An independent survey commissioned by Cloudinary highlights substantial hurdles faced by brands in digital asset management (DAM), specifically regarding integration, workflow, collaboration, and post-production processes. Many companies currently juggle multiple DAM systems, which complicates the management of an ever-growing array of digital assets, particularly in today’s visual-centric economy.
The findings reveal that a significant number of brands rely on visual content to achieve critical marketing goals. According to the survey, 64% of respondents believe that images and videos are crucial for building brand trust, while 62% see visual content as integral to improving product credibility. Additionally, 59% of brands report that visual assets enhance market awareness. These statistics underscore the increasing reliance on visual content, with 25% of surveyed brands storing over 50,000 digital assets.
While text-based assets like documents, PDFs, and presentations account for 85% of stored assets, visual assets are not far behind, constituting 79% for images and 66% for videos. The expectation to increase visual content usage is significant, with 65% of brands anticipating growth in image usage, 64% in short-form videos, and 41% in 3D content. This increasing volume of digital assets creates a pressing challenge for effective management.
The survey points out notable bottlenecks in key processes. A substantial 51% of brands report that management resources hinder the deployment of visual content, while 48% struggle with the time and effort necessary for asset variations. Moreover, managing requests and feedback from development teams emerged as the leading challenge, cited by 44% of respondents, followed closely by issues related to the timely deployment of live assets and delays in receiving feedback.
The report also highlights common pain points raised by creative partners. Over half of the respondents (50%) noted concerns regarding asset quality and the support for multiple formats, which can complicate the collaboration process. Delays in asset delivery further exacerbate these issues.
Wanda Cadigan, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Cloudinary, summarized the situation succinctly: “The findings of our DAM research lay bare the reality we’re seeing every day. Customers continue to rely on us to manage and automate the visual content lifecycle on an ‘epic scale’. Legacy DAMs were simply not built with today’s visual-first experiences in mind.” This observation illustrates a significant gap between the requirements of modern brands and the capabilities of traditional DAM systems.
To address these challenges, there is an increasing recognition of the potential of automation and generative AI in streamlining DAM processes. During the survey, participants identified five key tasks ripe for automation in contemporary DAM systems: personalised asset composition (53%), asset variations for different channels and devices (49%), brand guideline moderation (43%), asset editing (54%), and automated image and video management (52%). Additionally, 47% of respondents see automatic content modification and personalisation as beneficial features.
These promising opportunities align with the growing demand for efficiency and agility in visual content management. As brands contend with the overwhelming amount of digital assets, the integration of automation and AI can significantly alleviate workflow challenges and improve overall productivity.
The Cloudinary Global DAM Survey, conducted by Researchscape International, gathered insights from 420 DAM users in various sectors, including marketing, IT, and executive leadership positions across 14 countries. The results paint a clear picture of the current landscape of digital asset management, highlighting an urgent need for technological adaptation.
In conclusion, brands are operating in an increasingly challenging digital ecosystem, where the effective management of visual content is paramount. The survey’s findings shed light on critical problem areas and highlight potential technological solutions to drive efficiency and improve collaboration within DAM systems. The continuous evolution of digital content necessitates that brands adapt their strategies and tools to stay competitive and responsive to market demands.