What files should management consider putting into a digital asset repository?

ALL THE BITS FIT TO PRINT OR PRESENT

Management should consider any digital file (or digitized image) that a field-marketing executive would appreciate seeing or using as a good candidate for storing in an asset repository. The figure below depicts the four general categories of marketing materials and the four states or conditions in which most brand resources exist.

BRAND IMAGES

Brand images consist of the most visible and, therefore, the most important type of brand resources to manage. These images may include logos and wordmarks, product photos, and illustrations—any of which may cost $500 to $20,000 to re-create if lost or misplaced. However, inconsistent brand-voice remains the greatest cost of not finding the right brand image.

COLLATERAL

Collateral consists of ready-to-print brochures, data-sheets, direct mailers, and newsletters.

PACKAGING

Packaging includes artwork for a box or carton as well as ready-to-print use instructions, labels, and shipping containers. A consumer brand marketer would add CAD drawings and artwork for point-of-purchase displays and merchandising aids.

MULTIMEDIA

Multimedia consists of PowerPoint presentations, Flash animations, QuickTime or Windows videoclips, audio MP3s, and ready-to-use HTML pages and support graphics.

FOUR CONDITIONS

Any reusable file may exist in any of four conditions:

1. Final-form content: PDFs, web pages, PNGs, etc.
2. Use as-is media parts: photos or images formatted for a particular medium and dimension or recorded audio files
3. Editable documents or media files: PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Photoshop images, etc., and
4. Source digital assets: Highest resolution files from which all marketing materials derive.