It's a familiar problem for many marketing departments: working with external service providers and partners is tedious. In the confusion of systems, file formats and versions, you can quickly lose track of everything and also a lot of time. Agencies, on the other hand, have the same troublesome experience as marketing departments. Not only do they have to coordinate all kinds of media files with their customers, the marketing departments, but they usually work with external specialists and freelancers themselves. Again, all kinds of work results and intermediate statuses go back and forth. One thing is certain: Efficiency is a different story. The good news: A modern Digital Asset Management system can quickly counteract these headaches.

Annoying problem 1: The chaos of duplicates

"If the customer can't open a PSD photo, we'll just send them a JPG." And instead of the InDesign file, there's a PDF. This is how the media files miraculously multiply. There's an (original) version at the graphics agency, a JPG copy in the customer's inbox, another JPG on the server. After the change requests, which the customer of course sends to the agency by e-mail, a new version of the original PSD file is created there, and it starts its journey again as a JPG and by e-mail to the customer, who again saves the file on the server - only this time perhaps in a different location than the colleague did in the first round. The inevitable result: pure chaos of duplicates. Sometimes you get the impression that the number of media files that are converted, sent back and forth, stored here, stored there, is already higher than the print run of the advertising flyer that is supposed to result from it. The advantage of a central DAM solution: All versioning can be clearly tracked in the same place, without the familiar e-mail back-and-forth. Learn more about the distribution of data with a digital asset management system...

Annoying problem 2: The eternal search for the right file

Which version was the current one? And where did the colleague store the presentation from last year's event? Wasn't this picture also taken from a different perspective? And shouldn't the layout be stored here in this folder? The search for the right file can consume a lot of time in the day-to-day work, not only of marketing departments and creative agencies. Studies show that office workers can spend up to two hours a day on administrative tasks and searching for files. If you can't find a file right first time in the complex folder structure of the shared file server, you may have to ask your colleagues until you finally find what you're looking for.It is much faster to find files in a digital asset management system. Metadata, which links additional information to files, allows users to break away from the traditional folder structure and to organize files more effectively. Learn more about searching and finding in the Cavok DAM system...

Annoying problem 3: The coordination anarchy

In line with the chaos of duplicates, many marketing departments and agencies also have a certain coordination anarchy. In other words, it is not really clear which media file was released how, when, by whom, and with which authorization. Accordingly, older versions of a photo are also often used - simply because marketers or graphic designers are happy to have found it at all on some server directory (or in some inbox). Whether this photo has already been color-corrected for the intended use or what the copyright situation is - the JPG file often no longer provides any information about this. A Digital Asset Management system, on the other hand, always makes it possible to see how far the editing of a media asset has progressed, whether it has been given final approval, for which contexts it is suitable, and what the current copyright situation is. Learn more about efficient coordination processes...

Annoying problem 4: Manual workflows only

The third annoyance factor arises when all coordination processes have to be triggered manually - in case of doubt, again by sending the new file variant out into the world by e-mail. Digital Asset Management makes life easier, because automated workflows can be stored here to organize the processes perfectly. Those authorized to release the file then immediately receive a message when the new version of the image file, the advertisement layout or the PowerPoint presentation is ready. Ideally, the person authorized to approve can leave change requests and comments directly in the file to be checked using the DAM system's note tool. This increases transparency and efficiency enormously, especially in the production of advertising materials. Some DAM solutions even support highly complex workflows - including the automated rendering and playout of videos for placement on a wide variety of TV stations with a wide variety of technical specifications. Learn more about automated workflows...

Annoying problem 5: Data insecurity

Collaboration with external parties can easily lead to losing track of which asset now belongs to which job or project - and who is even allowed to see what. Only a DAM system ensures that handling all these files and media assets does not become a juggling act. Digital Asset Management systems allow very differentiated rights management. Suppliers then place images of their new products, for example, directly into the retailer's DAM system - they have no access to any other areas or functions. In the same way, an agency with its own DAM system can ensure that its customers' access is strictly limited to exactly those areas and media assets that are relevant - the competitor's spring collection remains invisible. Last but not least: The GDPR guidelines can also be complied with through the rights management of a good DAM solution. And if you want, you can also increase data security by operating your DAM system on your own servers or in a German or European data center that does not pose any data protection risks. Learn more about security and rights in the cavok Digital Asset Management System...

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