Frustrated that you don’t have insights into retailer marketing activity? Not sure why they’re not promoting your brand content? Chances are that you’re trying to support them with a digital asset management system (DAMs).
Despite the content sprawl and lack of organization in a DAM, brands continue to throw large sums of time and resources into building internal asset management systems of their own. While these systems allow brands to provide their retailers with access to brand content, there are no other real benefits. Ultimately, they cause more harm than good.
Here are 4 reasons why building an internal asset management system is no longer a viable option for brands:
- It’s an expensive and time-consuming process.
- DAMs are content dumps.
- No direct connection to retailers.
- No activity tracking or meaningful analytics.
1. It’s an expensive and time-consuming process.
Building an internal asset management system is an expensive, time-consuming endeavor on a number of different levels.
For starters, you need to put together a team devoted to developing and building out the system. As we’ve heard from many brands, this can be a long, fruitless process. Many times, these projects never even end up seeing the light of day.
Once (and if) these systems are built and ready to use, time still needs to be set aside for retailer support. Retailers are not always marketing experts and may be digitally unsophisticated; they need support and resources. There has to be a support team in place to readily answer any questions they may have. If you’re not already in the business of doing this, it can be costly and difficult to implement.
“Many of our manufacturers give us access to content, but most of them have unorganized asset websites or portals where I need to sift through pictures, find one that’s right, crop it, maybe add some copy, then put it out. That whole messy process just makes it much less likely that I will want to share the content.” – Steve Parsons at ERIK’S Bike Board Ski
2. DAMs are content dumps.
Yes, asset management systems do offer retailers a breadth of brand content options. The trouble is that it is not presented in any organized, linear, or valuable way.
Retailers are busy business owners and don’t have the time to dig through and make sense of mountains of content. This is why DAMs typically have low retailer adoption and engagement rates.
Asset management systems also offer no campaign-based structure. Timing and relevancy are key to brand marketing campaigns. Without any clear “start” and “end” points or meaningful campaign flow, the crucial reach and power of brand messaging at a local level is eliminated. It also strips them of any urgency.
At the end of it all, brands don’t want to waste their valuable time cleaning out a DAM after each season, product release, or sponsorship, so old content and assets just sit there. With no clean-up, DAMs become nothing but content graveyards. This also leaves retailers with access to outdated content that they are free to promote at any time, which can lead to a misalignment with the brand’s content calendar.
“Most of our brands don’t have a great digital platform. To get the content, I have to log into three different places, go through five different folders, look through all of the content, and decide what I’m going to post. Whether they even have it updated on time is another thing. It’s just a headache for at least three of my major brands.” – Melody Karpinski at Fleet Feet Sports Santa Rosa
3. No direct connection to retailers.
Asset management systems are not communication platforms, offering no direct-to-retailer connection. As is, DAMs are just a means for brands to push out loads of content and assets. They require little afterthought and create an impersonal brand-retailer relationship.
Retailers do not want to feel siloed and alone in their efforts to promote brand content and products. A brand-retailer relationship has to be a partnership, a two-way street.
DAMs offer no help here. If anything, they diminish goodwill, leaving retailers frustrated and both sides misaligned in their goals and efforts.
4. No activity tracking or meaningful analytics.
After the point of download, digital asset management systems offer no significant insights or analytics.
Want a look into retailer activity and content promotion frequency? Want to see what channels your retailers are utilizing? Want to know what kinds of content perform best? Tough luck. Without these kinds of valuable information and data, a brand cannot expect to know what’s working and what isn’t.
DAMs also offer no view into key analytics like organic reach and content performance metrics like engagement, click-through rates, etc. This leaves brands closed off from rich consumer insights and learning opportunities for future campaigns.
Promoboxx: A Proactive Approach to Brand-to-Retailer Connection and Alignment
Unlike digital asset management systems, Promoboxx makes marketing with retailers streamlined, scalable, trackable, and super easy.
Find out why Kent Hawkins, Channel Marketing Manager – Americas at Arc’teryx, made the switch from a digital asset management system to Promoboxx in order to better tell their brand story through local retailers:
Chances are, your retailers are already on Promoboxx and asking for access to your brand content… Contact us to learn more >
Originally written by Tyler Cumelia, Updated by Jonali McFadden
