What Is a DAM in a Company?

Digital Asset Management (DAM) is software that provides a systematic approach to organizing, storing, updating, retrieving, and distributing a company's digital assets. DAM technology allows organizations to centralize data such as images, videos, graphics, and presentations in a searchable format for enterprise-wide access. With a central repository, businesses can ensure brand consistency.

DAM solutions allow manufacturers to ensure digital assets adhere to brand guidelines to deliver a consistent user experience. Whether the user is a channel partner, an internal department, or a third-party provider, a DAM serves as a single source of truth by monitoring updates and enforcing processes that restrict access and limit permissions.

DAM systems enable sales and marketing to repurpose digital assets, reducing production costs. They also eliminate duplicate efforts that occur when information is not centralized. DAMs establish a company-wide process for efficient development and use of digital assets.

Why Do Companies Need a DAM?

An industrial manufacturer uses a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system to manage its extensive collection of product images, videos, and marketing materials. The DAM platform centralizes these assets, allowing the marketing and sales teams to easily access, search, and retrieve the content they need for campaigns, social media posts, website updates, and promotional materials.

With the DAM system, teams can quickly find the latest high-resolution images for new product lines, access approved brand logos and graphics, and share assets securely with external partners or dealers. The DAM ensures that all stakeholders use consistent and on-brand visuals, streamlining collaboration, reducing duplication of effort, and maintaining a cohesive brand identity across all channels and markets.

That's just one example of why manufacturers need a DAM. Other benefits include the following:

• Lower Cost. Centralizing digital assets allows companies to reuse them rather than create duplicates, reducing production costs.

• Improved Resource Management. Employees spend less time trying to locate digital assets, providing more time for higher-value tasks.

• Faster-to-market Data. DAM streamlines processes by optimizing digital assets, making them readily available in usable formats.

• Increased Transparency. Centralizing information removes data silos that create redundant systems and conflicting information. Instead, everyone is aware of what a DAM contains. When new assets are needed, collaborative, cross-functional teams can create shared assets.

• Better Conversion Rates. Having the right information to deliver at the appropriate time on a buyer's journey helps the buying process appear seamless. Easy access to digital materials allows sales and marketing to deliver targeted information for better conversion rates.

• Stronger Customer Retention. DAM allows businesses to personalize the customer experience, which helps build stronger relationships for increased customer loyalty.

• Brand Consistency. Establishing a clear brand presence is essential. If the messaging changes based on who created the materials, it loses focus. A DAM functions as a single source of truth, ensuring consistent messaging across all channels.

• Compliance. Different jurisdictions and industries have rules for using digital assets. A DAM can ensure the appropriate language is used to protect an organization's digital assets. Digital asset management tools can provide governance to help keep published assets in compliance.

DAMs help organizations consolidate resources and reduce duplicated efforts. They ensure data integrity while establishing a streamlined process of delivering information across multiple channels.

What Are the Digital Asset Management Companies?

The DAM software market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.41 percent between 2023 and 2032, reaching over $15 billion by the end of the forecast period. As the demand for improved customer experience grows, more companies will enter the space, offering stand-alone, on-premise, or cloud-based solutions. Many companies, such as Lumavate, provide subscription-based platforms as an alternative. The following are examples of DAM vendors currently operating in the space.

Adobe Experience Manager

Adobe Experience Cloud is a software suite for delivering digital experiences. Within the suite, Adobe Experience Manager Assets (AEM Assets) provides the DAM platform. The software offers a repository for storing and managing digital assets such as images and videos. AEM is tightly coupled with products within the AEM platform. For example, a web content manager and an integrated e-commerce solution can pull from the AEM Assets when creating digital experiences.

The product provides a search and preview feature with access and permission controls to secure digital assets. It has automated features that help share digital assets across multiple channels, adjusting for different screen sizes and display resolutions. However, the original asset must be produced using other tools.

AEM Assets has two pricing tiers -- departmental and enterprise. No other information is available on Adobe DAM pricing. Companies with an existing Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) can add the asset management component. Businesses that do not have an AEM will need a third-party vendor to help create a standalone DAM. Implementation can take time if third-party interfaces are required. Setting up AEM requires Adobe technical support.

Lumavate is a full Product Experience Management (PXM) solution that includes a Digital Asset Management tool with a Product Information Management (PIM) software, and a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) that can be installed in hours, not days.

Brandfolder

Brandfolder is a digital asset management system example designed for the cloud. Using cloud functionality, Brandfolder allows asset sharing internally and externally. Its guest access feature provides security controls. Marketers can organize, distribute, manipulate, and analyze digital assets, while providing content access to others.

Brandfolder allows marketers to track who uses which assets and how many times. It also includes an AI-based search and tagging feature. The company offers Premium and Enterprise pricing plans, but no further information is available on their website. While Brandfolder may not be as difficult to install as Adobe's Experience Manager, it does have a steep learning curve.

Bynder

Bynder offers digital asset management software through subscription-based services. Its solution offers creative teams the ability to source, manage, analyze, and distribute digital assets. Leveraging its cloud-based architecture, Bynder supports collaboration with workflow capabilities for in-progress reviews and approvals.

Templates are available, as is A/B testing. However, graphic designers must create the templates and indicate where the user can place custom images or text before they can be used. Bynder offers three pricing tiers, but no additional information is available. Third-party integrations are not listed on the company's website.

Lumavate's digital experience platform provides templates that can have a marketing campaign up and running in minutes.

Canto

Canto has been on the list of top digital asset management companies for years. However, their solution is not vendor-agnostic as it runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Cloud capabilities such as scaling and security are provided through AWS. The solution uses multi-factor authentication for access and permission control.

Canto also provides tracking features to determine who accessed the resource and how well it performed. The DAM incorporates artificial intelligence to help with retrieval and facial recognition for image tagging. Pricing is unavailable.

How Much Does a DAM System Cost?

Digital asset management companies may set their pricing based on functionality, users, or capacity. Depending on the solution, the price can range from $1,000 to $250,000 annually. Unlike other DAM vendors, Lumavate displays its pricing on its website. With its fully integrated Product Experience Platform, Lumavate offers a comprehensive solution that includes text messaging and form builder capabilities. Start a free trial or schedule a demo to improve your customer's journey.