In the Trenches

I’m a little late, but I will pay tribute to one of my favorite times of year, March Madness. Remember when Scottie Reynolds took it the full length of the court to beat Pitt? That kind of reminds me of how efficient you could be with Digital Asset Management…

Let us take a deadline for instance, aka the end of the game. You’ve got 24 seconds to find an image of your building to use in some Marketing collateral, and send off to an area Sales rep… GO! Now as you scramble through those stacks and stacks of CD’s, or jump from one folder to at this computer and run over to the next; Scottie has already had enough time to pull up Widen’s image management system, type in “building” which searches all associated metadata, grab his second cup of coffee, shoot the image off to the rep, all with enough time to watch his last second heroic highlight one last time.

Now I know 24 seconds might be inconceivable to you, most of your deadlines are a day or two, but think of all the extra time you would have. Don’t believe me? Why not take the 24 second Widen challenge? Send me a file of yours that is always “impossible” to find. Participate in an online demo with me, and if I cannot find that image in our database in less than 24 seconds, I will give you a $10 gift card to Amazon for every second I am over! Even Scottie admires our skills…

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.
 

“Spending Freeze,” “Cut Budgets,” “No New Spending.”  I hear these phrases on a daily basis.  I agree with you, times are tough and money is tight, but are you just going to stop marketing and creating files?  I want to meet the company that during a recession completely stops marketing and see how they come out.  I know you’re committed to your company and its financial stability, and so are we. Right now you need to be marketing harder but more efficiently. You need to cut costs so reallocate and spend wiser.

This line of thinking always baffles me when people are evaluating an installed software solution.  This “old school” approach was appropriate for the past, but has to have a huge justification in this new economy.  The costs are enormous compared to SaaS models.  Take the high cost of hardware, personnel to run it, third party updates and maintenance, massive storage consumption of video (hottest tool in marketing right now)… I don’t want to see that bill!  Then to top it off it’s an 8-12 month implementation?  To anyone who knows the evolution of software, also knows how out of date that “new” software is now. (4 upgrades a year with Widen at no extra cost of course.)

Hosted digital asset management software models are the new way of managing and distributing the rich media that is the lifeblood of your marketing and sales efforts.  Installed solutions are still trying to hold on to that age-old defense of web-based security and ownership.  You still own your assets, and the security is just as good, if not better.  This is why you are seeing all the major players in the DAM installed software side rolling out hosted solutions.  SaaS, cloud computing, digital asset management, social media... these are the terms of now!

During my Prepress services study, I continue to learn about ways Widen is staying ahead of the competition. Specifically, about a year ago Widen introduced an Apprenticeship Program for our color retouching and management services. The individuals selected for this program had just finished their degree work, and have been brought on for work experience. Each day they are introduced to various individuals around the company that do a particular skill very well, all the while sharing the latest and greatest techniques being taught in the industry today. This sensation to the best practices throughout the company creates a sort of “hybrid” position.

So why should you care about something like that? This is continued proof of Widen’s investment and commitment to your future. Many companies talk about having a program like this, but Widen does it. The companies that make it realize they must evolve with the ever changing times and technology. With the ongoing training like mentioned above, this ensures you always have the best tools and practices available, which in turn saves you time and money while yielding better quality.

I want to be very candid with you about our current state of the economy. In any business, you must reduce operating costs. Day in and day out, I meet with people who are not realizing opportunities to maximize efficiency in marketing operations. They think that this time calls for “zero spending,” when actually “smarter spending” is what will help most. Take a step back and make sure your budget is being allocated on what will help you survive and help you come out of this as a stronger company with greater brand recognition. In the marketing software industry, Software as a Service companies are really the ones that will give you the best tools to do this.  Here is a link with 7 questions to help evaluate if you’re ahead of the game.

To be truthful, your competitors love these tough times. A recession will “weed out” the below average companies. If you’re not operating at maximum efficiency, these times will crush you, leaving the ones who are left with your would-be business. Bottom line, if you don’t embrace change and recognize ways to be more efficient and effective with your marketing resources you’re going to be left by the wayside.

When you decide to control your own destiny, make sure you pick a strategic partner than has a stable history and commitment to your future financial strength. Require a track record with proven client success stories, a scalable offering and "budget-able pricing." 

I have been tasked to learning more about our Prepress services division, and “as I walk through the valley of retouching and color management”… I will try my best to inform you about the significant work we do here.

With being my first day and all, the experts tried to take it easy on me. Yet, I still came away with a bit of a culture shock. Now I feel like I’m a fairly smart guy and pick things up quickly, however I was like a fish out of water in terms of trying to keep up with these guys. I was amazed to find out that the men and women who handle images from our clients such as Reebok, Motorola, and Mason Shoes, many have 20+ years of experience in their designated fields. They have extensive knowledge and abilities that, even being a guy with no color background, completely respect and admire.

In just my short time with this department, I came away feeling like we really do have the best in the business, and now I know why we are the 8th largest prepress services provider in North America. The amount of communication that takes place and dedication to perfection is unmatched. Each account has a devoted person that learns the customers’ expectations, and allows them to get exactly what they are looking for the price they want to spend. Have some work that needs to be done, but don’t necessarily care that the shoe extends a little past the model’s toe, we can do that. Have some very high end work like jewelry that needs to be of utmost quality, we can do that as well. Take a look at some examples. View the new Widen Color Retouching Portfolio.

When you tie all this expertise into a workflow that utilizes our digital asset management tools, that just screams efficiency!

At times companies see the immense benefits of getting hosted Digital Asset Management, but still hold off for the fear of the “huge” culture shift they think needs to take place. The main fears of ownership, security, training and support are all valid points of concern. However, with a Software as a Service company like Widen, these concerns are put to rest and expectations are exceeded. Let’s face it, we can’t afford NOT to. Being a month to month subscription based service, none of our clients are on long term contacts. If you are ever unhappy, Widen provides you back your assets and you’re on your way. You owe it to your company to give it a try.

Let’s break down the main fears I mentioned above. I’ve heard the fear of having companies like Widen come in all of the sudden they own the assets you give them to store. This can’t be more far from the truth with Widen. Yes they “live” on our servers, but you remain in complete control with full ownership, full access, and if the agreement is terminated we send you everything back.

Security is always going to be a concern, however with hosted models it’s always more of an issue. Rest assured, Widen comes complete with nightly backups, weekly offsite backups for disaster recovery, and 24/7 infrastructure support. We always have more copies of our customers’ files than they do. What’s that Motorola? We exceed even your high standards?

Training and support. Do you even get that with an installed solution? After two weeks Widen has your site up and ready for you to come in and begin training. We hold your hand every step of the way with online web meetings, recorded tutorials, and live chat. Widen even supports your end users. That’s almost unheard of in most atmospheres. Your DAM expert is always a phone call, email, or a big green “live chat” button away for the entire duration you are with us.

Single Marketing Director looking for lifetime partnership.

Looking for:

I want a partner who will complete me, or as they say, “opposites attract”. I not do enjoy working hard to find and distribute any digital files. I do not work overtime, or ever am available on holidays. I do not want to support my Sales Dept and want to only focus on marketing tasks.
 
I need someone who is self sufficient. I want my partner to manage everything without any significant work from my end. You must fully support me, along with my entire company, and always be globally available right at my finger tips. I want brand consistency with the ability to adapt to any situation and converted at will. I need whatever I ask for to be brought to me immediately along with full reporting on exactly what you are doing at all times. You must create and assemble all my marketing collateral for me and let whoever I decide use you whenever they want. Infinite scalability is also a must. I will keep feeding you, but you must never slow down.

Imagine how important it is for marketing in the college atmosphere. The students who decide to attend your university supply the funds for countless departments. Can you really afford not to have the best tools?

For example, one of the hottest markets out there is non-traditional students seeking online classes. Universities are currently looking to Widen to store and organize all of their digital content including text files, images, video, and audio for advancement in this market. Digital Asset Management enables professors and students alike far more possibilities than before. Professors can now collaborate and share material internally, individualize instruction, and manage student data while delivering content in an engaging, multimedia format. With the ability to utilize metadata and advanced searching, users can repurpose content as opposed to recreating it. On the other hand, students can login and view streaming videos, listen to audio clips, and view power points without ever downloading a thing. Talk about the dawn of a new educational era!

How about replacing a very manual process with Project Collaboration? When material is being created (i.e. brochures, pdfs) with one upload you can immediately have your whole department on a route to review, comment, and approve for use.

How about photography? You could give university photgraphers the ability to upload images immediately after a college event, and upon your review are released into your digital asset library for use.

The possibilities are endless...

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.

Being in Sales, I work with many companies who must be cautious of the common blunders in selecting a digital asset management solution.  Many of the very same companies who experience these pitfalls are right back at square one six to twelve months down the road because they are unhappy with the selection for various reasons.  Don’t let it happen to you.

1.) Don’t “over buy/over spend” – “You get what you pay for,” but make sure you pay for only what you will use.  Many DAM vendors, hosted or installed, have very “customizable” solutions.  Be cautions of what is “customizable” and what is “configurable.”  The difference being, configuration can be handled within the current capabilities of the product, usually through some sort of administration settings.  The beauty of customization and configuration is that it allows you to mold the solution to make it work better for your people and the different workflows.  Expect customization to be costly, while paying closer attention to how much of the solution is configurable. When you watch a demo, always ask “Is what I see, what I get.”

2.) Use the system – Do a trial or have the vendor set up a sandbox.  As the analysts at CMS Watch say, “Have a bake off in your kitchen.”  Use the system with your assets, your users and your workflow.  The only way to truly know how a system will work is to try it.  When you buy a car, you’re the one who drives the test drive correct?  It wouldn’t make much sense not to do this with a digital media management solution either.  Last, don’t just have the power users or administrators take the trial, have the everyday users get involved too.

3.) If you’re buying from a “mega-vendor” – Does that come with mega support?  Is the training, tech support, upgrades and maintenance part of the core offering or are there separate service plans?  There’s nothing worse than purchasing a system and then not having the appropriate level of service and support or having to purchase separate service plans.  Also, is that solution “turnover proof?”  Can the solution withstand the events in the changing of tides?    

4.) Support your Executive team to gain support from your Executive team.  When you find a solution you like, inform your stakeholders.  Communicate the changes that need to take place to avoid the common push backs during the selection process.  Challenge your vendor to supply you with the necessary support materials to build your case.  If your executive sponsors don’t realize the benefit, understand the level of change and see the return, the greatest software in the world won’t survive.

I wanted to take a crack at the Dr. DAM persona played by Jake, so I’d like to share this true story.  All names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved, and no animals were harmed in the making of this post.

DEAR DR. DAM:  I’m struggling with image management.  I feel as if we take a picture, use it once, and then it vanishes.  We have files located all over and this recurring theme is burned into my brain.  I recall my Manager frantically shouting “Go find a picture of a chicken breast, and if you do not find it in less than 5 hours, schedule a photo shoot!  We have an important deadline!” Needless to say I did not find any, all the while knowing there are at least 8 or 9 of them somewhere!  Another problem is we have another department that does this very same process, and we may have the perfect image for them to use already, but they never ask (and vice versa).  I feel like we are wasting so much time and money searching and scheduling photo shoots!  Is there anything that can be done?

DEAR SCHEDULE A PHOTOSHOOT SAM:  If this story doesn’t scream image management software, I don’t know what will.  Photo shoots are expensive and re-shoots because of misplaced assets are un-called for.  You could practically pay the month’s subscription to DAM SaaS for the price of a photo shoot.  A web-based digital asset management tool help you centralize all your images in one repository, complete with full metadata searching for quick and easy retrieval.  All you need to do is log in, type the words “chicken breast” and your 8 or 9 images are there for immediate use in whatever format you’d like.  No longer would you need to scrounge through countless hard drives to find that one image.  I hesitate to even get into “Roles and Permissions” or “Video Management” in fear that you have already stopped reading and are currently running around jumping for joy. 

I’ve been hearing the phrase “nickel and diming” being used around DAM SaaS (Software as a Service) providers.  This phrase, to me, portrays a vendor who hides costs associated with certain features.  They show you a product without saying “this is an additional cost” until the closing stages. They may even charge you extra for training, upgrades, and support. Now that’s just crazy talk!

Widen’s standard out of the box digital asset management solution is the most cost effective one out there.  The majority of our clients’ use our CORE DAM application that we, over 12 years of expertise, have made sure includes the essential components to tackle all DAM responsibilities. Widen does offer optional capabilities to make it “your own,” but why charge you for it if you’re not going to use it?

Our stance? It’s all about options!  Take a demo tour with Widen and see what we offer FOR nickels and dimes (comparatively)… What you see is what you get.

Let’s say you’re an agency (or anyone else who needs digital asset management workflow), and you have a client who needs to login, comment, approve, etc. to their rich media.

With Widen’s Project Collaboration tool, you are able to route all kinds of files whether it be images, documents, or video (We all know how important video is), to any number of clients. These clients can then login to review, make comments, see comments from everyone else on the route, and even approve for use. All activity is time stamped and history is tracked. Furthermore, full versioning is supported on cases that need to be redone. Any asset that is uploaded with the same file name will be made into a version, saving the original copy. Take a document that is constantly being updated (legal dept, etc.) for instance.

A specific use case I came across recently was for an agency who works with live events and commercials. They need to post videos, give clients the ability to watch a full length preview, and either make comments for revisions or approve for use. This allows clients to make sure brand recognition stays consistent.