DAM! That made a difference
_{The Coromandel Case Study}

About

Located in the North Island of New Zealand, Destination Coromandel is the governing destination marketing and management organisation for the Coromandel Peninsula.

The in-house team of four are responsible for the regions brand management, including the creation, curation and distribution of brand collateral to both internal and external stakeholders. Stakeholders for the region are wide ranging and include local tourism businesses, councils and students.

Too much to manage manually

The core challenges the team faced centred around the manual processes used to find and distribute digital assets to stakeholders.

Lynette Dey, Content & PR Specialist, Destination Coromandel says, "The process we were using previously was very manual. We had no system in place to manage and store our content. We would spend hours looking for the right asset and ensuring it had the right usage conditions for the stakeholder that had requested it."

Relying heavily on external user generated content (UGC), the team were finding they had a lot of assets they couldn't account for. Resulting in valuable time and resource being taken away from other organisation projects and creating supply delays to key stakeholders.

Struggling to find the right content when needed, the team knew they needed a more efficient system to make finding, using and distributing digital assets easier. Lynette says, "It was like the wild west. We just couldn't manage it all. We realised there were valuable assets that we were under utilising, and we knew we needed to do something about it."

A purpose-built DAM was the right move for Destination Coromandel

Prior to implementing Brandkit, Destination Coromandel were granted an additional license to the asset management system the Thames Coromandel District Council used. While a comprehensive system, it was not purpose built for the team's digital asset management needs. Lynette says, "The system was designed to manage regulatory documents and consents, not the digital assets we were trying to manage and share. It was overkill for our needs, and we thought, if we're finding this system difficult to use, how can we expect stakeholders to use it independently without complication?"

After learning that similar destination management organisations like, Tourism Queenstown and Tourism New Zealand were finding success using Brandkit, Lynette says, "It became clear that Brandkit would be the right move for our organisation."

 Happy to support a local, purpose-built DAM solution Destination Coromandel implemented Brandkit with the hopes it would resolve their current and future challenges. "We really liked Brandkit's user interface and user experience. After spending time talking to the Brandkit team, we realised that because Brandkit is purpose built for the destination tourism industry it would meet our needs now and well into the future", says Lynette.

Advanced functionality made asset management a breeze

Destination Coromandel have been using Brandkit for several years now and have continued to find great results.
It's simple user interface and search functionality have meant the team can share the correct digital assets with the people, businesses and entities that need them. Lynette says, "Today, because of Brandkit we are able to share the right assets and asset details with the people that need them. We've had all sorts of people use the system to get what they need, from school students to tourism businesses. Brandkit has made it much easier for us to control our destination's image."

Brandkit has redefined how the team organises and shares its digital assets to both internal and external stakeholders. A once time-consuming and manual process has been streamlined with Brandkits simple yet effective tagging system. "We can manage our library very easily now. Controlling what assets stakeholders see and use," says Lynette.

Organised assets allowed for a quick campaign pivot in the wake of COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Destination Coromandel had organised digital assets. This enabled them to quickly pivot and release their first ever summer campaign.

Lynette says, "What changed for us was that international marketing was off the table. We had to pivot quickly to fill the gap that market had left. Thankfully, we were already using Brandkit which made finding and utilising the right digital assets much faster, making it easier for us to release our first ever domestic tourism summer campaign."

Adding more assets to Brandkit

Fans of the Brandkit DAM platform, Lynette explains that the team are keen to move all of their digital asset management processes to Brandkit. Next on the list to migrate are the brands videos, virtual reality and UGC.  

To other destination organisations considering DAM platforms Lynette offers this advice, "Be diligent from the outset. Make sure you understand the fundamentals of good asset management so you can utilise the power of the platform. If you know how it works, you'll get more from the get-go. Brandkit have been a true partner and have undoubtedly helped us make the most of the platform."