Junk Drawers. We all have one. Some of us have several. Places that gather and collect all the things you believe have a purpose, otherwise you’d have tossed them long ago. For fear of needing them “someday,” you opt for throwing them in “the drawer” figuring sooner or later, you’ll either put them away where they belong, have a need for that “random thing” or remember what “the thing” was for and why you kept it. Now if only you could find it in that mess of stuff.
I’ll bet you also have a digital “junk drawer” at work that you go to at least once a day frantically searching for that “thing” that is just right for the task at hand. Well, in the spirit of spring, why not make a plan to purge, organize, or maybe a bit of both.
Still in denial? Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you have a difficult time finding assets or spend too much time recreating assets that exist?
- Is there a duplication of effort (different groups doing similar work)?
- Are you creating/managing multiple renditions of a single message to support multiple channels (e.g. mobile, social, etc.)?
- Is there a lack of visibility into project status?
- Are review/commenting/approval processes awkward and difficult to navigate?
- Is it cumbersome and difficult to share assets with external collaborators?
- Are you struggling to keep up with increased marketing demand?
- Are you plagued with inconsistent branding across campaigns and/or channels?
- Are non-compliant uses of licensed content compounded by inadequate control over intellectual property?
Ok, no need to admit to it. Instead, let's do something about it.
Where to begin? We'll call on the help of a few soon-to-be BFFs: MRM, PIM, WCM, CRM… DAM, now that’s a lot of help. Exactly.
Ok, honestly, how many of you are on top of all these acronyms? It’s safe to assume the “M” stands for management, but how about the rest of these obscure stand-for-more letters?
In a marketplace made up of robust media and infinite touch points, audiences demand to be talked “to” opposed to talked “at.” They also expect to be treated like singular, unique, one-of-a-kind individuals, and you must display an intimate understanding of their needs—whatever they may be. You DAM well better call on these catchy 3-letter miracle workers.
Meet your new management team.
MRM, Marketing Resource Management;
PIM, Product Information Management;
WCM, Web Content Management;
CRM, Client Relations Management;
and the newest and most critical (or so rumor has it)
DAM, Digital Asset Management
The days of wall after wall of “jam-packed” flat files, vertical files, and the dreaded “project status” meetings are giving way to these fab 5 managers. LEAN and mean, one by one they’ve descended upon us from the cloud (wherever that is), bringing with them an ability to organize your junk drawers in a virtually remarkable way—literally and figuratively speaking. They make you more productive, agile, accurate and, ultimately, more profitable.
Eureka! Sounds perfect. Well not exactly. The good news: these managers won’t take up office space, and you won’t have to lure them in with healthcare or parking perks. The not so good news: they do require an investment of your monetary resources and some time to get them started. The bad news: they are relentless about demanding a change of behavior and attention to detail. In other words, no more casual tossing the miscellaneous into “the drawer” in case you need it later.
We are all creatures of habit, and doing away with a junk drawer requires real commitment to change. But, if you’re serious about a better strategy for organization and tackling this all-consuming list of demands that 21st century audiences command, then get “management” to organize your “valuables” and remove the clutter.
Let us help you. We have the capability to put your “junk drawer” in order, even custom craft a drawer that fits you best. We’ll make it easy to navigate, available, manageable, and more useful than ever before. To learn more about DAM, contact Abby Spung at 800.606.1610.
