What you need to know about Media Asset Management

While marketing strategies vary by company size or industry, they likely have one thing in common: a lot of content.

Every stage of the customer journey is powered by marketing content — from digital ads and social media posts to web pages and nurture emails. And if all the related workflows are going to run smoothly, all of the supporting assets need to be organized effectively.

That’s where media asset management comes in. Let’s take a look at this practice and how media asset management software can help teams achieve their content goals.

What is media asset management?

Media asset management (MAM) is the process of organizing assets for successful storage, retrieval, and distribution across the content lifecycle.

This includes any visual, audio, written, or interactive piece of content that supports a marketing goal. The list of possible marketing assets is long and can include:

• E-books
• Whitepapers
• Customer stories
• Reports and guides
• Infographics
• Webinars
• Explainer videos
• Product demos 
• Podcasts
• And more!

In addition, all of these assets are produced with the help of many smaller creative elements, like images and graphics. The volume of these files grows exponentially…after all, one photoshoot alone can result in hundreds of images. 

And if teams don’t have a centralized repository for their assets, finding a specific file requires a tedious search across shared drives, hard drives, and other devices — which can prove impossible without knowing the filename. Audio and video files can be particularly challenging to manage not only because they tend to be large but also because they are difficult to quickly scan. Sometimes files simply can’t be found and have to be recreated. 

This content chaos all adds up to a lot of wasted time and resources…and frustration. 

MAM software addresses this problem by providing teams with a single, searchable repository to store and organize all creative files — making asset retrieval a breeze.

How is media asset management software used?

While content management is important for all kinds of teams, MAM focuses on marketing assets and workflows. And the benefits of MAM are numerous — let’s explore some through common use cases.

Distributed marketing teams, one brand

It takes a village to bring a marketing strategy to life, and that village often includes  numerous regional offices, remote workers, contracted agencies, and external partners. And all of these content creators and communicators need to be working towards a unified brand experience.

MAM software makes global brand management possible by providing a centralized platform to store and manage files, including brand guidelines and standards. So not only are dispersed team members working from the same playbook, but they are also using the same brand-approved assets — helping to ensure consistency across customer touchpoints.

Ease of use, powered by metadata

Marketing assets are central to workflows across an organization. For example, sales reps need current product materials for deal advancement and customer success managers use the same assets to support and educate existing customers. Their ability to work with agility depends on having these resources at their fingertips.

MAM software includes flexible metadata capabilities that power robust search tools, allowing users to locate an asset with just a few clicks — even in a repository of tens of thousands of files. Further, because MAM software offers easy-to-use versioning capabilities, users can be confident that assets are current. This efficiency accelerates workflows and fuels revenue growth.

Integrated systems and automated processes

A modern marketing technology (martech) stack includes numerous platforms to store, produce, and publish content, many of which include their own asset libraries.

By positioning a MAM system as the central source of truth for all content, teams can simplify content management and consolidate redundant tools. Powerful APIs and out-of-the-box connectors automate the flow of content from a MAM platform to other systems to ensure the same assets are used across digital destinations, without the need for manual updates across the content supply chain.

What are media asset management software options?

Organizations shopping for a MAM platform have an abundance of choices to consider.  A simple search for “media asset management” on G2 — a large, online software marketplace — lists 82 products!

All of these platforms have big things in common. For example, most, if not all, are software as a service (SaaS) solutions in the cloud (versus on-premise software that is installed locally). 

However, the specific features that each vendor offers can vary quite a bit. So the first step in any MAM software search is to clearly understand and outline the functionality needed for your unique workflows. 

From there, you can really begin your research in earnest — or even start drafting a request for proposal (RFP). 

The difference between MAM and DAM

In today’s enormous martech landscape media asset management overlaps with several other disciplines, including digital asset management (DAM). 

While these two solution categories are similar (in name and practice), there are key differences. 

DAM refers to the business process of storing and organizing all types of content across a company. This could mean files from the finance department, legal team, human resources, or other business units. 

MAM, on the other hand, really focuses on assets that the marketing department requires, including large video and audio files.

So finding the solution that’s right for your team really starts with clarifying your functionality needs, including the types of files you want to store in your system and how you need to manage and distribute them.

Successful technology selection, with AVP

Is a MAM or DAM platform right for your organization? Further, which vendor is the best match for your marketing goals? While answering these questions can be hard, we can help.

AVP’s consultants have worked with hundreds of organizations to select the software partner that best fits their workflow and technology needs. If you’re dealing with content chaos, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact us to learn more about AVP Select — and how we can work together to achieve your content management goals, faster.

Foolproofing Your DAM Implementation: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Implementing a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system can feel like navigating a minefield. Many organizations jump into the implementation process without fully preparing, leading to potential disasters. This blog explores common blind spots and horror stories from the field, aiming to help you avoid these pitfalls and achieve a successful DAM implementation.

Understanding the Risks

The journey of implementing a DAM system often involves blind spots that can derail progress. By examining real-life examples, we can learn to sidestep these issues effectively.

1. Strategic Oversight

A few years ago, an organization reached out after spending two years on a DAM system that had yet to launch. Leadership was losing faith, and pressure to speed things up was mounting. When asked about their challenges, the response was vague: “We don’t have a DAM system.”

This response highlights a critical oversight. The absence of a DAM system isn’t the real issue; it’s a symptom of underlying problems like asset discovery difficulties, approval challenges, and brand inconsistency. To avoid such strategic oversight, organizations must:

• Clearly articulate the problems: Identify specific issues that a DAM system will address.
• Establish priority goals: Focus on the most critical needs first, such as improving asset retrieval and reducing licensing risks.
• Define a realistic scope: Avoid the trap of trying to include everything at once. Instead, launch with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that can evolve over time.

2. Operational Gaps

Another common horror story involves a business unit within a larger organization that was tasked with implementing an Enterprise DAM solution. After months of configuration, they faced a crisis when the designated DAM manager’s contract wasn’t renewed. The team decided to share administrative responsibilities among busy creatives with no DAM experience.

This situation illustrates a significant operational gap. When everyone is responsible, no one is truly accountable. To mitigate this risk, ensure that:

• Dedicated roles are established: Appoint a DAM program manager and other key roles to oversee operations.
• Clear governance is set up: Define who makes decisions, both strategic and tactical, to avoid delays and confusion.
• Consistency in standards is maintained: Implement uniform practices for asset management and metadata to prevent chaos.

3. Adoption Shortfalls

The final horror story revolves around an organization that launched its DAM system but found that no one was using it. Users preferred to request assets directly rather than navigate the new system. Upon investigation, it became clear that the system had been designed with only the DAM manager’s preferences in mind.

This scenario underscores the importance of user-centric design. To avoid adoption shortfalls, organizations should:

• Conduct user research: Understand the needs and use cases of different user groups before configuring the system.
• Plan for an excellent user experience: Ensure that the system is intuitive, with relevant metadata and easy navigation.
• Implement change management early: Communicate the purpose of the DAM system and provide adequate training, beyond just a one-hour session.

Conclusion

While implementing a DAM system can be fraught with challenges, learning from others’ experiences can help you navigate the process more smoothly. By addressing strategic oversight, operational gaps, and adoption shortfalls, you can set your organization up for success. Remember, a well-prepared implementation leads to a DAM system that meets the needs of all users and delivers the value your organization seeks.

Stay vigilant, prioritize effectively, and ensure that your DAM implementation becomes a valuable asset rather than a cautionary tale.