While shopping online has been around for a while, the dynamics of e-commerce are changing. After all, one in four people across the globe now make purchases online — and this number is only growing.

According to statista, “In 2021, retail e-commerce sales amounted to approximately 4.9 trillion US dollars worldwide. This figure is forecast to grow by 50% over the next four years, reaching about 7.4 trillion dollars by 2025.” While this kind of rapid growth is exciting, it brings with it some challenges, too. It demands that companies scale along every part of the value chain, and marketing is no exception.

So how can marketers keep pace with these business trends? By relying on the same thing that their customers do: technology. Shoppers want to move fast with minimal friction along their buying journey. That’s where digital asset management (DAM) and product information management (PIM) software comes in. 

Let’s explore how DAM and PIM technology are helping e-commerce teams move faster to meet consumer needs. 

Every year comes with more digital touchpoints, new product content demands, and an increasingly complex omnichannel customer experience. At the same time, e-commerce is growing faster and faster — customers spent $861.12 billion online with U.S. merchants in 2020 (up 44.0% year over year). It’s never been so important to deliver personalized content at every step of the customer journey or so difficult to orchestrate.

While some brands are struggling to keep up, others use a digital asset management (DAM) solution to streamline their content workflow and deliver an omnichannel customer experience. New Balance and Fanatics have both stepped up to the challenge to deliver omnichannel customer experiences that are consistent, positive, and personalized. Here’s how they’re doing it. 

Many nonprofits use digital asset management (DAM) systems to coordinate marketing efforts between chapters, partners, and volunteers. Our case study of YMCA England & Wales showcases how they use the Widen Collective^® across 101 local organizations to create collateral that aligns with national campaigns and brand guidelines. 

In this article, we’ll explore how their evolving use of the Collective advances broader organizational initiatives and goals.

Nonprofit organizations in the service sector advance causes that make our world a better place. But because they often do so with limited resources, spending decisions are made with thoughtful consideration. After all, every dollar, pound, or euro spent helps a person in need!

Investments in new technology often have a significant impact on nonprofit budgets. But the right solution can create operational efficiencies that extend the reach and impact of an organization's work — and offset the initial cost. Let’s look at how Widen customers are using our digital asset management (DAM) system, the Widen Collective^®, to do just that.

The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) implemented their first digital asset management (DAM) platform, the Widen Collective^®, to store and organize all of their marketing assets — from creative files to employee photos. 

When they were ready to start, they created a metadata structure and assembled a team of interns to upload assets. However, many of these uploaders lacked the institutional knowledge needed to create meaningful metadata, and as a result the values entered were incomplete or inconsistent. Further, SFO didn’t have a governance policy, archival strategy, or a designated site administrator. Their DAM system became so ineffective it was barely used. 

Six years later, SFO decided to overhaul the entire DAM site; and Robin Brown, their Brand Manager, was asked to lead the effort. At the 2019 Widen Summit she shared how she turned this underutilized platform into an essential tool across their organization, and beyond. 

The launch of any new software can create some trying times. After all, change can be hard, and workflow interruptions are frustrating! That’s why it’s essential to offer user training as part of any digital asset management (DAM) implementation. 

The execution of digital asset management (DAM) software is dynamic — it’s constantly being modified with the goal of meeting, or even anticipating, evolving user needs. User feedback can provide valuable insights into what these updates should be, and why. 

At the 2019 Widen Summit, Sara Fix, Brand Project Manager at Pega, shared how her team uses surveys to gather feedback that informs improvements to their Widen Collective^® site. 

For over fifty years the Boston Ballet has brought internationally-acclaimed performances, world-class education programs, and valuable community initiatives to the Boston area. Their rich and interesting history is reflected across photographs, posters, brochures, news articles, and other artifacts. 

As the webmaster at the Boston Ballet, Michaela Donnelly manages this archive and administers their digital asset management (DAM) system. At the 2019 Widen Summit, she shared how she uses the Widen Collective^® to preserve and protect the Boston Ballet’s long-standing history.

We’re always proud to share the good news about our customers, especially when they’re doing great things with our technology!

Sargento recently won a 2019 MarTech Stackie Award for best marketing technology (martech) stack design. While MarTech Today spotlighted the story of how Sargento cooked up their stack, I had the chance to meet with Cami Schenck, the senior marketing manager of media and digital at Sargento Foods to learn more about the secret ingredients.

Sandra De Biasi is the project manager of digital assets and graphics at Varian, a Fortune 500 company and provider of radiation oncology treatment software and hardware.

At Varian, she manages their digital asset management system, which has played an integral role in managing the company’s brand assets during their recent corporate rebrand. Here’s her exciting story about how monitoring content analytics in their DAM system helped secure their valuable brand assets.