I recently had the honor of speaking on a rights management panel at the Henry Stewart DAM NYC Conference. As we were discussing managing asset licenses with digital asset management (DAM) software, someone in our group mentioned that T3 was one of only two advertising agencies that she knew of who had a mature digital asset management system in place. While I am sure there are many other agencies with significant systems, advertising folks were definitely in the minority at this conference.
What the software does.
At T3, we have been managing our clients’ digital assets for more than 10 years using DAM software. The software allows us to better organize job files, attach metadata and control usage rights automatically, something you simply can’t accomplish with traditional server folders. All of our assets include descriptions, keywords and usage rights, and the system automatically keeps a history of all changes and archives previous versions, giving us access to any version of any file. To eliminate errors and prevent art directors from pulling the wrong files, every rights-managed asset is automatically set to lock when licenses expire or as product end-of-life dates approach.
It’s important for advertising agencies to be using digital asset management software. As we discussed at the conference, the next IT revolution will come from interpreting information — “more I than T,” according to one speaker. Managing our client’s information is a big part of the buzz about Big Data, and it can be handled confidently only with digital asset management software. The DAM Foundation recognizes the importance of this shift toward interpretation and is taking steps to help organizations evaluate their systems.
Evolving systems and DAM3.
In response to this need for more evolved digital asset management models, the DAM Foundation and other members of the digital asset management community have created a DAM Maturity Model, “DAM3,” that was recently published at http://dammaturitymodel.org/.
DAM3 enables organizations to analyze their current and desired states of maturity with respect to digital asset management. I had an opportunity to collaborate on parts of this model at a recent conference in Los Angeles. Its development was a formidable task.
According to the maturity model, digital asset management systems must be poised to automate and evolve, but that will only happen if a company’s technology expertise is working in alignment with business strategy.
I believe DAM3 will be a great tool — not only for T3 to analyze our own systems and processes — but also for other businesses to challenge potential agencies with regard to asset management. As the scope and value of digital assets climbs, the need for managing those assets increases in importance. We think a mature digital asset management system that accounts for metadata management and rights government is smart business for us and our clients.
So, where does your agency stand in its digital asset management maturity?