Widen Digital Asset Management Happy Hour

Changing Attitudes with Digital Asset Management

Recently, I provided a demo of Widen’s Digital Asset Management solution to an organization evaluating DAM systems for the first time. As with most of our DAM demos, the audience included a team of decision makers and only some of those people would actually be working with the future system. In this case, the DAM evaluation team consisted of the marketing manager and the rest of the small marketing team in addition to a member of their IT department.    Just like buying a new car, having a knowledgeable friend like a mechanic with you to look over the automobile is a comforting practice to making a decision, and this mix of marketing and IT is increasingly common for the same reason. Marketing is usually the group experiencing the most pain – they can’t find their assets (nor work with them) and IT is in charge of the current system. IT wants to be sure that the new solution that marketing falls in love with will be functional and compatible with other current systems with little investment of time and resources from their department.    As I started with the demo, I read two conflicting viewpoints about how this organization would incorporate DAM into their marketing operations. As usual, the vibe from the marketing team was very welcoming; they were impressed with the functionalities and excited to take the next step. However, it seemed to be just the opposite from their IT leader as an unsatisfied attitude and arm-crossed stance to the new system was apparent.

The advanced functionalities that the marketing group loved so much was something they “probably would never need and can probably do in part with the current system,” as the IT member put it.    Without devoting this entire post to retelling the story, the evaluation team did have enough of a voice to convince the company director that their pain was growing so dramatically beyond the tipping point that a new solution was needed. So the next step was taken even though the IT member was not exactly open to it.   Our sales and marketing teams talk frequently with clients about DAM being a “culture-changing technology.” For some teams, searching and routing digital assets is a large part of their day. They have a process down for how to sift through a semi-organized file structure on a single shared drive to find a few assets, grab them, convert to different formats, zip and send via e-mail back to the person who made the  request. It may be time-consuming, but it’s a system that they’re familiar with.   Bringing in a DAM solution to replace the familiar system can be an uncomfortable move. Change is not always easy. Some need to see the benefits from both sides. After months or years of conducting their operations one way, and then having to relearn something new, can put teams on the defensive. As often the case with marketing technology investments, this particular IT delegate was apprehensive about the change. Their marketing organization was facing a cultural shift and IT was in need of some convincing to agree upon a change from the norm.     As a sole SaaS provider, Widen’s DAM evaluation support team understands that you (DAM evaluators) need resources to support ”change.” We want your transition to go smoothly and for your users to be ready to embrace the change. If you’re in the search for information about DAM solutions, you can ask us for access to our extensive library of research materials developed by Widen communications teams and third-parties. More importantly, we’re strong advocates of the “try before you buy” approach so we give all DAM evaluation teams a private sandbox within our web-based DAM system to trial the functionality, and just like buying that car, give it a true test-drive before making any decisions.    As you look at questions to ask when thinking “Do I need Digital Asset Management?”, you should also be mindful of the attitudes within your team of evaluators.  Read more at blog.widen.com