For over 70 years, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) has played a key role in promoting Germany as a travel destination. Operating from around 25 locations worldwide, the organisation implements innovative marketing campaigns and sustainable strategies to promote resource-efficient tourism and captivate visitors from across the globe.

Efficient management and distribution of image and video content are essential. Whether for international campaigns, partners, or its own public relations, the GNTB requires a reliable and user-friendly solution to effectively manage its large volume of digital assets.

This is where our Digital Asset Management system, Cavok, comes into play: its adaptability makes it perfectly tailored to the organisation's requirements, streamlining asset management.

Switching to Cavok – from the previous system to a tailor-made solution

Since 2019, PEAK-14 and the GNTB have developed a strong business relationship. Before introducing Cavok, the GNTB used a Digital Asset Management system that fell short in many areas, particularly in rights and permissions management, which failed to meet the organisation's expectations. Additionally, the system's support was insufficient, both in terms of quality and response times. Faced with these challenges, the organisation decided to seek a more powerful solution – and found it in Cavok.

Holger Blatterspiel is employed as an image editor at the German National Tourist Board. His responsibilities include maintaining and managing digital assets as well as defining database requirements to further enhance user-friendliness.

Cavok provides this flexibility, enabling the GNTB to optimise internal image management and the distribution of visual content to marketing and press partners, the Federal Foreign Office, and travel agencies.

Intelligent features for a seamless workflow

The GNTB manages many assets, sourced from in-house production, photographers, or agencies. As a result, rights management is of particular importance. The assets are assigned different levels of rights and distributed accordingly. 

When downloading assets, users are provided with all the necessary information in a .zip package. The package includes the usage terms in German, English, and French as PDFs, as well as text files in various languages containing all relevant information about the asset. The copyright is displayed on the asset itself and is automatically embedded in the image through the metadata.

At the GNTB, content creation is handled by an agency that uses the GNTB's content management system (CMS). Through an interface, Cavok provides the required image material along with all relevant metadata, such as license expiry dates or copyright. It ensures that the images are delivered to the CMS with the necessary information and in the correct format. For instance, if the original asset is a large .tif file, Cavok will deliver the asset resized as a .jpg file to the CMS. This is a huge convenience for the editors.

Especially helpful in daily work is the automatic categorisation of images and the assignment of holiday regions. For example, if a picture is taken in Wernigerode and the location is entered in the asset, Cavok assigns the corresponding German Harz region based on a predefined table. If the location is stored in the geodata, the geotagging is even done automatically.

Cavok also excels in tracking: it accurately documents who has downloaded which assets and how. This helps the GNTB comply with copyright regulations. "With Cavok, we are well-prepared when it comes to proactive copyright reporting requirements," emphasises the GNTB's photo editor.

Also worth highlighting is the automatic translation feature. Using an interface, several selected metadata fields are automatically translated into three languages.

These customised functions save valuable time in daily operations and reduce potential errors in image management.

Close cooperation at eye level

In addition to Cavok's flexibility, the GNTB highlights the quality of PEAK-14's support. "The collaboration works well, and the support is fast and reliable. We can discuss anything at any time," says the image editor.

Regular meetings and biannual face-to-face sessions between PEAK-14 and the GNTB foster open communication and the continuous development of Cavok. This ensures that asset management at the GNTB is constantly being optimised.

Conclusion: Cavok as the key to effective image management at the GNTB

For the German National Tourist Board, Cavok is an indispensable tool that not only optimises image management but also streamlines the distribution of image and video content.

Customised features such as rights management and automatic image categorisation significantly simplify daily operations at the GNTB. In an ongoing process, Cavok is continuously developed and will remain a key tool in the future for the international promotion of Germany as a travel destination.

Would you like to learn more about Cavok? We will be happy to advise you.

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