September 19, 2017 by Maria Jollie
We recently attended Henry Stewart in Chicago and had a great time! Hopefully, were you able to make it to the event, too. We’re proud to have had a presence at the conference for several years in a row and made this one our most impressive showing yet! We were especially excited to debut a full omnichannel model, including a VR store experience with 3D and Studio Visualizer, a pop-up collection of our branded retail items, social media, and an ecommerce store in addition to our product demos.
In case you didn’t make it to the event, we took a few notes for you! Here are 8 lessons from Henry Stewart Chicago this year:
Theresa Regli never fails to captivate an audience, and this conference was no different. In her opening remarks, she showed us how engines have transformed the world, and how DAM is transforming the business world in the same way. But just like machines, DAM functions need to work in harmony to provide the best possible solution for the people using it, or it won’t be a valuable tool that sets the standard for effective business processes. We couldn’t agree more!
The reason most companies have a vision is because it drives the other initiatives of the company, and DAM is no exception. So many companies, both presenting and represented by attendees, shared their experiences of needing a DAM that could grow with them. Identifying your vision before researching and implementing a DAM is key for choosing the right long term solution.
When it comes to metadata, less is sometimes more. Many experts shared their need to simplify the number of metadata fields they had to include only the core items. Doing this helps avoid ambiguity due to excessive fields and saves time for people using the DAM. Once the core fields are set, the DAM administrator can expand the number of fields based on specific use-cases. Don’t complicate your DAM by basing fields on all possible search factors, rather than what your users are actually going to be searching for.
Another key factor in the effectiveness of a DAM is how it’s structured and used. If users don’t understand how the DAM is structured, it can lose all of its value. To keep everyone aligned on the structure and how to use the DAM, a governance team is necessary. A team of power users can often make up a good governance team that will decide how the DAM will be structured and organized based on how it is going to be used.
We had a lot of fun being a part of the great DAM bake off this year, where a few different vendors presented live demos based on criteria from a panel of judges. The challenge was having only 10 minutes to show all the different ways that MediaBeacon can be used to benefit the user. We learned that we can be the most effective with our demos when we know the specific requirements of the people who are we are showing the DAM to. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you know the core use-cases you will need from a DAM before you start viewing live demos.
DAM is not just an optional software program that helps people organize their assets, it’s an essential part of the business and marketing process for brands. It is the foundation of omnichannel consistency and operational efficiency for any company that has assets. Conversations on and off the stage at Henry Stewart revolved around the needs, challenges, strengths, and opportunities for DAM.
In the world of DAM, there are always new features, benefits, and uses for the technology. It truly has and will continue to evolve over time. And even though the solution might continue to change, there is one sentiment that will remain the same: DAM is valuable. People will continue to share their DAM strengths and struggles at Henry Stewart conferences.
AI is still a big trend in DAM, but it’s slowly making its way into enterprise DAM solutions. Not a lot of people can speak to AI with experience yet, but many continue to turn their heads and take notice of the possibilities. Expect to see more of it soon!
Missed us at Henry Stewart Chicago? Join us at Adobe Max in Las Vegas in October or Henry Stewart LA in November!
