Emily Hale
Emily and her team understand proper training and maintenance is an integral part of a successful DAM system implementation.
What companies/organizations have you worked for as a DAM professional? What was your role at each?
My DAM experience began in 2006 at the University of Chicago Press, where I worked as a Project Manager. Here I used the DAM to search for cover art for our many academic journals. Using a DAM piqued my curiosity about what happens behind the scenes so I began looking for a job in which I could learn and be more involved with the day to day maintenance and activities.
My current position at AbbVie, a Bio-Pharmaceutical company, is Digital Asset Librarian. I’ve been the Digital Asset Librarian for about a year and a half. While at AbbVie, I have really gotten into the thick of Digital Asset Management. I was involved from the beginning with the implementation of our DAM and subsequent integrations with other systems. I also assist in building all training materials, execute ongoing user training, calculate metrics, support our customers, and perform system administration, maintenance, and cleanup.
How do you describe digital asset management to others?
One of the first questions I am asked when meeting someone new is usually, “what do you do?” I try to sum that up in a few sentences. I explain that I work for a pharmaceutical company, helping to manage the company’s digital assets, such as commercials, website materials, and app code. Our digital asset management system is called Compass. I work with marketing, agencies, admins from other integrated systems, and project managers. A big part of my job is sending out assets, helping users locate and download assets, performing system maintenance (such as keeping assets current), and desk-side refresher training.
How did you learn DAM? Any recommended sources?
I have a fantastic mentor at my current position. I would suggest finding someone who knows DAM well and ask every question you can think of, no matter how small. Every DAM is different but the underlying concept is relatively the same. I would also recommend the book DAM Survival Guide by David Diamond. It is written in layman’s terms so it is a great place to get started. It’s important to stay current. Reading blogs and attending conferences are great ways to keep up, and they also offer the added bonus of networking with other DAM users.
If you weren’t doing DAM as a career, what would you be doing?
I have small business called Soapily Ever After. On the weekends, I make soap, shampoo and conditioner bars, perfume, lip balm, etc. My workspace smells fantastic! I would enjoy doing that full time. I also love to travel. If traveling the world counted as a job, I would be all in!
What is your ongoing greatest challenge with DAM?
Training! After spending months rolling out training, we spend countless hours on the phone with our help desk line. Between the revolving doors at agencies, users not paying attention during training sessions, and marketing managers being reassigned, it seems we are always offering additional training or refresh sessions.
This interview originally appeared on DAM Guru on Mon, 08 Jun 2015. For more DAM News interviews, see the interviews index page.
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