If you are working with or for an advertising, branding, creative, or marketing agency you can notice one thing: they create a lot, and I mean a LOT of content, from design concepts to marketing campaign files. Distributing these assets efficiently for multiple clients can be challenging, especially when each client requires a lot of individual attention. Moreover, these distribution channels are the meeting point for all stakeholders, so their quality can determine how confident a client feels about an agency. Practically the way an agency organizes and shares digital assets becomes the face of its brand.
When it comes to organizing and sharing files, too many agencies fall into the trap of using emails or consumer-grade systems, like Dropbox, SharePoint, or Google Drive. There is a powerful and simple way to do this, something that allows agencies to maintain brand consistency, manage content for numerous clients, and measure performance in real-time.
Digital asset management systems can boost the confidence of both agencies and customers and grant a professional feel to the collaboration. Let’s see a few pain points that it solves:
Managing content for multiple brands and stakeholders
Agencies have to deal with a lot of files, clients, and deadlines. Clients, often have multiple stakeholders, and sometimes third-party contractors who all have to access different digital assets. Far too often, the agencies themselves get stuck with the hassle of managing files, distribution, and access rights.
With an online digital asset management system, you can organize all of your clients’ files easily and securely. It is a seamless way to present and share content with clients, as well as receive feedback and approvals directly on the platform. In order to ensure that the clients only see what they need to see, agencies can customize permissions to manage their users from a single portal. You can start working on content, save it in the DAM but only make it visible for the client when the time is right. No more duplicates, or digital waste. The files will be stored on the cloud and backed up. This reduces the risk of files ever being lost in an e-mail, deleted, or destroyed. Life happens, so it’s best to be prepared for it.
The risk of using outdated assets
Outdated or inconsistent assets can negatively affect a client’s brand reputation. Having the right asset in the right format can help a client maintain an air-tight brand. Not only this, but when using a DAM all the assets are only a quick search away, so everybody can find the right asset for the project without wasting time.
Sometimes however it is not enough just to find the right assets. Sometimes it needs to be altered to fit a certain situation. No worries, brahms® offers a PDF template editor, where users can modify approved parts of the content. The user is happy that they can localize content, the company is happy since it can assure brand consistency and the agency is happy since they have more time for things that matter. Win-win-win.
Show strong branding to do strong branding
In this industry looks are important, and even more important is the brand. Simpler consumer file management systems are often painted with the host company’s brand. This is acceptable until a certain point, but if you would like to handle business professionally you should white label the solutions that you use. This means your brand, logo, colors, URL, etc. should be in front of your clients every time they go to access files on your system. This makes your customer feel confident that they are in the right hands, and they can trust what they find.
Some Digital Asset Management solutions even allow agencies to operate with multiple brands/themes within the same solution. This way, you can offer customized instances for each of your clients. Ultimately, your DAM system will have a more professional appeal. You will tie your clients much closer to your agency, and prove for them that you take branding just as seriously as you advise them to.
All in all, an agency’s main purpose is to help brands grow. That means housing, enforcing, protecting, and distributing every single aspect of a brand, which is the most valuable asset any company has. As a painter needs the right brushes to create a masterpiece, an agency needs the best professional-grade multitool for branding: a Digital Asset Management system.
