BrabantSport and Comrads: Working together to build a stronger Brabant through Sport!

Sport has the power to connect people, to inspire and to let them get the best out of themselves. That is the passion that drives BrabantSport. And that is exactly what we as Comrads love about our cooperation with this great organization! BrabantSport works hard not only to promote top sport, but also to strengthen the region through sport. And we get to help them do that with a digital solution that supports their mission: #brabantsterkerdoorsport!

The challenge: Reach more Brabanders, faster and more efficiently

Jelle van de Kruijs, Content Marketer at BrabantSport, enthuses, "Our mission is to inspire as many Brabanders as possible with the power of sports. We want our message to reach as many people as possible, and for that we need the right tools to share quickly and easily with our partners and stakeholders."

The Tilburg Games, ©BrabantSport, Studio Robert Sanders

The reason for deploying a DAM system is fourfold for BrabantSport. First, BrabantSport has set the goal to be the authority within the Brabant sports world by 2028. To achieve this, it is crucial to be proactive and provide stakeholders with relevant images and content quickly and easily. In addition, BrabantSport wants to literally give Brabant athletes a face: make their achievements visible and share their stories. At the same time, there is the strategic ambition to increase public reach. By giving partners faster access to inspiring content, the message of BrabantSport is further strengthened. Finally, there was the practical need to centralize the large amount of content - which was scattered across different folders, network drives and locations. This makes management easier and increases internal accessibility.

This combination of strategic and practical motivations led to the search for a solution that would allow all content to be managed and shared in a structured way. This is how Comrads came into the picture with their Digital Asset Management (DAM) system.

A DAM system for greater impact and reach

With Comrads' DAM system, renamed BrabantSportbank, they have not only better organized their content, but also improved the speed at which they can switch gears. BrabantSportbank is deployed in several ways:

• External communication: Their corporate partners can now easily access beautiful photos and inspiring stories. So they can share their contribution to Brabant and the region much more often and easily. Sharing images with external parties is now much more efficient than before, when it had to be done via tools such as WeTransfer.
  

• Internal organization: BrabantSportbank is also used as an internal Image bank , for the storage of logos, corporate identity elements and other image material needed for their designers. It is also used to store stakeholder logos and event materials. During a team lunch, the system was introduced internally and employees realized how many great things BrabantSport actually does - something that became visible thanks to the overview and central storage.

What makes it so valuable to BrabantSport? Jelle: "Thanks to the DAM solution, we can not only facilitate our network better, but also increase our own reach. The content gets to the right people faster, and that not only strengthens the message, but also the engagement."

Faster switching, better collaboration and more reach

Using DAM has not only helped BrabantSport connect more quickly with designers and partners, but it has also increased the reach of their content. All content is now in one clear place, making it easily accessible to everyone. And what that delivers? More exposure, more reach and a more efficient collaboration with their partners.

"It has really helped us distribute the beautiful content we produce more frequently and easily," says Jelle. "We can now respond faster and support our partners better with inspiring content."

In addition, BrabantSport is now in the process of transitioning older repositories such as the T-disk and Teams to the DAM system. The desire is to use Teams only for documents, and to run all visual material entirely through the DAM system. According to Jelle, it would even be good if in time there would be a "tougher approach" where old systems are no longer updated - to really force the transition.

A mobile app for the DAM system would be a welcome addition for BrabantSport. This would allow them and their partners to upload, download and share images of events and projects on the go even more easily. Automatic notifications for new uploads and AI-based suggestions based on previous search behavior are also ideas that would contribute to an even better user experience. At Comrads, we become very happy with this kind of feedback. We continue to actively spar with our clients on how to make the platform even smarter and more user-friendly.

A partnership that works: BrabantSport and Comrads

And what do they think of the cooperation with Comrads? Jelle is positive: "The cooperation with Comrads is just very nice. We keep getting great help from Erwin, Henk and Laura - it feels like a pleasant cooperation in which we really pull together."

If Jelle had to describe the cooperation in three words, he says: productive, enriching, pleasant.

Tip for others: Start with a plan!

If you are also considering deploying a DAM system, Jelle has an important tip: "Carefully consider what your goals are and who you want to reach with it. Make a plan of action and think carefully before you start filling it. This will prevent you from running into problems afterwards."

In short, the collaboration between BrabantSport and Comrads is a great example of how technology can contribute to the mission to inspire and connect more people. Comrads' DAM system has helped BrabantSport distribute content faster and more efficiently, improve collaboration with partners and ultimately create a stronger Brabant - through sport!

Also making more impact with your content?

Like BrabantSport, do you want to move faster, expand your reach and better facilitate your partners with powerful content? Discover what a Digital Asset Management system can do for your organization.