Wedia : Stay in the race with DAM for the automotive industry

Digital transformation and the global COVID-19 pandemic have radically changed the traditional car-buying journey, pushing some players likeStellantisto terminate their distribution contracts with dealers across Europe. On top of that, automotive marketing has never relied so much on more visual marketing content, the only content capable of inciting the emotion necessary for a purchase. In 2020, several manufacturers even launched solutions totake the car-buying process 100% online, making this type of content of vital importance to any good marketing strategy. These new consumption patterns have generated a more pressing need for photos and videos. The automotive industry, however, aside from a few exceptions (like Tesla for example, even for used vehicles), has a sales model based on a network of dealerships selling to multiple markets, each of which requires a tailored approach, or better still, an approach that 'frees up' local marketing teams. In this article, we explain how a DAM solution for the automotive industry can help you meet these challenges and stay ahead of the competition.

A multitude of sources for a multitude of audiences. When it comes to content management, the automotive industry is as complex as they come. In this market, where content is primarily visual, the formats are extremely varied́: photos, videos, animations, 3D, print? Hangtags…

The result is an abundance of material and media intended not only for internal teams but primarily external audiences (general public, journalists, etc.). The material is also for partners, for communication (PR agencies and services) and sales (dealers). Each piece of content must be carefully examined, to make sure it is suitable for each communication channel. Automotive marketing is evolving along two axes, that of distributed marketing - providing the necessary content to dealers - and that of the digital experience - distributing the expected visual content on the brand's sites and social networks.

Why should automotive brands be interested in DAM?

Although when purchasing a car, the average time spent online by a buyer in the search phase is around 14 hours, the visit to a dealership for a real test drive is also crucial.

Digital asset management must therefore satisfy all these needs and channels. Communication agencies know how to manipulate source files to adapt their creations, but dealers must have simple and productive tools to customize a brochure, flyer or video sequence. Journalists, however, need access to visual content in a variety of formats, but also on their own schedule, i.e. only when an embargo is lifted after an announcement. Fans of the brand - influencers or not - are also fond of visual content, and it is in the manufacturer's best interest to track their consumption in order to evaluate their enthusiasm. Website visitors will appreciate a personalized digital experience: visuals that reflect their image, a vehicle configurator that displays the elements they are sensitive to, a vehicle featuring their favorite color or even a background landscape that corresponds to the region in which they live.

All the functions of DAM therefore work together to meet the needs of this industry. Distributed marketing is there to facilitate content adaptation while ensuring brand consistency; content lifecycle management helps get content online at the right time; content adaptation to create seamless digital experiences, optimal delivery so that watching a video is a declaration of the real experience to come. Not to mention the intelligent indexing of content to allow users to access it quickly.

DAM as a support for distributed marketing

For these brands, enabling distributed marketing is another key reason to invest in DAM. It is indeed difficult to supply partner and franchisee networks without a solution that is capable of providing them with customizable material (print, digital). For international companies, it is essential to be able to customize their communication according to the audience and the market they address.

A DAM solution also allows brands to understand how their teams use the different content made available to them and to keep control of the brand image, while supporting local initiatives. The same content can be broken down by entering metadata specific to each brand, business unit or country in your group.

Creating a positive and memorable customer experience

In the end, the proper circulation of this content largely defines the customer experience and its relationship to the product. Content must not only be diverse and attractive, but also personalized for each visitor and each context to enhance the user experience.

What could be better than finding your future vehicle in the most famous square in your city, or in an exceptional natural setting that resonates with the consumer's tastes?

Mass personalization requires the implementation of a couple, the DAM of course, but also a tool capable of controlling the digital experience, aDigital eXperience Management module. This tool will be able to distribute the DAM's marketing visuals in the best possible conditions, adapting them to the technical conditions, and will also be able to personalize them according to thepersonas of the automotive sector's customers.A centralized distribution that will make it possible to collect valuable usage data and measure the success of the various contents.

This improvement is achieved throughcontent scoringand analysis of marketing performance. It is essential that the customer's relationship with the brand and its image be immediately striking and positive.

DAM as the Single Source of Truth in your company

For these companies, DAM therefore provides the key function of a'Single Source of Truth'. This means that the DAM makes references to the assets that the teams can work with confidently: images, videos, marketing documents with finely tuned modification rights to facilitate localization without distorting the brand.

You are then assured that all your teams are working with the most recent versions of your digital assets and that the consistency of your group's communication will be maintained.

An efficiency gain without compromising on quality with DAM for the automotive sector

On this scale, there's no way we're going to let everyone wander around for hours looking for a visual. Content categorization and search functions should allow quick access to product packshots, campaign visuals, etc.

Productivity is also guaranteed by integrating DAM with existing PIM (Product Information Management) solutions as well as with brand or retailer e-commerce sites. In addition, DAM allows you to categorize and search for your content according to your company's operating and organizational rules.

Thanks to advanced search functionalities (full text, faceted, Artificial Intelligence…), your teams will be able to find the content they need very quickly. The considerable time saving generated by the use of the Wedia DAM allows teams to gain in productivity and thus to allocate more time to different tasks.

And beyond the sales support and the increasingly qualitative content that the company will be able to offer to its dealer network, for a brand, having a DAM with a Distributed Marketing Management (DMM) capability and offering dealers a simple solution for communicating locally, is still the best way to build loyalty within its network.

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Wedia, an SaaS software publisher, supplies a corporateDigital Asset Management(DAM) solution to several major international brands, and boasts clients who are among the world leaders in auto manufacturing in Europe, as well as an iconic North American motorcycle manufacturer.

Wedia offers marketing teams a DAM solution capable of meeting the needs and challenges of the automotive sector, promoting their marketing content from creation to distribution, with a firm focus on building reputation and ultimately boosting sales.