Getting DAM Ready, Holiday Edition
making a list, checking it twice
It’s officially mid-December, with the final full-length workweeks staring us down. Hanukkah and Christmas arrive together this year, midweek, to encourage manic preparation to cluster RIGHT NOW. I have 4 parties this week, one of which I’m hosting. As I should be putting together my party-planning list (having already completed my card ordering, gift buying, and festive event clothing shopping lists), why not put it off for a minute and share a list for getting DAM-ready instead. ‘Tis the season for giving.
Now this is a list to start before talking to any vendors or making a budget. Perfect for this time of year when no big decisions are being made. If you prepare now, you’ll be ready once there is the opportunity (and funding!) in 2025.
Do an inventory. Put on some Christmas jams and/or jammies and start organizing. Whether you are moving into a new DAM or starting fresh, find out how many assets, the estimated file size, and file types (jpg/pdf/mov etc.) you’ll need to include.
Talk to the users. If you have a DAM, current users, if not, future users will do. Schedule a 30-minute Zoom with a Miro board or grab a conference room and some Post-its and brainstorm what a DAM could do to improve their experience.
Assemble your dream team. Gather those elves! It might just be in your head right now, but who should be involved in the planning, execution, and maintenance of your future DAM? I have had clients focus on only what the technology will give them and not the people and processes they will need to succeed. From designers, content authors, and devs, to marketers and leadership, find your future supportors.
Listen in meetings. A tough ask this time of year, but persevere and give yourself a little treat afterward. Listen for pain points (lawsuits, lost work, redoing campaigns, paying outside agencies) that could be improved/fixed with a good DAM.
Assemble your metadata structure. Another solo task for now, so maybe give yourself an eggnog or cookie. Use a sheet to lay out the taxonomy, tagging, and industry jargon you’ll want to ingest into your assets to enrich them. Don’t worry, you’ll share this with other DAM users and content providers in the New Year, but for now, capture the important bits.
Look at vendors. Some light holiday cyber shopping. Check out the DAM vendors to compare their offerings and find those that fit your needs. It’s a wishlist at this point, so gather lots of options and schedule demos for January.
Start a pitch deck. Oh, yes, you should steal this idea from those tweens putting together their gift lists! For now, it can be just a bunch of slides with the research you have been doing (see points 1-6) but plan to spend some time in January prettying it up to share with your stakeholders.
And with that, you have done your best to wrap up 2024 in a nice festive bow!