'Under the hood, everything is the same; on top of that is a layer of customization.'

Jeanne Haket, owner of Frontline Communications, has assisted many companies in the area of branding and corporate identity as a communications expert and design manager. Jeanne speaking about the points of interest when choosing a brand portal.

Consistent appearance

When I help organizations strengthen their brand image, the desire for a brand portal soon comes into play. After all, you want to properly document and monitor a new corporate identity to ensure a consistent look and feel. When looking for a brand portal, you actually have two choices: a standard solution or a custom solution. A custom solution quickly becomes expensive, but again, a standard solution often doesn't meet your greatest needs.

Best of both worlds

Comrads' solution offers the best of both these worlds: a standard solution with room for customization. Under the proverbial hood everything is the same, but on top of that you can have it tailored to your specific needs. This allows you to hitch a ride on the technical developments Comrads implements in their solution for all customers while still being able to meet your own specific needs.

Making life a little easier

A brand portal should help you get a grip on your brand processes, but most of all it should make your life easier. If it's very complicated, people won't use it. Ease of use is an important condition for the success of your brand portal, and that is what Comrads' solution provides. You can easily ensure that the system supports your work processes and makes them easier.

Change is something of the whole organization

The fact remains that implementing a change - including a new system - is something for the entire organization, not just the communications department. You still regularly see people thinking: okay, we've bought a nice system, now we're done. But it doesn't work that way. You have to keep maintaining the system, keep filling it, and the whole organization has to contribute to that. That is why it is good if each department has an ambassador who can help his or her colleagues work with the brand portal, who is easy to approach and who can quickly answer the first questions, but who also ensures that the platform remains 'alive'.

Do not stand still

A lot is possible with Comrads' platform. That's great, but it also means that their clients need to take the time to test carefully. As a communications manager, you may think you have come up with a logical navigation structure, for example, but is that really the case? Can people easily find what they need? Involve a UX designer in the project, who will watch with you. And keep evaluating, keep developing the system, keep making sure it fits your organization and your work processes. Otherwise, your system will be obsolete in three years, and that's a shame. After all, you constantly renew a website.

Curious?

Want to talk further about what a Digital Asset Management system can do for your organization and how to make its use a success? Feel free to contact us for a free on-site demo. We are happy to think along with you.