DAM News Round-Up – 8th June 2020


A collection of recent DAM-related articles from around the web, sourced from DAM Federation member, Planet DAM.

Product Asset Management: Driving the Digital Supply Chain

Writing on CMSWire.com, Alan Porter from vendor, Nuxeo, discusses a term he refers to as ‘Product Asset Management’ which is essentially about collating and integrating all the data associated with a product and associating it with a digital entity, i.e. a product digital asset.  Alan notes the value of this concept to digital supply chains, which have become even more critical than physical ones recently.  Readers may also be interested in a related item Alan contributed for DAM News in February this year, How to Accelerate your Ideas to Market through Product Asset Management.

Getty Images Selects Digital Asset Management Platform Brandfolder to Power its Media Manager

Last week, DAM vendor, Brandfolder, announced they had been selected by Getty Images for their media manager platform.  Usually, we don’t cover customer acquisition stories on DAM News, however, this is noteworthy because (as long-term DAM market observers will be aware) Getty used to actively market their own DAM (and promotional materials still exist for it).  It’s not clear whether Getty’s own DAM (which effectively competes with Brandfolder) will continue to exist or if they have decided to exit the DAM software business altogether.  Some readers will also recollect that in 2018, Shutterstock decided to divest themselves of their own DAM software operation, WebDAM (which they acquired from the founders in 2014) to Bynder.  At this point, it seems that owning the entire digital asset supply chain may be less lucrative than some operators may have anticipated.

The Blind Spot of DAM Vendor Selection

John Horodyski discusses vendor selection over on CMSWire.com.  John has some interesting points and a basic demo checklist which are useful as a starting point for your research.  For those looking for some more in-depth material, I have recently published a report which covers the subject in some detail.

Bynder acquires video creation and template platform We Adapt

DAM vendor, Bynder, announced last week that they had acquired SaaS video platform. We Adapt, which was previously a standalone product and will now be integrated into a module for Bynder called ‘Video Brand Studio’.  I noted that they refer to the ability of the product to manage the distribution of video content to downstream digital channels (especially social media digital assets).  In terms of their overall product mix and integrating across the digital asset supply chain, this acquisition has a more compelling logic than some of their earlier strategic decisions.

5 Tips to Define your Metadata Strategy Before Migrating DAM

DAM vendor, MerlinOne have recently published an article on the importance of having a solid metadata strategy prior to migrating from one DAM to another.  The majority of the vendor selection activity I now see is replacement-oriented (i.e. moving from one system to another).   The complexity of migration is frequently underestimated by end-users, in particular when it comes to metadata.  This article is a good piece on planning this process, the fifth point on drafting a procedure and policy document particularly resonated with me.

The past present & future of digital assets

Martin Wilson, co-director of DAM vendor, Bright, has a podcast interview with Emma Pryke who also works for the same firm.  Usually these ‘meet the staff’ items that companies come up with are pretty dull affairs that just end up being filler content to cover up the fact the marketing people can’t think of anything that is both interesting and relevant to their employer’s target market.  On this occasion, however, Martin has some worthwhile things to say about the future direct of DAM (especially towards the end).  Martin has written some feature articles for DAM News in the past and they are well worth checking out as well.

Henry Stewart Festival of DAM

Due to the on-going COVID-19 situation, unless you live somewhere like New Zealand or possibly Belarus (and for completely different reasons) you probably won’t be going to many conferences this year, let alone DAM-related ones.  Henry Stewart (who normally stage four DAM industry events in New York, London, Chicago and San Diego) have announced a ‘Festival of DAM’ which is an on-line event scheduled for 21st September.  The first 300 end-users will get a ticket for free, everyone else will have to pay $10 (and solution providers will be charged $50 or $100, depending on whether they have more or less than ten employees).  Back in February, I wrote an article speculating that DAM conferences could be impacted by the Coronavirus situation and it’s a prediction I would have preferred to have got wrong.  It will be interesting to see how the online-only format works out and it’s certainly an idea that may well set the tone for other industry gatherings in the future, irrespective of what happens as a result of the current pandemic.

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