success story. How IBM accelerated go-to-market with Papirfly.
Employer Branding
How to make your employer branding work for your business in 2024
Papirfly
5minutes read
Where have we come from with employer branding?
The last year has seen huge development and investment in employer branding from large, global companies seeking to improve company culture and provide a positive and inspiring place to work. There are some key trends we have seen develop across the last year which employer branding teams need to consider moving into 2024.
Using AI solutions to enhance your employer brand
We can’t ignore the existence of AI and it’s now commonplace for companies to use ChatGPT to develop their content, for example. However, over the past year we have also seen corporates put in place policies to ensure that there is always a human input to their content: it needs a human touch to edit and sense-check, as well as to add the local element to the words and imagery.
However, you can now use AI to edit videos, add subtitles, colour correct imagery and so on. The list is only going to grow, so in order to enhance your employer brand, it’s vital that comms and marketing teams stay on top of the trends.
How digital asset management can improve your employer branding. People buy from people, and now we are in a post-pandemic world, we need to get back into the field and show people working day-to-day for your company. Not only this, but also in-person video, instead of remotely-recorded video, is on the rise so it’s time to showcase your staff in an interactive way again. Company culture videos are proving popular as businesses become more aware of the value of employer branding.
Social media tactics for your employer brand
Social media continues to develop at pace and as communicators we need to stay on top of the trends, such as the rise of X and TikTok. For large corporates, LinkedIn posts from senior leaders are becoming incredibly popular and successful. This goes hand-in-hand with brand ambassadors – where employees promote the brand themselves on social – to build a strong voice for the brand. In fact, companies are 58% more likely to attract talent if they have a successful employer branding programme, which covers both universal themes and localised messages.
Key employer branding trends for 2024
Follow these top tips to ensure that your employer brand works for you this year.
Putting company culture first
Looking ahead to the coming year, we would expect to see a growing focus on health and wellbeing of staff. Gen Z in particular are very vocal on social media and will soon call out companies that are missing the mark in this field. Employees are increasingly looking for a good company culture and one that nurtures its staff as mental ill health is a growing problem in society; 77% of employees on Glassdoor said they would look at company culture before applying for a job.
Improve your EVP
So companies need to look to the core and ensure that the work their staff are doing is not detrimental to their health and that they have good policies in place to protect them. Generous annual leave, sick pay, employee assistance programmes and so on are all bread and butter now. Going above and beyond, we see companies developing webinars to support perimenopause and menopause, wellness days, volunteering and yoga sessions. The whole package of support is increasingly important as burnout becomes so damaging to a career and also a business.
Enhance your employer image
This coming year is also the time to develop the leadership narrative further. As we mentioned, leaders are becoming visible on platforms like LinkedIn and this is only going to be more necessary. And while they are venturing into the social world more, it’s important they remain authentic – so those crafting the messages need to pay attention to the tone of voice and audience. It’s important to come across as engaging and relevant, whilst maintaining the authoritative voice of a leader.
Develop your brand ambassadors
Frontline staff are also becoming more visible and rightly so. With AI, video and interactive content coming to the fore, it’s possible to get their voice heard and internal comms are focusing on those key workers. Events to celebrate them, such as awards are being used and global webinars and townhalls are making a comeback post-pandemic. In general, companies are keen to have deeper discussions and involve staff from all levels of the business, in a two-way communications process.
Focus on your employer branding strategy
Brand ambassadors also support the rise in recognition of your employer branding. Employees need to understand and engage with the business in order to promote it, and when they do it’s a win-win as they learn more about the company, whilst prospective candidates do too. This makes ensuring you have the most effective employer brand management solutions to articulate what your brand is about – both in values and overall identity – all the more essential.
AI in employer branding
And as we began with AI, so we will conclude – it’s a necessary strategy to develop your AI usage throughout the business and employer branding is no exception. For 2024, the key thing will be to empower and hire staff to be able to use the tools to your advantage. We will always need the human touch, especially in employer branding, as there is a need to have an authentic voice. But AI can do the legwork.
Build positive brand perception from the inside out
There has never been a more important time to invest in your employer brand. No matter how successful it is, the attitudes of employees and prospective talent can switch at any time, and it’s important you have processes, tools and skills in place to respond.
With a brand management platform, you have a centralised portal of all recruitment and brand assets, which teams can edit, share or even create from scratch. Digital, print, video, social, email. Everything you need to keep your employer brand front and centre.
Curious to learn how multinational software corporation SAP, successfully activates localised employer branding across 70 countries and 110,000 employees worldwide? Join our exclusive webinar on Wednesday 31st January. Register here.
Why responsible AI adoption matters for your brand’s reputation
Papirfly
5minutes read
Every week, new AI tools and use cases hit the market. For branding and marketing teams, this can be an exciting prospect, as new ways to work and collaborate are discovered, leading to dramatic time and cost savings and turbocharged creative capacities.
At the same time, however, the rush to invest in or use free online AI solutions can backfire if care isn’t taken, with potentially huge consequences for teams and their businesses.
Amongst the new AI tools on the market, Generative AI (GenAI) is particularly important for brand marketing. As with the popular ChatGPT and Midjourney tools, GenAI allows users to describe tasks and let powerful computers get on with generating outcomes.
These could be AI generated images and brand assets, customer support messages, or new campaign ideas.
A survey of communications professionals found that, while almost 86% were optimistic about the potential of AI, 85% were also concerned about the legal and ethical issues.
Over the coming years, how companies use their AI tools will have a direct impact on their reputation, how much customers trust them, and how markets treat them.
Modern brands should be aiming to use these new technologies to create real value for customers, businesses and society. It starts with knowledge, understanding, and careful planning.
Establishing trust in uncertain times
Customer trust has long been understood to be at the core of successful branding. As consumers we simply like to spend our money with brands that we believe in. Research also shows that customers who trust a brand are three times as likely to forgive product or service mistakes.
When it comes to adopting AI tools, it’s therefore important to ask yourself the question – is our company using AI in a way that builds customer trust? Or could our choices be doing the opposite?
Sparebank found this out the hard way, when it came to light that the Norwegian bank had used an AI generated image without being labelled as such.
This broke legislation on misleading marketing, which requires that subjects used in ads be real users of the product or service. It also potentially contravened Norwegian regulations on image manipulation, which require that images that have been airbrushed or edited are clearly marked in order to reduce pressure that could lead to shame or body dysmorphia.
The result was a media storm, in which Sparebank were forced to publicly admit their mistake and promise to take more responsibility in future.
The lesson? New capacities created by AI tools might seem great on paper, saving time and money and helping to bring new creative ideas to life. However, if they contravene legislation or prevailing social norms, the best intentions can quickly backfire.
Respecting privacy with AI technologies
How many people are currently using ChatGPT at work, unaware that information entered into its prompt box is technically in the public domain?
With most companies building their AI tools on the back of third-party machine learning algorithms, complex issues are raised around data protection and privacy. Without proper assessment and training, well-meaning employees may end up breaching GDPR and other data-protection regulations without realising.
Until regulators and legislators catch up with AI technologies and provide clear and unambiguous guidelines, this is a potential minefield for brand reputation.
Companies need to take care not to intrude into their customer and employee’s private lives in ways that overstep reasonable boundaries.
Consider that, as tools get more powerful, brands will be able to advertise and persuade us with increasingly subtle and powerful strategies. Where is the line drawn between personalised, data-driven marketing and outright manipulation?
Or consider that there is at least one AI wellbeing tool in development that purports to allow companies to track productivity alongside employee wellbeing. All good – but what if the algorithm shows that employee productivity drops beyond a certain degree of wellbeing?
These might be speculations, but they could very soon become realities. As the famous theorist Paul Virilio once remarked, “the invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck.”
Companies need to tread carefully to ensure that good intentions don’t accidentally lead to intrusive or manipulative practices, which, once publicly exposed, will meet with an understandable and expected backlash.
Implementing ethical AI solutions
With all this said, what can companies do to minimise the risk and maximise the value that AI can contribute to customers, employees, and society?
We can begin with a simple principle of humility. Despite our best attempts to guess, no-one knows for certain what the impact of AI will be. As we saw with Sparebank, what likely began as a reasonable business intention – “let’s use these new tools to save time and money” – quickly turned into a public scandal.
Sparebank quickly admitted it got it wrong, which may in the long run work to its favour. In times of uncertainty and change, transparency and honesty go a long way towards (re)building trust.
Brand teams should keep this in mind. Over the coming years, more companies are likely to have their reputations tested as they experiment with AI technologies. The most successful will find ways to innovate, while maintaining respect for their customers and sensitivity to when ethical lines are crossed.
Creating an ethical charter is one way that companies can ensure their intentions are aligned with positive societal outcomes. An ethical charter defines clear values for how AI should be used, providing a framework for decision making when boundaries get murky and regulations aren’t much use.
Be a good corporate citizen when it comes to the rightful privacy of our users
Ensure we act in an unbiased manner – always – as we’d expect to be treated too
Build in the highest level of explainability possible, because output is important
Overall, our task is simple – we must build technology that is designed to do good
Within each of these principles are further specific guidelines for how AI should be built and used within our business.
Naturally, ethical charters will vary from company to company to reflect their specific needs and markets. The aim should be to create a strong company culture, laying the foundations for ethical decision making and a reputation that customers can always trust.
Towards an AI powered future
Artificial intelligence depends on responsible humans making clear decisions within strong ethical frameworks.
To learn about how Papirfly is ethically innovating the challenges of branding and AI, check out these links.
At Papirfly, we are committed to using AI to enhance every user’s experience, all while continuing to empower the world’s biggest brands with our all-in-one brand management platform.
Learn about how Papirfly is ethically innovating the challenges of branding and AI.
BOOsting brand consistency in your Halloween marketing
Papirfly
6minutes read
Something wicked this way comes. While Halloween is a thrilling time for marketers to get into the spooky spirit of the season to frighten and delight their customers, an ever-lurking fear lies behind every door in branding and marketing departments – how can our marketing stand out while not compromising brand identity?
Creating a Halloween marketing campaign can feel like walking through a haunted house – you’re excited when you step through the door but constantly waiting for something to jump out at you. In some ways, a brand at Halloween is just like a party costume – you can tell the meticulous planners when people have been busy preparing for weeks or when someone has simply ‘thrown on a cobweb’ to look the part.
In this article, grab a shovel and dig up some insights to consider, as you cast the perfect spell to unleash your teams’ creativity while staying on-brand – and a reminder to give every location the bag of tricks to help support global brand consistency on your next creepy campaign.
The magic spell of brand guidelines
Any go-to-market campaign hinges on collaboration, especially when seasonal events, such as Halloween, mean getting playful within the limits of your brand guidelines. Your brand must still stay intact, so your in-house design team or external agency need to investigate this mystery with you – and figure out how you can play to your super-strengths.
Achieving synergy across everything that makes up your core brand identity – colours, tone of voice, logos, assets and more – is essential to maintain recognition and increase engagement. Every brand is different, so considering each one of these essential ingredients is key to casting the perfect spell.
Beware of brand colour transformations
Your logo is the most important of your brand assets. It’s the visual cue that sparks instant recognition with your audience, and could be considered the most potent ingredient in your brand identity’s potion to enchant your customers. Misusing or making too many drastic changes might scare away the chance for brand recognition, leaving you haunted by a campaign that didn’t quite create the magical results you were after.
While it can be tempting to change your logo with seasonal imagery and a different colour palette – orange and black being the obvious choice – you need to make sure that it’s suitable for your brand identity and tone of voice. Google, for example, can go ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, and transform with ease. Complementary adjustments can be made to the website logo with significant effect, as it’s actually part of the tech giant’s playful brand identity to change with the seasons – an event in itself.
Meanwhile other brands can protect their frightening strong status as they play with their brand reputation. Marmite, for example, is known for having an acquired taste. The savoury UK food spread, based on its distinctive yeast extract flavour, famously plays with its ‘Love it or hate it’ slogan – making it the perfect ‘Trick or Treat’ product.
Bringing in new colours for its limited edition Halloween packaging, its iconic logo of white letters on red and jar-and-lid’s yellow and black colour scheme offer a playful way to go-to-market during the spooky season.
No matter what you and your creepy and collaborative team decide, make sure everyone working on your brand knows what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. Providing essential brand assets to all marketing teams and partners can ensure people are empowered to bring your brand to life in a new way at Halloween – without feeling it’s been put together like Frankenstein’s monster. Create brand consistency all year round and put the picture of your brand together so your teams can animate and activate it everywhere.
Be frighteningly good with your brand’s reputation
Your dream Halloween campaign can be a nightmare if you do not stay on-brand and consistent during your campaigns. In order for the aspects of your brand identity to agree to “stay close and don’t split up” you need to know how customers perceive your brand – carefully selecting the right tone and language for your campaign that compliment your products or services to have a hypnotic effect on your audience.
Of course, product name changes are all the rage at this time of year. ‘Boo-scotch’ M&M’s. ‘Scream’ Ice Cream from Ben & Jerry. Starbucks’ ‘Frappula Frappuccino’. All delightfully dark, while other wordplay like ‘Trick or treat yourself’ and ‘Fangtastic savings’ are used by many online and high street brands.
Big brands’ marketing departments love to hear screams of delight from their customers at this time of year. So much so, customers can eagerly await to see what new tricks the marketing magicians behind some of the world’s most famous names will do each year – and we are often delighted by the surprises they have in store.
In fact, some iconic brands use minimal wordplay as they really know how to use the right imagery to awaken the spirit of their product:
It’s clear when brands have considered all aspects of their brand identity to deliver amazing assets at Halloween. Whatever’s being cooked up in the creative cauldron, make sure all digital assets are in one place – so every team can take away the breath of their audience.
Avoid facing a cultural nuance nightmare
Each region your brand operates in may do Halloween differently. With Halloween culture, stories and themes must speak to local tastes. While one nation may embrace particular Hollywood horror characters, others may conjure up more of a witchcraft and wizardry atmosphere.
Of course, it’s important to be aware which countries do something different to Halloween too and to not assume your global creative ideas will work everywhere. For example, in Latin America, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a celebration of life and death and not a cultural ‘version’ of Halloween – besides, they are celebrated on different days, with the region seeing Halloween as more for children than the wider culture. It matters to make sure you know your audience and prepare your teams to speak to them seasonally in their own way.
Fanta Misterio was a bewitching blend from Coca Cola that managed to walk between the two worlds in the runup to both celebrations. Playing on words like ‘fantasma’ – the word for ‘ghost’ in Spanish – shows the wisdom of the Fanta brand to balance global identity with regional resonance, to enchant audiences with spooky puns wherever they are.
Your global campaign must be able to speak to its audience locally, or teams must create different campaigns that appeal to the nuances (and nightmares) of their neighbourhood.
Empowering teams to create unlimited customisable assets in their own language, or adding specific elements only locals would appreciate, can mean everyone can get some sleep knowing the brand is safe and sound. Not having such solutions, and leaving teams to use free online tools that won’t align marketing materials to brand guidelines, could be the thing that goes bump in your bottom line.
Let brand consistency lift your spirits
While crafting Halloween marketing materials may seem like a terrifying task, remember that having a smart creative team, with tools at your disposal to make sure the horror of diluting your brand never sees the light of day, can make this a frighteningly fun time of year for marketing teams and customers.
If you’ve been haunted by the realisation that you weren’t fully prepared this year, see how our brand management platform can empower your team to efficiently activate your brand in every location, and for every seasonal event – so get set for a fiendishly delightful Halloween, year after year.
A Digital Asset Management system (DAM) shouldn’t be complicated – it’s a single source of truth across your organisation, and so should be simple to search and share all official on-brand assets.
With a little preparation and planning, your organisation should quickly see the benefits of DAM, when you discover a solution which saves time, improves your ability to create and share digital assets, and enables consistently high-quality customer experiences.
In this article, we will introduce you to what you need to consider before investing in, and implementing, DAM software.
1. Understand why you need a digital asset management system
Before you start the process of acquiring and setting up a DAM system, you need to carefully consider why you need it.
It’s important that you take the time to think through your DAM challenges and needs, as these will influence your investment. If you cut corners here, you could end up with an inefficient and ineffective solution – just a shiny new object that makes up part of an expensive wider ecosystem, consuming resources without saving time or improving brand asset management.
Once you have a clear picture of why you need a DAM solution, you should do a thorough analysis to establish what the best outcome would be. Consider questions like:
Does this system help us reach our project goals?
Does this system meet our expectations?
How does this fit with the rest of my tech stack?
How do we ensure the system has long-term sustainability?
How do we ensure the implementation goes smoothly?
2. Establish a proper DAM team
Just as important is making sure you have the right people collaborating. It takes a dedicated team with knowledge and input from multiple departments to implement a strong Digital Asset Management solution.
The team must have ownership of the DAM system from start to finish, setting them up for long-term commitment. For the best outcome, it’s recommended to include colleagues from across your organisation’s production and service operations, to ensure you cover a wide range of expertise.
The team should consist of:
DAM initiative leader
DAM librarians
DAM infrastructure lead
Project manager
Project steering group
3. Use existing data and digital content
Don’t make the mistake of testing with a “dummy” system. Use your actual data, brand assets and creative files throughout the entire process. If you don’t, you’ll risk building a DAM solution that overlooks critical functionality and workflow needs.
Real data and content gives you the full picture and helps you make the right decisions without making assumptions.
The following questions will help you to build a system that will offer the full benefits of DAM:
Does the system take the file formats we are using?
Can the system handle our file sizes?
Does the system perform seamlessly with other products?
What data is being transferred from the current to the new system?
How is the data being transferred?
4. Learn the DAM system early
Your DAM system should serve as a digital library for your brand. Having good knowledge of how a DAM platform should work, and how your specific asset management software will look and function, will prepare you to ask the right questions and perform better analyses during the build process. This means making sure your chosen vendor has an excellent Customer Success team to support you.
The DAM team and investment managers should aim to create a system that offers value from the moment it is launched. By learning how a Digital Asset Management platform should work, you’ll be better project owners, making it easier to get the most out of your DAM software over time. As with anything, knowledge drives optimisation.
5. Prepare thoroughly
It bears emphasising – don’t just copy your existing workflows and structures. Take the opportunity to properly analyse how you are producing and storing marketing materials, and evaluate if anything needs reform.
A great DAM solution should meet your company’s present needs and expectations as well as its future aspirations. Upgrading your tech stack without improving your processes and workflows will likely result in increased costs and confused employees, without saving time or increasing efficiency.
Make your investment count and set yourself up for success by creating a system that reflects your initial intentions. The goal should be a tangible improvement in how creative files and brand assets are being used across the organisation.
The following checklist will help you prepare and optimise your DAM system implementation:
Can we streamline our workflows?
Can we eliminate tasks that don’t add value?
Can we connect the DAM to key branding and marketing operations?
Can we remove bottlenecks?
Can we establish a sustainable system for our organisation?
6. Think again about customisations
Only customise your DAM software if strictly necessary. Any customisation can increase the likelihood of software bugs, slow down performance, and may make the system less user-friendly.
The more generic your system is, the better it will perform over the long run. Trust your DAM solution provider’s expertise to set up a system that is optimal for your organisation. Simplicity reduces maintenance costs further down the line.
7. Implement step-by-step
Plan and implement effective project management. Dividing your project into phases and implementing them one at a time will ensure you have control of the entire process.
By working step-by-step on your Digital Asset Management solution, you can identify issues or unexpected results as they arise and address them before you proceed to the next phase. The risks of project overwhelm, and of wasting resources on firefighting, are minimised.
Gradually introducing your DAM software to select users in a timely and controlled manner also allows you to handle the training properly. It enables you to see how the system will work when complete, and gives you opportunities to improve your training as you go.
Digital Asset Management with Papirfly
At the centre of Papirfly’s all-in-one brand management platform is a powerful, cloud-based DAM system called Place – a powerful single source of truth for your brand management needs. It expands on the traditional functionality of a DAM as it works with a seamless UI across our product suite. With your own brand portal educating your people on brand guidelines, as well as on-brand design templates that means you can ensure your DAM is at the heart of digital content creation, and your teams achieve total brand consistency every time.
Curious to see the value our DAM as part of our brand management platform can add to your organisation? Book a demo with us to see how you can empower your people to unleash your brand.
Gå ikke glipp av en faglig ettermiddag i Oslo med eksperter fra Statkraft, Kantar og Papirfly! Start høsten med inspirasjon og konkrete tips til å bygge en sterkere merkevare. Etter faglig påfyll blir det mingling og noe godt i glasset.
