Content Enterprise Management Technologies

This is the tenth and final video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Jason Barinaga, Manager of eCommerce Initiatives, at Oceania Cruises, Inc. In this video, Jason talks about the multi-site branding available with the Widen digital asset management system. Widen DAM serves as a dual solution used by Oceania Cruises and their sister company—Regent Seven Seas. Oceania Cruises has a niche between the premium and luxury cruise lines where they offer a luxury experience at premium pricing. Regent Seven Seas is a luxury cruise line that is a little more upscale. Each brand has two different catalogs of digital assets partitioned into a Regent side and an Oceania Cruises side. If a user enters through the Regent travel agent center they automatically see all resources from Regent and the same applies to travel agents seeking brand assets from Oceania Cruises. Widen’s ability to have multiple skins for the same digital content management system was instrumental because it satisfied the needs of two different companies. Watch the video to learn more about using digital asset management for multiple brands.

I’ll be the first to admit… Digital Asset Management is not that sexy. As a marketing guy, it’s hard to get excited about databases. However, the content stored in a DAM system is another story… Of all the content types, digital assets—particularly images and videos—got to be the sexiest! Consider the growth and popularity of online video... Gartner Predicts 25% of content in the workforce to be images, audio or video by 2013.

I understand… you have a limited marketing budget so you’d rather spend that budget on things like social media, search engine optimization, video players and other “cool things.” Isn’t that convenient… Digital Asset Management is the backbone of your marketing efforts because it allows you to better find, manage and repurpose these assets that are the lifeblood of your marketing and promotion campaigns. Social media, digital asset optimization, and video marketing programs all use digital assets as a core part of the marketing message.

If you’re not sure you need DAM, then you may want to read my last post (Why we don’t need DAM…). I apologize for the overabundant use of sarcasm. Yes, small to medium-sized businesses need DAM just as much as marketing teams at Fortune 500 enterprises. And yes, there are still mid-market digital asset management solutions out there… few and far between… but they’re out there.

Step 1 – Admit you have a DAM problem. Step 2 – Seek help.

Now, more on making the case for digital asset management software in your marketing operations. Reference the recent eMarketer article “Marketers Buzz About ROI” that discusses the Marketing priorities for 2010. Many US marketing executives were planning to increase budgets this year as they were much more optimistic about the economic outlook in February 2010 than in 2009 when the recession was in full swing. However, that doesn’t come without scrutiny because the number one priority is focusing on ROI.

Priority #1: Increase Marketing Return on Investment —according to the “Marketing Trends Report 2010” from Anderson Analytics and the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG).



Priority #1 as it relates to DAM—explained. You’ve made investments in the creation of digital media—photo shoots, retouching, video shoots, editing, stock and rights-managed photography purchases, etc. You’ve made investments in assembling the destination points for your digital media—websites, blogs, social networks, advertising, promotions and print. Now, it’s time to invest in a digital asset management product that will help you realize a maximum return on those investments by getting greater use out of your digital assets. DAM tools make those assets easy to find, distribute, reuse and repurpose while also allowing you to track, compare and measure their value.

Priority #2, 3, 4 & 5 will be introduced and explained in later posts. However, point 3 and 5 deal with brand loyalty and branding—another reason why companies invest in DAM technologies.

Focus on Marketing ROI – Reference the 2009 AberdeenGroup DAM Benchmark Report. Best-In-Class companies are using Digital Asset Management systems to improve efficiency, increase brand consistency and improve return on marketing investments. See the key charts from the report in the blog post for “The Marketers Guide to Justifying Investments in Digital Asset Management.”

AberdeenGroup found that best-in-class companies centralizing access to digital assets are two times more likely to use a DAM system for the marketing functions. These same best-in-class companies reported a 23% year over year reduction in time to market and an 18% increase in average return on marketing investments. On the other hand, time to market increased by 11% for DAM laggards and average return on marketing investment fell by 17%.


Download the whitepaper "Why Digital Asset Management Should Be Your First Technology Investment for 2010" to learn more about how DAM adopters achieve substantial return on investment including reducing time to market, improving the performance of marketing campaigns, reducing marketing costs and improving brand consistency.

The Bottom Line

DAM is not all that sexy, but you can’t ignore the fact that you need it to power your marketing operations and improve marketing ROI. In today’s distributed marketing environment, shared drives, FTP, CDs/DVDs and tape libraries won’t cut it. Your marketing partners need instant access to your digital assets and you must be able to find, reuse and repurpose assets multiple times and in multiple locations. Marketers don’t just rely on one channel anymore. We are all multi-channel marketers and publishers.  To do more with less, be a more productive marketer and get more out of the investments in creating and distributing assets, you need an asset management system.

Step 1 – Admit you have a DAM problem. Step 2 – Seek help.

Lucky for you, Widen provides DAM as Software as a Service provider, which means YOU GET HELP. With 100% DAM SaaS, you keep on marketing – no IT resources necessary. SaaS includes: guided implementation, shared best practices, help desk available when you need it, admin and end-user training, promotional support, automatic upgrades, ongoing maintenance and technical support. Learn more about Widen DAM SaaS.

This is the sixth video in the series of Widen customer interviews with Jim Scarlata, Senior Marketing Operations Manager for Knaack LLC. In this segment, Jim talks about the photography and color management capabilities of Widen. Not only does Widen provide DAM software, they provide services to create and manipulate digital assets. During or after a photo shoot, Widen can seamlessly import new photos into the online digital asset library. Widen's history and experience with premedia and color management provides a key advantage in having that knowledge level of the content management and structure of the digital asset management system. 

We had a prospective client share their DAM story with us last week and their needs matched up very closely with what Widen could provide in a hosted Digital Asset Management solution. They needed a central repository for images and videos, easy to use, easy to find assets, multiple levels of control and access, and asset tracking and usage reporting.

However, after learning the Widen online digital asset management solution matched up very well to the needs of this particular client, they came back to us saying that their IT department would only consider solutions installed on-site. Regrettably, Widen is a 100% DAM SaaS provider and delivers web-based DAM solutions where the asset libraries are hosted in Widen’s data center.

Do they want the internet installed too?

I thought it was interesting that this particular client’s IT team would only consider an installed solution since they’ve been unable to maintain the current system. This is something we hear all of the time. Ironically, most of their digital assets – images and videos – end up online. Do they want the internet installed too? If the destination for your digital assets is to be online, then wouldn’t it make sense for the digital asset management solution to be online as well?

A recent Forrester ECM (Enterprise Content Management) report by analyst Stephen Powers shows that more interest was seen in SaaS products (than on-premise or open source), with 43% of the respondents expressing interest in SaaS WCM and 39% in SaaS DAM. “Because content stored in these systems are often public-facing, organizations were less concerned with sharing the content outside the firewall,” reports Powers.

Consider the use and destination of your digital assets in defining your goals and needs with a DAM system. In a large organization with multiple divisions in multiple locations, an installed solution isn’t always the best option. Consider all internal and external users? Will the installed solution be the single point of reference for everyone in the organization? Will everyone adopt the solution or will people still work in the same siloed environments their used to? One of the main goals for deploying a DAM solution should be making it easy for users to access the system, enjoy using it and make it easy to get want they need so they will come back again.

Digital Marketing and Digital Asset Management

Marketers shifting or integrating digital marketing strategies cannot ignore the importance of using DAM solutions to control and distribute approved digital media to authorized users. Digital media consumers demand the same amount of quality and consistency in the content they consume as they would offline media; they just might face more noise with the overabundance in clutter of messages. The brands that deliver quality content, including imagery and interactivity, are those that get noticed and drive brand awareness. Getting noticed in a digital marketing world holds tremendous value because of the opportunities for consumers to engage with marketers and other consumers in two-way communications. In the social web, satisfied consumers can serve as brand advocates whereas dissatisfied consumers can bring a brand down.  

Like Digital Marketing is more cost-effective than traditional marketing channels, Software as a Service (SaaS) DAM is the most cost-effective way to manage digital media assets. 

The explosion of digital content, including diverse content types such as rich media, forces organizations to invest in digital asset management tools to maximize the value of those assets by keeping them in a centralized location accessible for multiple purposes. That centralized location should be a SaaS DAM solution that enables the content to be most easily accessed by those that need it, when they need it. Those that need access to a digital asset library include multiple internal departments, partners, agencies, sales channels, and the media.

What are the Core Benefits of SaaS DAM Over Installed Solutions?

• Speed to implementation inside 30-90 days versus 6-9 months
• Low monthly subscription and minimal startup costs make it easier to budget
• Flexibility, adaptability and scalability to grow and change with client needs

What’s the big deal about DAM SaaS?

A recent Forrester ECM (Enterprise Content Management) report by analyst Stephen Powers shows that more interest was seen in SaaS products (than on-premise or open source), with 43% of the respondents expressing interest in SaaS WCM and 39% in SaaS DAM. “Because content stored in these systems are often public-facing, organizations were less concerned with sharing the content outside the firewall,” reports Powers. That’s a new way of looking at it... (at least for a SaaS provider)!

The content stored in a rich media management system (images, videos, ads, brochures, etc.) was developed with the intention to be public facing at some point in time—oftentimes serving advertising and marketing communications purposes—so it should be easy to access (and control). SaaS DAM solutions make it easy to access digital assets anytime, anywhere while offering the security controls to protect rights and release/expiration dates.

Powers reports other reasons that installed content management solutions often fail or fail to meet expectations include poor content strategy and a lack of IT and business alignment. SaaS solutions make up for that because it is the responsibility of the SaaS provider to share best practices, contribute to content strategy and help manage change in order for the system to survive beyond the implementation phases. Remember, SaaS providers are required to meet the client’s needs every month and repeat it on an ongoing basis in order to earn the ongoing business. Moreover, SaaS solutions cut out much of the internal IT resources necessary to implement and maintain the solution because the IT resources, for the most part, are provided by the SaaS provider.

We continue with another Top 10 list with the top ten Widen Digital Asset Management blog posts of 2009 in the Widen world of Software as a Service, web based DAM, video asset management, content management and structure and other posts dealing with digital asset workflow.


1. Getting to a Digital Asset Management ROI, posted on Friday, August 7, 2009 by Mark Norris (The Next Big SaaS)

2. The Future of Digital Media Management: Being Prepared for the Video Demand, posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 by Matthew Gonnering (Ramblings of a Mad Marketer)

3. Types of Digital Asset Management Systems, posted on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

4. How Widen Software as a Service Applies Digital Asset Management Best Practices, posted on Monday, June 15, 2009 by Matthew Gonnering (Ramblings of a Mad Marketer)

5. What is the best way to store videos in a Digital Asset Management System?, posted on Thursday, July 30, 2009 by Al Falaschi (The Impact of VAM & DAM)

6. Digital Asset Management Best Practices: Focus on Metadata Part II, posted on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Widen Marketing

7. The Marketers Guide to Justifying Investments in Digital Asset Management, posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

8. Understanding the Digital Asset Life Cycle, posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

9. Level of Risk for Digital Asset Management Implementations, posted on Friday, May 15, 2009 by Matthew Gonnering (Ramblings of a Mad Marketer)

10. Video Asset Management In High Demand As Viewership Climbs and Marketers Use More Online Video, posted on Monday, November 2, 2009 by Jake Athey (Marketing Digital Asset Management)

Digital Asset Management has long been the domain of the large enterprise – those companies that have front page stories on Time Magazine or companies whose owners make the Forbes 500 richest list 5 years running. But, is all that changing?

Is the DAM system that we know and love morphing into a tool that is useful to not only the PepsiCo's of the world, but also that little lemonade stand down the street? And more importantly, is DAM software entering the price range of that lemonade stand?

In this multi-part series of blog posts, we’ll look at the growth of DAM in the small- to medium- sized business space… from the why’s to the how’s and everything in between.

This first article, "Not your Grandpa's Digital Asset Management System," focuses on the why, as in "why is DAM growing in popularity among smaller size companies?" What is driving that growth?

Research shows there are four main drivers today in the SMB (small- to medium-sized businesses) space for Digital Asset Management programs:




So the momentum is building… the need is building… But, how is the DAM industry responding to meet this need?

In the next article we’ll look at the DAM industry as a whole and in particular, how it is addressing this growing need.

The growing popularity of video is well documented... There are a number of reports available. They explain the power and attractiveness of using video, specifically in the enterprise environment.

More than 65% of companies are using online video and that number is expected to continue increasing (VideoBloom, 2009). (Remember an earlier post, Gartner Predicts 25 Percent of Content in the Workforce to be Images, Audio or Video by 2013.) Online video is a key method of delivering and consuming information that educates, entertains, and/or inspires in ways that touch emotions static text on a page cannot achieve.

Director of research and design at Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab, Dr. BJ Fogg, writes that for a consumer to make a purchase, it requires a “behavior change.” Fogg’s behavior model talks about the convergence of three things that need to happen for the change to occur – a trigger, ability and a motivation. Motivation is strictly tied to “sensation.” Inherently, video combines the use of more human senses than most other traditional sales and marketing tools. Read more about the reason "why" video use is on the rise in business marketing.

How does that impact Digital Asset Management? Video is a digital asset. As its popularity grows, enterprises will struggle to manage the creation, storage, and distribution of it. Video files are exponentially larger than text documents. Multiple copies of a file in multiple locations use even more storage. Version control is nearly impossible since someone has to remember each file's location and update or renew it when a new one becomes available or when it expires. Plus, there isn’t always an easy way to search for the right video based on the content. Beyond that, an increase in video will also mean an increase in the amount of bandwidth required to serve the video – a requirement that many SMBs struggle with.

We can learn a lot just by looking at trends within Widen’s own organization and DAM software customer base. There are notable increases in not only the number of video assets being added to our DAM systems, but also in the rate of videos added per year. Due to the raw size of high resolution video, the percentage of the overall file size of our DAM taken up by video has grown extensively. Again, the rate of growth per year is also increasing as we choose to use video more and more for marketing, sales and customer service purposes.

From a sales and marketing standpoint, there are dramatic increases in the coverage of video as a topic in many of our sales calls, and in RFPs that we receive. There are a number of factors that are causing these increases. One is the growing popularity of video. Again, this is well documented. In addition, there is the entire social movement. For video, this requires organizations to not only produce video content, but to make it accessible and publish it to as many online video channels as possible.

An often unnoticed factor is the shift in video camcorder technology from “tape” to “tapeless.” Tape has been a crutch for video storage and backup for… well, for forever. With the new tapeless camcorders recording very high resolution files resulting in very large file sizes with no tape to put them on, suddenly, organizations are faced with storing, securing, backing up, and distributing files that are ten times the size of the files they are familiar with managing. And remember, it is GROWING!

Bottom line, the increasing demand for video will place demands on DAM software and digital asset hosting providers to make sure that video is handled seamlessly alongside all other assets.


Stats on video usage from VideoBloom's VIEW Index (Video-Enabled Web Index):
100 Web Sites Surveyed

In August of 2009, the VIEW main index for the 100 surveyed companies was 30-75-25, which indicates that 30% of the companies had video on their home page, 75% had video on their site, and 25% didn't use any video on their Web site.

• 41% of the 100 surveyed companies have placed their Web videos 1 click away from the home page.
• 25% of the surveyed companies have placed their Web videos deep into their Web sites, 3 clicks or more away from the home page.
• 25% use online video in an advanced manner: contextual integration of videos, variety of video players, call-to-action tied to the video.
• 32% offer a full-fledged "video center" comparable to a corporate TV channel.
• 21% give access to such video center directly from their home page (one click away).
• 12% display video ads for products on their site; 7% display video ads on their home page.
• 36% offer full-screen video option.
• 4% have video on auto-play (i.e. video starts as soon as the user lands on the page).
• 11% open video in a new browser Web page.
• 18% use a pop-up window to display video.

• Video uses: 48% of the surveyed web sites use video for promotional purposes, 24% use it for informational purposes, 20% use it for demonstrative purposes, 6% use it to deliver news, 5% use it for entertainment purposes, 1% use it for other purposes and 0% use it for UGC (user generated content). (The percentages don’t add up to 75% because many sites use online video for several different purposes.)

• Video formats: 61% use Flash video, 21% use Windows Media Player, 8% use QuickTime and 4% use Real Player. (The percentages don’t add up to 75% because some websites use more than one video format.)

The branding article in the September / October IPA Bulletin titled "Rebranding Your Company" by Nancy Lowther features an interview with Widen CEO Matthew Gonnering.

Recognized for its comprehensive coverage of issues and challenges facing graphic solutions providers, the bimonthly IPA Bulletin magazine features in-depth articles on technical innovations, standards, and business development in graphic communications.

Go straight to the article: Rebranding Your Company.

Here's a summary of the main points in the business branding article:

Branding is the most valuable and fragile asset to an organization.

Brands have two sides – an external and an internal. Externally, it is the perception of the products or services delivered to the marketplace. Internally, it’s a personality... a set of defining characteristics to which a company aligns. 

How is Widen an example of a company re-branded? Like other traditional prepress services companies and printing companies offering prepress services have done, Widen has evolved and diversified into areas to include digital media management, digital content management, photography and premedia services. However, this goes beyond “re-branding” but also includes a company reinventing itself.

Why do companies rebrand? Companies look to rebrand if and when they say yes to any of the following questions:

• Is your revenue declining?
  
• Has your revenue been the same year after year?
  
• Have you lost customers?
  
• Are you losing key employees?
  
• Have you lost market share due to market changes and trends?
 

Companies must face the rebranding question to answer this one: "If we continue to do what we’ve always done, will we still be in business 10 years from now?”

How do companies rebrand? Branding goes along with a company’s Vision, Goals & Objectives and Strategies.

A Vision is how you see your ideal future. Without a vision, you may not recognize opportunities that can get you to that ideal future. Things to consider include: the perspectives from key leaders and possible roadblocks, market demand and competition. You have to interpret the unarticulated demand of the market to recognize an opportunity. Brand building involves connecting at an emotional level and establishing trust to build brand equity. Brand positioning defines where you place your products/services relative to your competition and where you place in the minds of your customers. A Vision for your brand is achieved by learning what your customers need and want to be successful.

Objectives and goals are what shapes your vision. Every employee must know what an organization’s goals and objectives are. Objectives and goals are shapes by an organization’s major strengths (core competencies) and how they can be built upon. You must not forget to look for deviations from what it is and what it should be. Goals and objectives can also be developed by categorizing products and services according to a lifecycle state—startup, growth, mature, declining, etc. Other factors in formulating goals and objectives include a gap analysis of the market, products, services, customers, employees, finances and technology.

Strategies are the action steps on how to achieve your objectives. There will be one or more actions for every objective. Marketing actions are included for most objectives. Marketing uses this information to create a marketing plan. However, this is not owned by just the marketing department. Business and technology strategies must be aligned and every employee and manager must know how to implement them.

“Marketing Your Brand” - With an abundance of marketing and customer touch points and channels, brand consistency is a major concern for organizations of all shapes and sizes. Centralization of branded content and brand asset management is critical to making sure your audience hears and sees a consistent message. Your branded content involves everything from your stationery and business cards to brochures, website, packaging, signage, trucks, how you present yourself at a dinner meeting, how the company phone is answered and how the front lobby looks. As the old saying goes: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Read the full article in the IPA Bulletin: Rebranding Your Company

Widen is seeing increased interest in Video Asset Management solutions to store, manage, access and deliver digital video for online video marketing purposes.

As Sean Callahan recently reported in the Marketers Make Move to Online Video article in BtoB’s Best 2009 special issue for Marketers and Creative, the “Internet has accelerated the creative use of video in b-to-b marketing, which is one key trend we saw in the submissions for this year’s BtoB’s Best.” 

Online video has become an affluent medium for both b-to-b and b-to-c marketers alike. Online video is a key method of delivering and consuming information that educates, entertains, and/or inspires in ways that touch emotions static text on a page cannot achieve. Best of all, online video isn’t just for big companies. An abundance of devices and software for video capture and editing are becoming popular additions for many marketing departments. Furthermore, Web-based DAM technologies are making the management and distribution easier and cheaper for organizations of all sizes.

In terms of viewership, the Nielsen Company recently reported viewers have substantially increased the time they spend watching online videos with YouTube being by far the single largest provider of streaming video. Nielsen's time-per-viewer metric rose to 195.2 minutes per month in September, a 25% year-over-year increase.  Read Time Spent Viewing Video Online Up 25% per Viewer to learn more.

While the popularity of creating and consuming online video continues to skyrocket, the problems with video asset management are still there for nearly all marketers. The downside is video files are exponentially larger than text documents. Multiple copies of a file in multiple locations use even more storage. It also makes version control nearly impossible, since someone has to remember each file's location and update or renew it when a new one becomes available or when it expires. Plus, there isn’t always an easy way to search for the right video based on the content.

When you add all those factors, it makes a compelling argument for software-as-a-service that simplifies the tasks associated with managing, finding and distributing video content across the Web. The problem is that a lot of organizations that can benefit from distributing their content in the form of video; they just don’t have the internal infrastructure to support it. Like most projects that are challenging to do on your own, digital asset management can benefit from a software-as-a-service model that allows customers to focus more on what they want to accomplish than figuring out how to go about building and maintaining it.

In Widen’s recent article, RAM: Bandwidth on the Run, the increased demand for video content creates four issues that require more efficiency in how we manage video assets:

• Not enough bandwidth to meet demand.
• Difficulty moving video files from one user to another.
• Multiple copies in multiple locations.
• Lack of searchability.

However, digital media asset management technologies provide much more than simple file management or a video hosting service. Digital media files become assets of value through the attachment of metadata because they can be indexed, versioned, secured, stored and assigned a lifecycle state, a unique ID and an owner. Digital Asset Management systems serve as the keeper for both the files and metadata.

Benefits of digital asset solutions summarized from the Bandwidth on the Run article, include:

• All users watch the same file from the same source.
• Easier distribution.
• Greater control over what is being viewed.
• Simpler, more effective organization.
• Simplifies backup.

For an expanded explanation, read the article titled RAM: Bandwidth on the Run by Matthew Gonnering, CEO of Widen Enterprises.

The recent KMWorld article DAM takes on many roles reports “The market for digital asset management (DAM) solutions remains robust, driven by increasing demand for rich media on Web sites, for marketing materials and in technical documentation. Ideally, assets for those purposes are managed centrally and published as needed to different destinations.”

KMWorld reports the annual market stands at about $600 million, and historically has posted double-digit growth. ABI Research forecasts the market to top $1 billion in 2013.

Feeding the DAM growth is the increased volume of rich media coupled with the wealth of devices to create, send and receive digital media. Furthermore, The Association of Graphic Solutions Providers (IPA) reports an increasing number of multi-channel targeted marketing programs have caused an explosion in the number of digital assets to manage.

Moreover, Frost & Sullivan reports that apart from the increased creation and use of digital media, the average file size of content is also increasing. To take the example of images, both the files size and the pure number of digital images taken have steadily increased each year. This is true for almost all media types from text to images and audio/visual content. The emergence and popularity of high definition video has been further fueled by the availability of numerous devices to receive content. This burgeoning demand has created a huge infrastructure challenge. High resolution images and video are storage and bandwidth intensive. For more on the DAM Market Overview and Challenges, download the DAM as SaaS 2.0 Whitepaper from Frost & Sullivan.
 

It’s a “Wired” World – Devices to Create, Send and Receive Digital Media

The increasing volume of digital media is again fueled to the increasing number of devices available to create and consume digital media. The mobile wireless market for handheld devices is another market that has become a huge user of digitized media. Interestingly, Widen worked with a 3rd-party market research company in the first half of 2009 for an analysis of digital asset management programs and social media. One of the questions asked was “What consumer electronic devices do you own and use?”  Just for fun, here are the results…



Digital Camera, Laptop/Notebook Computer, Portable Media Device (iPod) and Cell Phone with Camera are the most common electronic devices owned and used (n=94).


Top Digital Asset Management Market Drivers according to ABI Research

• Increase in the need to collaborate workflows across divisions in an enterprise
• DAM systems no longer operate in a silo environment
• Move to nonlinear digital workflows will drive demand
• Improved operational efficiencies maximizes the ROI on a DAM system
• Increase in bandwidth, fall in the storage cost will boost the demand of DAM
• Continued effort in marketing initiatives will increase the demand for DAM
• Creative professionals adopt DAM tools
• New and emerging markets will drive the demand for DAM systems
• Adoption of digital media technology enhances the growth of the market
• Multiple channels of content delivery will increase the demand for DAM solutions
• Content is king: Premium content, HD and video services will drive the growth

Below is an excerpt from the KM World article, DAM takes on many roles by Judith Lamont, Ph.D., about UNICEF’s adoption of Widen Digital Asset Management tools and services. The full article provides three unique case studies from digital asset management vendors. The excerpt below introduces the digital media management needs from UNICEF and explains why they selected Widen DAM SaaS.

[Excerpt]

Rich media assets

UNICEF was founded by the United Nations in 1946 to help save, protect and improve the lives of children through immunization, education, healthcare, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. It delivers those services and material resources on a regular basis, and responds to emergencies throughout the world.

The UNICEF Web site is the primary means of conveying information about activities in which the organization is involved. With nearly 200 offices operating in 156 countries, and fundraising partner organizations in 36 industrialized countries, UNICEF has deployed a Web content management (WCM) system that allows distributed editing and publishing of content, and localization of field office Web sites.

As rich media, particularly video, became more prevalent, UNICEF also saw a need for a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system that could help staff members deal more effectively with the increasing number of digital assets.

"We drop professional UNICEF journalists and photographers into all sorts of places where children are affected by crisis, as well as serious ongoing challenges," says Alexander Struminger, executive project manager in UNICEF’s Internet, broadcast and image section. "Video is a good format for quickly telling complex stories and effectively feeding into news cycles, but we needed to be able to store, retrieve and distribute the files more easily."

SaaS delivery model

UNICEF had tried several approaches to DAM, including developing its own software, but usage of the systems had been limited. "One of the lessons we learned in our early attempts was that the way in which we rolled out the system was critical," says Struminger. "We knew we needed a good software product, but better software alone is never the answer. We also needed to facilitate adoption by involving stakeholders." After researching the available options and requesting proposals from best-in-class vendors, UNICEF selected the DAM platform from Widen Enterprises.

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery model of Widen’s DAM platform removed the burden of installing and maintaining the software. UNICEF also took note of the company’s long history of high-quality service. "Widen helped us start out with a pilot project so we could introduce the product to a small group of beta testers," Struminger explains. "We made sure we had a group of motivated UNICEF stakeholders involved. This ensured early adoption and a sense of ownership by key stakeholders."

The system was introduced by UNICEF’s Geneva office at a gathering of UNICEF fundraising organizations, and several of the individuals involved in the pilot spoke enthusiastically about its merits. "This event changed the conversation," Struminger says, "and we realized it was the kind of advocacy we needed in order to get that vital adoption."

Other parts of the organization began to request the DAM system, and a global rollout is now in progress. Feedback has been very positive, and users are beginning to suggest new applications, like asset sharing between divisions, countries and partner organizations. Widen’s application for video Web streaming is also under consideration.

Users can quickly find video clips they need, along with scripts and shot lists. They can send those files directly to a journalist or news organization for review. UNICEF offices and partners can have access to up-to-date branding assets, as well as print publications files for localization, printing or electronic distribution.

"The robust search engine is really one of the keys to this system," explains Struminger, "and its ability to leverage metadata." Although the metadata and taxonomy needed to be sorted out as the system expanded, the Widen DAM system is now becoming the preferred distribution platform for digital assets.

Widen Enterprises draws its expertise from its own experience in pre-press workflow, so in addition to offering a software product it also has substantial subject matter expertise.

"Our emphasis is on service and being with customers throughout their process," says Matthew Gonnering, CEO of Widen. "For example, we staffed our own video production studio to make sure we understood the workflow. Our product handles every major video format as well." That ability provides support to social marketing efforts, allowing the distribution of video to many channels. "We don’t just get our customers set up with the software and then part company," Gonnering emphasizes. "We are available throughout the entire time of our relationship."

View the full article from KM World: DAM takes on many roles

DEAR DR. DAM:  I’m Eddy, the director of corporate marketing with a large engineering, consulting and construction company and I’m working with our I.T. business analyst to find a solution to our current digital image management process—which is doomed.  We’re leading an initiative to find a better digital media management system to manage and share images and marketing collateral.  We have nine different locations throughout the US and we’re in dire need of a more organized approach to share approved imagery with our marketing and engineering folks around the world.  We’re losing a lot of time and money chasing our tails with materials that we don’t even know exactly where they are. 

Our corporate marketing team wants to be able to drive brand consistency while doing a better job of capitalizing on the money spent on purchased images we know exist somewhere, but cannot locate.  Right now, we’re just using a shared network drive and it demands a lot of our designer’s time to fulfill requests for images.  We are also having issues with our marketing collateral containing outdated info and need to develop a more accurate process for customizing brochures with different pieces of information.  We currently use another enterprise software vendor for content management and looked into the DAM plug-in but that would cost us $100K+, which is out of the question.  We want a hosted digital asset management system because we don’t want to deal with our own internal servers anymore.  Please point us in the right direction.

DEAR ENGINEER A NEW DAM EDDY:  Looking toward a hosted DAM is a smart alternative, particularly in these times.  There are no major expenditures on hardware or expensive upgrades/add-ons to purchase.  The Widen hosted digital asset management system provides you with your own branded web portal to drive your corporate branding initiative.  Plus, you’ll get free software upgrades on a quarterly basis for as long as you’re a customer.  Your designers will enjoy more time to concentrate on what they set out to do because your agents will be able to fulfill their own requests.  No more purchased images will fall through the cracks as a new DAM system will greatly help you improve organization and accountability.  The Widen Media Collective includes a project collaboration module to route images and documents for comment and approval tracking.  And, the media building app will help your users produce custom marketing collateral using images and content fit for the situation.  You’ll enjoy the ability to run usage reports and see where your users are and what’s being downloaded.  Get ready for a change because you’ll start realizing an ROI within a few short months.  

The digital era has led to an exponential growth in marketing content. As companies expand outbound marketing across multiple channels, content management becomes essential to maximizing marketing efficiency and effectiveness. Solution providers offer an eclectic mix of content management solutions that are designed to help marketers capture, store, and retrieve marketing content – both structured and unstructured.

Aberdeen recently surveyed over 130 companies to understand how organizations justify investments in digital asset management for marketing. This study highlights Best-in-Class practices for managing marketing assets and further validates 2008 Aberdeen research on marketing asset management, which revealed that digital asset management technology is vital to Best-in-Class performance in return on marketing investment, brand consistency, and time-to-market. Access the Aberdeen Group Benchmark Report: The Marketers' Guide to Justifying Investments in Digital Asset Management

Five Compelling Facts from the Research, Providing Actionable Benefits for Readers:

1. Best-in-Class companies are 7.1-times more likely than Laggards to improve annual revenue. On average, Best-in-Class companies improved annual revenue by 18%, compared to an average decrease of 28% amongst Laggards.
2. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Best-in-Class companies improved annual customer satisfaction levels, compared to 10% of all others. The average performance increase for Best-in-Class companies was 28%, compared to a 1% improvement for all others.
3. Best-in-Class companies are 11.8-times more likely than Laggards to improve year-over-year conversion rates. On average, Best-in-Class companies improved annual conversion rates by 12%, compared to a 15% decrease amongst Laggards.
4. Best-in-Class companies are 393% more likely than all others to shorten sales cycle times. On average, Best-in-Class reduced the length of sales cycles by 22%, compared to a 13% increase in sales cycle time amongst all others.
5. Best-in-Class companies are 5.9-times more likely than Laggards to reduce the cost of content creation. On average, Best-in-Class companies reduced content creation costs by 17%, compared to a 10% increase amongst Laggards.

 

For this next example I have chosen a mobile cell phone illustration I created last summer. Creating this new phone required the use of 20+ alpha channels, nearly 30 paths for masking (for each file), and a few bottles of Norton Mendoza 2004 Malbec Reserve. The creation process required nearly 10 iterations due to client and internal alterations. With so many changes, it was smart to build this "frankenstein" with smart objects. Recognizing the keyboard, dials, logos, and screen would require many rounds of "tweaks", I built each of those portions using Photoshop's smart objects. The final composite was a culmination of a base file template and the smart objects carefully masked. Any revisions during the "courting" process of color correction and retouch only required me to double click on the smart object (which opens the SO as a new temp file) needing the revision, create a new layer (for edit-ability, creative directors flip flop a lot), adjust the color, content, or component, and re-save the smart object.  Photoshop smartly updates the placed (and embedded) smart object within our master file. Below you will see I have created an animated gif file showcasing some of the many alterations that occurred with this model. The actual file was a few hundred megabytes and much much larger when completed.



You can see quite a lot of masking, color correction, retouch, air brushing, and illustration was involved. Now imagine doing the same process across seven or eight files ! Here you can see many of the other views.



Color manipulation, color retouching, content management and structure, and consistent corporate branding become quite a challenge. The revision process combined with a well thought out workflow, involving smart objects, layer re-versioning, and consistent masking makes much easier work in Photoshop. The same processes with smart objects can be implemented in many aspects of digital assets. Business cards, fine art illustration, HDR blending of RAW files for extended dynamic range and noise minimization, commercial ads, the list goes on and on.

I used a smart object for the logo, another for the photo text, and a third smart object for the placed photo. You can update any of the componets by double clicking, or replace with another file completely by going to Phoshop's menu and selecting Layer/Smart Objects/Replace Contents, grab a new photo or logo and your finished. There are many uses for smart objects. I have only scratched the surface on the many possiblities. Try experimenting with them. You will be amazed with the versatility smart object functionality offers.

DEAR DR. DAM:  My name is Patrick, Director of Premedia at a mid-sized marketing agency.  I have an extreme problem providing and controlling access to our digital files.  I have a number of internal departments that require different levels of access and our current method of using an internal shared folder is driving me nuts with all the problems we encounter just trying to keep things organized.  We do a high amount of direct mail pieces and need an efficient way for my team and clients to review the prints.  How can something so basic be so difficult to handle?

DEAR PERPLEXED PATRICK:  You would think that everyone would be utilizing a web-based digital asset management system by now...  just kidding.  Your prescription calls for a central repository with role-based access controls, complete with on-the-fly file transformations and a project collaboration component.  With Widen marketing resource management features, you have the ability to upload proofs for internal and external review and approval tracking.  I caution you of the intense spike in productivity you may experience by cutting out much of the manual labor dealing with content management and structure.

I’m a visual learner, therefore I enjoy analogies. My latest one, in terms of Digital Content Management and how Software as a Service makes you more effective, refers to a bicycle versus a car analogy.

Take a person who lives 20 miles from their place of employment. Their only mode of transportation is a bicycle, so every morning they wake up at about 3am and start pedaling to get to work at 8am. (Yes I know Lance you probably don’t leave till 7:30am) Do they get there? Yes. Is it the most efficient way? No. Now imagine being the manager of this bike rider, and all the time they are pedaling to and from work they are still getting paid. Reallocate and invest that wasted money towards a tool that improves marketing operations, no need for new spending.

This can be related to your marketing communications efforts in handling your digital media. The time spent pedaling is like the time you spend searching for the digital assets on servers, burning files to a CD or messing with FTP sites.  If you only had a car you can imagine how much more effective you’d be. Better yet, with a hosted digital asset management solution, it’s like having a mechanic riding shotgun with you at all times in case something would go wrong.

The worst part is there are some companies out there that are oblivious to the cars racing by them (probably honking their horn in anger) while they ride their bikes, not even knowing that these “vehicles of marketing expertise” even exist.
 

Widen is featured in the March issue of the Capital Region Business Journal, a monthly print publication of the Wisconsin State Journal.  In an article titled “Complexity of the Software Industry,” Widen along with Epic Software (medical records software and the largest software company in the state of Wisconsin) are quoted along with the inherent challenges to the software industry.

Quoted from the article, “The biggest challenge facing the software-as-a-service industry is educating the marketplace on why installing software and using internal IT (information technology) resources to manage that software is significantly more expensive than using a SaaS provider…The total cost of ownership is more manageable and the value received is greater in the SaaS model because customers are subscribing to software (typically through a web browser) and sharing in the core technology used by other organizations.”

Now, I’d like to take this opportunity to expand on how software-as-a-service keeps the complexity of software manageable.

First off, it is both timely and timeless to mention that service is king.  If a software company is to provide a useable product and expects to develop a long-term relationship with its customers, it starts and ends with the last “S” in SaaS.

Here’s the core areas in which DAM SaaS keeps the complexity manageable:

Install and Control – From the technical requirements to resource allocation for the implementation, Widen Project Management staff serve as the “head wranglers” to align appropriate resources with the goals of the project.  In marketing speak, the team of technical and project management people is what helps customers with enough other projects on their plate “get up and running” as efficiently as possible.

Next, it comes with the training of the client administrators to use the system and coordinate the ingestion of content, organization and the setup of user roles and access levels. 

The last key ingredient to a successful implementation is user adoption.  This comes in several ways, but a SaaS provider is well equipped to work with the client administrators and project managers to setup the appropriate controls, train and educate users on the functionality and purpose of the software, and is able to make it as easy as possible to promote the existence and “the big shift” of the software to all users – usually in stages – both internally and externally with channel partners and affiliates.

Live and Grow - A successful implementation is not only measured by the launch of a system but by the use. ROI is driven by USE.  What differentiates the SaaS model?  The ability to scale and adapt with and throughout the enterprise (and external partners) while being nimble enough to accommodate growth and a changing business climate with resources guided by a company whose core competency is the creation, management, and distribution of digital content.  Internal IT resources remain dedicated to maintaining the business operations, while a SaaS provider is there (sometimes when internal IT is not) to assist in adding more infrastructure or provide more service.  What happens when you have a question?  You want to be able to get an answer, right.  A SaaS provider dedicates trained people to both staff a help desk and consult with the client on ways of making it work – usually supplying more than one right answer.

Be Real & Work - A SaaS provider is not a software company that hires a bunch of software developers to live on an island and write code.  A SaaS provider is equipped with several teams who are responsible in meeting with clients, interpreting their needs, delivering solutions that really work, and being able to quickly change the solutions as needs change.  This is where Widen typically has a heads up.  We’re not just a software company.  Widen is a developer and a user of our own technologies. 

What’s more, we are part of a process – as a whole – for and with our customers.  We serve to aid in the creation, management, and distribution of digital media.  Not all of that is achieved with automation, some of it comes with skilled labor – the color production stuff that represents how your products and brand looks and represents itself in the marketplace.  As a part of the process for our customers, we understand the importance of speed to market, increased quality, and reduced costs when it comes to creative workflows and marketing execution.  As a part of that process, Widen understands how the advancement of marketing operations and brand management drives top line business growth by maximizing market penetration and brand value.  In that process, our solutions and methods must work and must co-align with the goals of our customers in order to succeed. 

What’s the key to all of this complexity?  The short answer: make it manageable.  How? Choose your strategic business partners wisely. More to come… 

Video, Video, Video!  It’s the buzz for marketers in 2009. I’d say about 80% of my daily contacts involve questions revolving around video asset management.  I’ve had several conversations with agencies having clients demanding more videos and they need web-based storage and global access.

Recently, I had a conversation with an agency who, in looking for value-added services was interested in our video handling capabilities. As video became hotter and hotter, they quickly out-grew their low end system.  Now they want their clients to be able to login, view the videos without downloading anything, and have the files hosted externally where there is more scalability. This agency recognized that with the right tools, the video hosting service has extreme profitability potential. They needed to look no further…

Also need to connect your video to your web content management system? Check out our new feature of Embed Links. Each asset in Widen DAM comes complete with a unique URL that can be pasted into any online source. Once that page loads, the video is being pulled from your collective. This will streamline the process of updating a video, by allowing you to make an edit in one central location, and have it automatically update in every place it is being used.

Hello all, I’ve been a guest blogger at Widen for awhile and want to catch you up on some of my previous blog posts.  Here’s a summary of some of my more popular ones:

The Shocking News of SaaS – Upgrades

Recapping an experience describing Widen’s four-time-per-year release cycle to a group of IT people – a feat unparalleled in the content management industry.  To an IT department where resources are very limited, they saw our release schedule as a real concern and liability.  However, that’s the beauty and a core advantage of Software as a Service – you don’t have to worry about upgrades. 


The DAM Middle Class

Commenting on Theresa Regli’s (CMS Watch) blog on Digital Asset Management about the lack of what she calls a “Middle Class” DAM software solution.  Theresa points out that an empty gap exists between smaller desktop solutions with price points under $5,000 and those enterprise solutions costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.  With the lack of options available to them, more and more companies are looking to hosted services – like the one offered by Widen – as the answer.  This is because SaaS solutions do not force customers to choose between functionality and price.


Digital Asset Management Implementation: Complex or Simple

Do you realize how complex a DAM implementation can become?  In many cases, it just doesn’t need to be that big of a deal.  Many vendors tell customers they need to invest months and months in planning and preparation for a DAM solution, define very complex processes and then spend tens of thousands on RFP development, vendor shootouts, risk analysis, consulting fees, and then the implementation and integration.  If all that worked then why are so many companies looking to migrate to a second or even a third DAM system?  That’s why the hosted or on-demand model works well…


You have the right to a quick, successful Digital Asset Management system implementation

How can any company trust a vendor as a future partner and service provider who can't even respond to a simple RFP and instead provides a list of weak excuses?  This is an interesting story illustrating how some DAM vendors don’t recognize that service starts before the sale.


My Take on DAM. Period.

DAM should be more than just a simple repository of rich media.  The DAM platform should be the base of your entire digital media environment.  DAM should feed all of your media portals and websites so partners, agencies, offices, vendors, your boss and your grandmother can go to the get the latest image, logo, commercial or brochure they need.  Right?  Read On.


What Have Vendors Got to Hide?

Have you noticed how hesitant most enterprise digital asset management vendors are to actually let potential customers see their products?  We have found that more and more customers are showing an interest in really digging in when evaluating our rich media management solutions and services.  (And you should…) Read on to understand why.


Digital Asset Management Software as a Service – selecting a partner

We talk a lot about hosted vs. installed software and it’s becoming more obvious why organizations choose DAM SaaS, but here are a couple more things to look for:  Support, Product Improvement, Cost, Experience, Ease-of-use (and do your users use it?), Features, Vision.


Accountability From Your Software Vendors

An interesting press release reminded me again of a key difference between traditionally licensed software products and those offered through the Software as a Service (SaaS) model – Upgrades.


Where have all the DAM SaaS Providers Gone?

There has never been a shortage of vendors claiming to offer some sort of tool to manage, archive or distribute rich media files.  Of the throngs of Digital Asset Management vendors that cloud the market, few competent pure play vendors and even fewer DAM as Software as a Service (SaaS) providers remain.  A landscape that has traditionally been characterized by companies who focused exclusively on providing solutions for managing digital media files has been taken over by the larger Content Management behemoths that have gobbled up the original inhabitants to offer DAM modules instead of solutions.