With the steady growth of media-rich marketing channels that require images, video, animations, and even augmented reality, the need for more rich media assets extends beyond your site. Bandwidth cost is next to nothing and smartphones have powerful graphic processors that can display images and videos in high-resolution. On top of that, the modern-day consumer demands nothing short of a captivating experience; their attention spans are short, they are simultaneously wary of advertising but also expect a personalized experience from brands they engage with.

A DAM services more than just your website; it can power your entire sales and marketing organization. DAM is both a central repository for the approved creative assets, and a collaborative workflow engine between marketers and designers for creating, reviewing and approving those assets. Capabilities of a DAM are often extremely focused on a vibrant set of features that can include; asset tagging, searching and filtering, providing or revoking permissions, image resizing, archiving, managing asset expiration dates, mark-up tools for images and videos and more. These out-of-the-box capabilities work as soon as someone logs into the DAM and drags in their first hero banner image. DAMs are the bridge between graphic designers and digital marketing to manage the creating, approving and organizing the deliverable for marketing activities.

Now, organizations often try to function without a DAM but should they? Do-It-Yourself asset management can cause major headaches for an organization. Digital asset creation is most commonly a partnership between creative designers and marketing (even if they are within the same department).

Designers work with marketers to develop assets for the website, but also web applications, social media, product labeling and packaging, presentations, ads, etc. During the asset creation process, many companies rely on email, IM, cloud-storage, Google Drive, and so on for creative review and approvals. While it might work for a while on a small scale, it renders important aspects, like version control, meta-data, and in-context markups non-existent.

With DIY, once assets are finalized and approved, the entire process is plagued with inefficiencies. Assets get scattered on the aforementioned digital locations but also on people’s hard drives. Final assets are often left in cloud storage after they have become outdated, never replaces, where they are easily shared across the company. Outdated or off-brand versions of assets thrive and continue to be shared with prospects. This isn’t just a branding nightmare; assets with limited-time licensing can rack up hefty fines if they’re shared after their expiration date.

Some DAMs offer benefits beyond just asset control and organization. For example, Acquia DAM has workflow tools built in that streamline efforts and keep collaborative communication going throughout the creative process.

When evaluating a DAM, it shouldn’t be considered an add-on or a “nice to have” but a necessary piece of your marketing stack. The benefits outweigh the costs or concerns. It’s a DAM good investment (I limited it to one pun per post. You’re welcome).