What Are the Types of Digital Asset Management?

What Does a Digital Asset Management Do?

A digital asset management (DAM) solution provides a centralized system for all digital assets, including images, videos, documents, and more. The digital asset management software allows you to store, manage, and share digital files with the entire organization. Centralizing all digital assets is particularly helpful for marketing departments that must access, manage, and distribute assets to various teams and partners.

Why Businesses Need Digital Asset Management

By centralizing all assets, marketing teams can quickly find and utilize the files they need without the time-consuming process of searching through disorganized folders or requesting files from other team members.

The process ensures consistency and coherence throughout every marketing campaign. The most current versions of assets are readily available for use at any time.

The accessibility of a DAM extends beyond the marketing team. It becomes a shared resource across multiple departments, facilitating collaborative efforts and ensuring everyone can access the same updated materials.

A DAM system provides a streamlined way to share relevant assets with external partners, such as agencies and channel partners. Workflows are streamlined, fostering a smoother collaborative environment.

This sharing capability is instrumental in speeding up go-to-market strategies and maintaining brand consistency across various channels and platforms.

What Are Examples of Digital Assets?

Digital assets are the linchpins that bind marketing efforts with customer experience. Engaging product images, instructive how-to videos, detailed owner’s manuals, troubleshooting assistance videos, and informative product data sheets are all types of digital assets marketers utilize.

Each marketing initiative may consist of several individual digital assets. For example, an instructional how-to video may include digital assets such as voice-overs, animations, and on-screen graphics.

As marketing methods change, so does the size of digital assets. When digital marketing first began, all that was needed was simple text and image files. Now, the industry has adapted to include high-resolution images, product videos, and other rich media. Digital assets have exploded in recent years, making a DAM system essential for managing and organizing these files.

A well-structured DAM system safeguards these assets and streamlines access and distribution. It allows for quick content discovery, version control, and rights management, foundational for upholding a brand's integrity.

By organizing their digital assets, companies can ensure that quality information is shared consistently across all platforms. The result enhances the impact of marketing efforts and supports strategic business objectives.

What Are the Types of Digital Asset Management?

For manufacturing marketers, selecting the right DAM solution is a decision that can significantly influence the process of marketing operations. With a myriad of options available, understanding the types of DAM systems and their respective capabilities is critical for success.

Standalone DAM Systems

Digital asset management examples include solutions like Adobe, Canto, Bynder, and Brandfolder. These digital asset management platforms excel in asset management, offering robust storage, organization, and retrieval capabilities.

However, these top digital asset management systems often require additional integration with third-party solutions or assistance from agencies and developers to facilitate end-to-end digital experiences.

Adobe, for example, has comprehensive features for digital asset management, but using the software takes significant training. It also comes with a high price tag, making it a better fit for larger organizations with more resources.

If your team wants to create digital experiences from the assets you have stored in your DAM, you'll need to hire another party to develop and implement them into your current system. This will include further financial investment and time for go-to-market strategies.

Lumavate’s Integrated DAM, PIM, and DXP Solution

Lumavate, a platform combining digital asset management functionality with Product Information Management (PIM), and a Digital Experience Platform (DXP), is on the other side of the Digital Asset Management tools spectrum.

This integration means users benefit from a seamless connection between managing digital assets and creating compelling digital experiences. Lumavate's system allows digital assets to be quickly associated with product records in only a few clicks, making it easy to enrich product information with relevant media.

The platform facilitates using these assets in digital experiences that can be built and launched without technical resources. The streamlined process provided by Lumavate removes complexities and reduces the time-to-market for marketing initiatives.

The result is an all-in-one solution for manufacturers looking to increase their digital presence.

What Does a Digital Asset Manager Do?

A digital asset manager plays a critical role in facilitating and optimizing the DAM system. This professional is the custodian of the digital vault, overseeing the DAM solution's infrastructure and ensuring that assets are stored, organized, and retrievable in a manner all stakeholders can use.

The digital asset manager job description includes the responsibility for ensuring content in the DAM may be distributed among various team members. The manager holds accountability for the platform's overall state and offers solutions when the DAM is malfunctioning. This includes establishing protocols, granting appropriate access levels, and maintaining the integrity of the asset database.

The role usually falls under the marketing department's umbrella, where the curated digital assets directly serve the creation of marketing materials. The digital asset manager empowers teams to leverage these valuable assets, driving brand consistency and accelerating project workflows.