What Is DAM?

Guide to Digital Asset Management

Digital Asset Management (DAM) software handles the process of collection, storage, enrichment, and distribution of all media assets.

The importance of DAM in modern business environments lies in its ability to streamline the organization. A modern DAM software automates retrieval and distribution of digital content, ensuring brand consistency and enhancing collaboration.

In this complete guide, we’ll dive into:

What is a digital asset?
What is DAM?
Benefits of using DAM
Which teams benefit from DAM software implementation?
DAM and PIM: A powerful combination
When should I consider a DAM solution?
Choosing the right DAM Solution for your business
Pimberly’s integrated cloud-based Digital Asset Management solution
Case Study

See DAM in action!

What is a digital asset?

A digital asset is any file that is stored digitally and is uniquely identifiable. Here’s a breakdown of the types of digital assets that can be managed within a DAM system:

Images
Videos
Animations
Logos
GIFs
PDFs

Audio files
Presentations
Sizing charts
3D images
360 images
CAD files

All these assets inform your customers’ buying decisions and enrich the online experience. Even after a customer has completed their online purchase.

What Is DAM?

Digital Asset Management solutions offer a central hub where you can gather, store, and enrich all branded assets. DAM systems connect your assets across unlimited sales channels and physical stores for publication.

It serves as a centralized location for different departments, meaning your teams don’t need to work disparately from different systems. Which can cause unnecessary duplication, errors and slow down time to market.

What Does a DAM Solution Do?

Import & Upload

Import multiple formats of rich digital assets from unlimited internal and external data sources, centralizing them into one single location. These can be assets from suppliers, your photography studios, or campaign teams.

Manage & Retrieve

Manage the production, editing, and enrichment of all your assets from a single source of truth. And if your DAM software is integrated with a PIM solution (Product Information Management), your digital assets will automatically associate with the rest of its product data (SKU number, descriptions, translations, etc).

Enrich & Classify

Optimize all assets for different sales channels and campaigns easily within the DAM. This includes all relevant metadata such as alt and title tags—meaning your assets are always sales-ready, with no missing data.

Distribute & Publish

Publish your digital assets across unlimited channels, from Amazon to social media platforms like Instagram, in the unique format required. Easy automation makes this quick and easy for fast time to market.

Benefits of Using DAM Solutions

1. Save time and speed time to market

Disparate systems often mean you lose time searching for digital assets and duplicating efforts across teams. Manual authorization chains can also hold up publication. DAM systems automate this whole process via a central source of truth, accelerating time to market.

In an integrated DAM and PIM solution like Pimberly, assets are auto-linked to their associated products. Meaning all product data can be held centrally to the individual SKU. This saves teams a massive amount of time and ensures every aspect of product information is sales ready.

2. Boost productivity and cross-team alignment

With a cloud DAM system, every team can access everything they need. At any time and from anywhere in the world, provided there’s a secure internet connection.

A powerful DAM solution works via automatic workflows to trigger alerts and move the enrichment process through. So your team members will always know what actions they have and their deadlines.

3. Achieve super SEO

93.12% of search queries across all search engines are done via Google. We know that asset size plays a part in site load speed. So automatically resize your digital assets stored in your DAM so slow page speeds won’t harm your SEO efforts.

Pimberly DAM automatically generates search-friendly alt image name tags so you’ll always be SEO compliant. And, Pimberly DAM will re-format and name assets as they’re being published to unique channels. So you’ve always got control over SEO titles.

image of a cartoon diagram demonstrating omnichannel behavior

4. Drive discovery and demand across all channels

High-quality digital assets that are fully optimized will ensure your products show up in image and video searches. Differentiated and engaging digital assets also stand you out against the competition and lead to higher click through rates.

Often, customers will be interacting with your products across various platforms. So consistent messaging is super important. Having everything in one place makes it easy to ensure all your digital assets meet your carefully crafted brand guidelines.

Lastly, with popular channels like TikTok and Instagram, having the infrastructure to create and manage this content provides a big competitive advantage.

60% of Online Shoppers Say: A Good-Quality Photo Is The Most Important Factor in Online Sales.

5. Boost conversion and average order values (AOV)

Capabilities such as zoom and 360 views are known to result in higher conversion rate by replicating that in-store experience. These assets can easily be managed within a DAM solution.

Increase Average Order Values (AOV) with digital assets to show which related products your customers might also be interested in. Think of functionalities like “shop the look” or “shop the room”.

Lastly, launching campaigns with DAM means you’re better equipped to respond to market changes and react to consumer demands. Getting to market ahead of your competitor gives you a head start on maximizing on those conversions.

image of a line graph with dollar signs to illustrate the benefits of hyper personalization

6. Reduce returns

The average eCommerce return rate is between 20-30%. Online shopping means customers aren’t able to touch and see products in real life. This is where your digital assets really add value. A combination of high-quality images, videos, size, and style guides work wonders to break down the digital barriers.

Which teams benefit from DAM software implementation?

DAM software is utilized across retail, distribution and manufacturing. To put it simply, any business that manages digital assets will benefit from a DAM system. Let’s take a look at how it can assist specific teams:

Studio teams

Studio teams can quickly and efficiently upload everything they’ve been working on to a Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform. Removing manual processes means studio images will be ready for sale much quicker. So other teams (campaign, merchandising, eCommerce etc) make quicker progress too.

Version control tools enable you to see when assets were uploaded, and who by. So only the most up-to-date version is worked on and published across all sales channels.

Product managers

Product managers are responsible for delivering products from design, all the way through to them being ready to sell online. Depending on the industry, this may also include Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

Any powerful Digital Asset Management software will support file formats such as Computer-Aided Design (CAD) assets, JPEG, PNG, PDF etc. So it’s easy to track the product as it moves through its lifecycle.

Centralized access to all digital assets makes it easy for product managers to ensure there’s consistency across their products.

eCommerce teams

In eCommerce, the primary focus is to create amazing online experiences that keep customers coming back. With the rise of omnichannel and multichannel strategies, social commerce, and personalization, eCommerce teams are increasingly dealing with larger, more complex digital assets.

DAM systems ensure all digital assets are of the highest quality and tailored for different use cases. For instance, DAM ensures all assets meet the specific requirements of each channel. And when it comes to personalization, it enables tailored imagery depending on location, demographics, or buyer intent of the customer.

SEO teams

SEO teams can ensure the relevant metadata with the right keywords are allocated to all digital assets within the DAM. Meaning products have the best chance of appearing on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This can extend to all types of digital assets, such as care instructions, certifications, and Product Data Sheets.

Powerful storage means SEO teams can also store and optimize video transcripts against product listings. Again, this will give your products the best possible chance of being surfaced in search results.

Sales and marketing

Marketing teams need access to digital assets when planning and running product promotions. Digital assets are crucial when writing the descriptions so they accurately reflect the product. As well as ensuring all assets comply with brand guidelines for cross-channel consistency.

For sales teams, access to digital assets like accreditations or sizing charts, is super important to provide accurate information to customer queries.

DAM and PIM: A powerful combination

A Product Information Management (PIM) system centralizes and enriches product data, ensuring accuracy and consistency across all sales channels. Learn more about the benefits of PIM.

When paired with Digital Asset Management (DAM), PIM becomes even more powerful, seamlessly organizing and delivering rich media like images, videos, and 3D assets alongside product data.

Integrating PIM and DAM enhances the product experience by ensuring customers see high-quality, accurate, and engaging product content across every touchpoint.

This combination is especially valuable for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, helping them streamline workflows, reduce errors, and drive sales.

To understand if you’ll benefit from an integrated DAM solution, see the features Pimberly offers in our core PIM + DAM platform:

DAM Features

Line Sheets

A line sheet provides granular details on a product, including dimensions, material, variants etc.

The Pimberly platform collates all the information needed to create them from the PIM. This data then populates pre-defined templates to automatically create brand-new line sheets, stored within the DAM. Because they’re connected, any changes made to the product data will reflect in real time. So you know that everyone has access to the most accurate and up-to-date information.

Spec and Sell Sheets

Similar to line sheets, spec and sell sheets are a powerful way of sharing detailed and complex product details with customers. They’re also really handy if you need to provide extra details through the supply chain, or with internal teams.

In the same way line sheets are created, Pimberly can also create unlimited amounts of spec and sell sheets, automatically.

Learn more about Spec and Sell Sheets

Auto-sizing charts

Auto-sizing charts within Pimberly enable you to easily create accurate, comprehensive sizing charts using the data held within the PIM. Once created, changes to the dimensions will automatically create a new auto-sizing chart.

It’s also possible to create sizing charts based on product hierarchy at either a product or child level.

Learn more about Autosizing

Image of a laptop displaying a sofa for sale

Catalog

Catalogs are a great way for you to create an even more refined customer experience. Pimberly catalog automates the creation, publication, and editing of your catalogs, all from a central location. Tricky elements of creating catalogs, such as pagination and indexing, are completely automated, saving you a tonne of time and money.

It’s also easy to create localized versions of your catalog, with tailored digital assets for each market you sell to. Connect to pre-made InDesign templates to ensure the formatting of the catalog is consistent with your brand guidelines. This saves creative teams significant time and resources as both text and, importantly – imagery – will be imported in the correct format.

Learn more about Catalog

Auto Image Tagging

One of the most time-consuming factors of managing digital assets is making sure they have the correct tags.

With Pimberly AI, tagging your digital assets is totally automated. As you upload your digital assets, Pimberly AI uses powerful technology to identify objects and faces in your assets. It leverages technologies including facial recognition, object auto-tagging, and deep learning to generate the best possible results.

This free’s up time to focus on delivering best-in-class online experiences. It also works wonders in preparing your images for top on-site discoverability.

Learn more about Auto Image Tagging

Audit and compliance capabilities

Pimberly’s integrated DAM software keeps an archive and record of any changes you make to your digital assets. So you’ll always have an audit trail of version history.

Different sales channels have different criteria for the format of their imagery. Within Pimberly PIM, define these criteria for each channel so assets are published with the correct dimensions and resolutions. Ensuring images are fully compliant in this way means your products will always be optimized with the imagery you’ve planned.

Shop the look

“Shop the look” functionality works wonders for increasing AOV. Let’s take an example of a lifestyle shot of an outfit or a fully fitted-out room. By auto-associating the products using the metadata, Pimberly seamlessly creates a ‘shop the look’ experience. It’s also quick and easy to create product relationships within your PIM to create kits and bundles.

When should I consider a DAM solution?

Are you:

Drowning in digital assets scattered across endless systems and spreadsheets?
Struggling to deliver an engaging online experience without high-quality visuals like zoom or 360° views?
Frustrated by the hassle of tailoring digital assets for different geographies and locales?
Losing out on search rankings because your product content isn’t optimized for SEO?
Dealing with high return rates due to poor or inconsistent product representation?
Finding it impossible to maintain brand consistency across multiple online and offline touchpoints?
Wasting time juggling campaign assets across teams and platforms with no central hub?

Ready to boost efficiency, drive demand, and deliver a standout brand experience? Book your demo with Pimberly today.

See the DAM in action

Choosing the Right DAM Solution for Your Business

Selecting the right Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution is crucial for ensuring seamless asset organization, retrieval, and distribution. The right DAM provider should align with your business goals while offering the flexibility to scale as your needs evolve. Here’s what to consider when making your choice:

Key Factors to Consider

When evaluating a DAM solution, keep these essential factors in mind:

Ease of Use & Adoption – A user-friendly interface ensures quicker onboarding and efficiency across teams.
Integration Capabilities – Your DAM should work seamlessly with your existing tech stack, including PIM, CMS, and eCommerce platforms.
Security & Compliance – Ensure robust access controls, versioning, and compliance with industry regulations.
AI & Automation Features – Intelligent tagging, metadata management, and workflow automation enhance productivity.
Cost vs. ROI – Consider the total cost of ownership, including implementation, training, and ongoing maintenance.

Check out our questions to ask before selecting a DAM provider to ensure you make an informed decision.

Customization & Scalability

Your DAM solution should be able to grow with your business. Look for:

Custom Metadata & Taxonomies – Organize assets in a way that aligns with your unique workflows.
Role-Based Access Controls – Ensure the right people have access to the right assets.
Global Scalability – As your asset library expands, your DAM should handle increasing storage and user demands.
Flexible Deployment Options – Cloud-based, on-premise, or hybrid models to suit your IT infrastructure.

For insights into optimizing your DAM strategy, explore our guide on DAM Best Practices.

Get the Best DAM for Your Business

Choosing the right DAM software is a game-changer for maximizing asset efficiency and brand consistency. Discover the Best DAM Software to find the ideal solution for your needs.

Schedule a Demo of Pimberly DAM today

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Case Study

One of the most significant improvements The Chef’s Warehouse has seen has been in the handling of product image management. Previously, images had to be uploaded and then individually assigned to products, a process that was incredibly time-consuming. Pimberly’s DAM streamlined this by enabling bulk uploads.

See the full customer story