Here are the questions asked:

• How are you involved with Digital Asset Management?
• How does an organization focused on entertainment television use Digital Asset Management?
• Congratulations on winning the DAMMY Award for Best Strategy Ease of Use for End-User Interface. Tell us about this strategy.
• What advice would you like to share with DAM professionals and people aspiring to become DAM professionals?

Transcript:

Henrik de Gyor: [0:01] This is Another DAM Podcast about Digital Asset
Management. I’m Henrik de Gyor. Today I’m speaking with Paul Nicholson. Paul,
how are you?
Paul Nicholson: [0:09] Good, how are you doing?
Henrik: [0:10] Good. Paul, how are you involved with Digital Asset
Management?
Paul: [0:14] I am in charge of amongst other things, at Showtime Network, I’m in
charge of Digital Asset Management here for our creative group that we call,
“Red Group.”
Henrik: [0:24] How does an organization focused on entertainment television
use Digital Asset Management?
Paul: [0:29] We use Digital Asset Management in many, many ways here at
Showtime. There are a couple of different systems around the company handling
different kinds of assets, whether it be the long form shows and movies
that we air on our networks or the creative assets that we create to promote
the various shows. The majority of my responsibility falls under the promotion
aspect. [0:52] We create all of the video commercials or promos that run on
our networks. We manage and maintain them in a Digital Asset Management
system so that we can find them, archive them, keep them organized, distribute
them, et cetera.
[1:06] We also manage and maintain all of the print assets, all the advertising, and
marketing materials that we create in-house logos, graphic files, various elements,
lots of photography those types of things.
Henrik: [1:19] Congratulations on winning the DAMMY Award for Best Strategy
Ease of Use for End-User Interface. Tell us about the strategy.
Paul: [1:28] Thanks very much. That’s a very, very important part of what we do
here with Digital Asset Management. We really think about the user interface
and the customer experience, if you will, using our DAM system. Our customers
are other departments around the company, not necessarily outside consumers,
but internal customers. [1:49] It’s very, very important that they’re able to
find things quickly, get to exactly what they need in a moment’s notice, so they
can put together either a presentation or distribute a file to a partner that we’re
using to create something, or just find the assets that they need to create other
assets from those assets.
[2:10] User interface is very important. We take a, what we call here, a Tonka
truck mentality with user interface. It’s got to be real simple, big, clearly laid
out buttons and features that people know exactly what they’re doing. We lead
them down the path to what they’re looking for, as opposed to them having to
hunt and shop for things in confusing ways.
[2:34] I think a lot of people take the other approach. They put lots of features
on the screen, lots of buttons, lots of widgets, lots of tools, and great capabilities,
but that takes away from the user experience because they can’t ultimately
navigate it as quickly. There’s lots of training involved when you do it that way.
We take a very simple approach.
Henrik: [2:54] What advice would you like to share with DAM professionals and
people aspiring to become DAM professionals?
Paul: [2:59] I think the most important part, I always felt, with instituting a DAM
policy, or DAM application, in any organization is that it doesn’t replace the
business process. The business process needs to be there. It needs to be organized,
you need to have good policies and procedures for people to do their
jobs, and then the DAM system can complement that. [3:22] It’s not a replacement.
A lot of people feel like they’re going to buy a piece of software, they’re
going to install it, and that’s going to change and organize their entire operation.
It doesn’t really work that way. It’s just a complement to what you’re already
doing. Of course, it can enhance that, but it’s not going to replace good,
sound business policy and procedure.
Henrik: [3:42] Thank you, Paul.
Paul: [3:43] You’re welcome.
Henrik: [3:44] For more on Digital Asset Management, log onto
AnotherDAMblog.com. Another DAM Podcast is available on Audioboom,
iTunes and the Tech Podcast Network. Thanks again.

---

Listen to Another DAM Podcast on Apple Podcasts, AudioBoom, CastBox, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Spotify, TuneIn, and wherever you find podcasts.

---

Need Digital Asset Management advice and assistance?

Another DAM Consultancy can help. Schedule a call today