Introduction to Asset Management

As a concept, asset management looks at the assets generated during the course of business or creative tasks and asks a series of questions: Where will our team store the assets generated from a project? Who will need access to these assets? How can we get greater utilization out of the assets we have and when do we need to create new assets?

The Media Library

Pica9's answer to these questions is the Media Library, a digital asset management system (DAM),  for admins to store assets that will be shared with end users or layout elements used in templates. System administrators can control which users have access to the assets stored in the Media Library” on the front end of the system. 

Assets stored in the Media Library can be downloaded by field users, shared externally through boards, or placed into campaigns as campaign assets. 

It's important to note that although your team may use CampaignDrive, it is not a requirement for your team to use the Media Library. Through integrations, CampaignDrive can partner with other digital asset management systems and give access to systems that users are already used to with the added ability to use these assets in template composition. 

Asset Visibility and Permissions Overview

It's possible to make assets available to all end users or segment content to specific audiences. System administrators can craft segmentation strategies that can be as simple or as complex as needed through the use of role-based permissions, asset-specific permissions, brands and services. This applies to all areas where assets may be found: The Media Library, within templates (where users may choose an image/asset) or within campaigns. 

Asset Search Overview

While available to use within the CampaignDrive environment, the Media library is technically a separate DAM system with an integration; this means that the two systems have separate search functions. Upon initial upload to the Media Library, assets are assigned keywords to assist End Users in locating a particular asset. The keyword search ONLY applies to assets that are searched for within the Media Library (using the Media Library search). Assets that have been assigned to a campaign will use the Campaigns search, which involves text and Collateral Types. 

Accessing Asset Administration Tasks

Admins can manage the organization and types of assets available within the system via the  Content tab in the Admin section. Asset Types is the section that manages asset extensions and Asset Management is the section that manages Asset Categories and Keywords.

Asset Types

Asset Types define what file types users can upload into CampaignDrive. The default asset types are "Images" and "Files" and each has its list of specific file extensions. Image asset types can be used within templates. Additional file extensions may be added for either asset type.

In addition to the default asset types above, you can create new asset types. Please contact your Pica9 Customer Success Manager to review the benefits and limitations of creating new asset types in CampaignDrive

Asset Categories and Keywords Overview

Assets are organized into categories and subcategories by brand. Categories appear to the End User in the Browse Media Library Tab and to uploaders as options when uploading/editing an asset.

Keywords will appear to the uploader or Admin user in the same locations as Asset Categories.  See the screenshots below for examples of these pages to see where each feature appears.

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Admin Only Assets, Categories & Subcategories

Setting a category or asset to Admin Only will restrict the visibility of that asset to Users with the permission to View Admin Only Assets. This setting is used to limit the visibility of images and assets that are only used in template building. This ensures that End Users do not accidentally use an image that has been optimized for template use or one that they do not have permission to use in a stand-alone capacity. Admin Only can be set on a category or on an individual asset. When using Content Groups, pay close attention to the Admin Only setting to ensure that images are appearing (or not appearing) within templates as desired.

User Uploaded Images

End Users may have their own photography, graphics, or logos that they want to use in templates. End users may upload assets directly into a template if the image layer in the template has been set to allow this.  If Can Upload is enabled, there will be an upload button in the upper right of the Available Assets window and there will be a button link to Mine in the upper right.  Clicking Mine will display all assets this user has previously uploaded in this way.

These images will be uploaded into the User Images Category in the Media Library; admins are able to see and review what users have uploaded.  End Users can manage their uploaded images by clicking on the Manage Assets link in the Media Library tab on the navigation bar, provided this permission has been allowed by the administrators of the system.