As multi-branded organizations look to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) products and services, they will quickly find that the emergence of multiple brand governance and tracking visibility using AI has more power than simple storage of an asset. Therefore, companies must change how they evaluate platforms when considering which software to purchase, specifically by looking first at deployment times, risks of adoption, and overall cost of ownership.
This guide provides pricing structures, hidden fees, and operational timelines for the major platforms in order to assist companies in developing a detailed strategy for deploying new brand management software and tools.
Find Your Main Problem Before Buying
Before purchasing brand management software and tools, companies should identify what operational failure(s) the software will solve.
In many instances, companies will spend weeks testing a platform without knowing whether their primary operational failure is due to incomplete/missing assets, failure to adhere to design standards/rules, or a slow response to requests for approval/feedback/advice.
Each of these issues has its own unique requirements for platform architecture. For example, if your employees are not able to locate logos within your existing library of media, you would want to use a media asset library; if your partners do not adhere to your brand guidelines or standards, you would want to create a branded template.
Rolling out eCommerce and brand management software and tools usually requires four to six weeks of time from a dedicated team for setup.
However, how quickly your employees learn to use a new platform will have a significant impact on this timeframe.
In addition to hidden costs of non-media or technology, you should be aware of how much your overall budget for the project is going to be impacted by "add-on" products that vendors typically do not provide in their pricing quotes (for example: external media portals, automated visual tagging, and custom data reporting). Consequently, the follow-on costs can easily increase your initial license fee by 20% - 40% or more.
Enterprise Asset Libraries and Platforms
1. Bynder
Bynder has overtaken the competition in enterprise-level solutions by providing strong emphasis on AI-powered product search functions and the use of strong controls for access to products from partners.
The 46% increase in customer volume from the previous year indicates that customers are committed to using your service for the long term.
The furniture business has recorded a savings of approximately 400 hrs a week since implementing their automated workflow systems. The overall application is outstanding for grouping large volume brand portfolios across multiple locations and brands.
2. Marq
Marq has been recognized as a leader because of their full-disclosure pricing options available. Their lowest entry-level subscription plan is $10/mo.
The user team pricing structure is via user at $10 a month and custom contracts are available for large companies. Marq locks the templates down in the creative section so that marketers cannot edit or alter preapproved designs.
3. Frontify
The mission of Frontify is to be your hub for a complete living brand guide and structured brand identity. Monthly pricing starts at $79; however, corporate or governmental enterprises will require custom quotes.
The best use-case for Frontify is if your company requires alignment between hundreds of external partners and hundreds of internal creatives and your staff has no formal design training.
4. Canto
Canto continues to be a popular choice for businesses needing an in-depth video-management system, as well as traditional still images. Some of its capabilities include previewing videos, quick trimming of video files and direct integration with video editing systems.
Canto's pricing is $0 for a free tier plan, $25 for an entry level, and $900 for a standard business subscription. The system is an excellent resource for any marketing team with a significant commitment to video content.
5. Air
Air provides a highly visual board-based design for storage that makes sense to marketers. Creator-level pricing for Air starts at $10 per month. The professional tier costs $500 a month while the standard business plan at $900 a month.
It's extremely fast to set up and deploy, so it is a great system to use for teams transitioning away from basic cloud storage folders.
6. Chili Publish
Chili Publish is focused on providing extreme scale and complex graphic automation for large retail and global brands. This solution is a large investment with a minimum monthly fee of $875.
Chili allows users to create highly detailed, data-driven templates that need to be translated into multiple languages. This tool is designed for volume and can save thousands of hours of design work through automation.
7. Brandfolder
Brandfolder has an amazing AI to automatically read and tag images. This means that it has the ability to quickly search through huge corporate archives.
While the pricing for Brandfolder varies, be prepared for enterprise-level pricing. Brandfolder easily integrates with the leading web content management systems (CMS) and customer data platforms (CDP).
8. Papirfly
Papirfly is designed to help global corporations create local marketing materials without the need for a centralized design team. This means that local offices can create on-brand campaigns quickly.
Additionally, Papirfly eliminates the wait time that is often associated with creating custom designs. This significantly speeds up the launch time of local markets.
Fast Rollout Brand Management Software and Tools
1. Canva
Canva is a leader in the startup and small business segment due to its lack of training requirements. The free tier is one of the most popular versions available to users. The monthly fee for the Pro tier is only $15 per month.
The business plan is $20 per user per month, and includes advanced controls and team sharing features. For those teams that do not have dedicated design resources on staff, this is going to be the fastest way to get your products out to market.
2. Adobe Express
Adobe Express is integrated with the larger Adobe creative network, making it a great solution for companies who already use Adobe design programs. The pricing starts at $7.99 a month.
Adobe Express allows everyday marketers to change professional layouts while adhering to the company's branding guidelines. This program also provides a quick way to make social media updates and perform quick visual edits.
3. Templafy
Templafy is built into corporate document systems like Microsoft Office and ensures every contract, presentation, or email matches the current branding standards.
Templafy solves the issues surrounding out-of-date sales presentations and off-brand legal documents. By refreshing templates as employees open files, Templafy ensures compliance in the background.
Search Visibility and Brand Tracking Tools
1. Semrush Brand Monitoring
In order to remain relevant in today's market, a company must monitor its brand's performance within the artificial intelligence (AI) search results. Using Semrush, AI engines are monitored as to how many times they include a company's name when generating answers.
Performance marketers can use this data to correlate content being used with search visibility and revenues generated from that content. Semrush provides a detailed view of your company's positioning within AI-generated search summaries.
2. Brand24
With the ability to monitor mentions of your brand on social media, as well as news articles and videos, Brand24 offers a professional pricing plan for approximately $178 a month.
Brand24 provides companies with insight into the tone of their customers' conversation in real-time, allowing communication teams to identify any potential issues that may arise.
3. Attest
Attest allows you to get direct consumer input to see how the brand resonates with consumers who meet your target profile. You can track up to three unique keywords from different plans, with the individual plan costing $79 each month.
Professional tier plans (more keywords) cost $199 a month. This means you receive verifiable data of whether the marketing campaigns you executed shifted external impressions.
4. Sprout Social
Sprout Social, as one example, manages companies' outbound social media postings while also collecting insightful and deep information about how their audiences react to their posts. Entry pricing starts at $399 per month.
The software also allows multiple smaller applications to be combined (schedule postings, messaging, reporting, etc.) and allows for large enterprise teams to manage multiple social profiles at a time.
How to Choose Brand Management Software and Tools
Selecting a platform based solely on the features listed has proven to be a path toward failure to adopt. The most successful teams perform audits of what digital assets they currently hold, determine their operational bottlenecks, and then speak with software vendors about their solutions.
If your external partners are constantly deviating from your established design guidelines, then prioritize solutions with robust template controls. If your internal teams are spending hours looking for files, prioritize brand management software and tools that include automated search capabilities.
Insist on concrete pricing and ensure vendors disclose the total cost of external portals for advertising agencies and advanced reporting dashboards, as well as automated tagging capabilities. Define clear measures of success before the first report is generated, making sure the platform enables quicker and easier daily marketing activities.
Common Questions About Adopting New Systems
What can be done to shorten the time it takes to establish a new asset library?
Many organizations try to bring everything into their new asset library at once resulting in launch times of 4 to 6 weeks; therefore, begin cleaning up the files and bring only the last 12 months into the asset library. After that, keep the older files in an archive until a request for them is made by someone.
What do designers see as the biggest obstacle to adopting new software?
Because of strict template limitations designers become frustrated with regular marketing personnel, who need to make quick, simple modifications. To fix this frustrating experience, design templates that allow flexibility in the design, placing 'lock' features only on the logo and legal information. This will enable non-designers to modify the main background image while keeping the brand protected, enabling marketing personnel to work more efficiently.
Why do we find that initial software price quotes do not match the final bill?
Frequently, the sales representatives represent the basic license fee applicable to internal users; however, the price for external portals for advertising agencies and for advanced reporting dashboards and automated tagging features increases dramatically. Always obtain a written list of all products that are not included in the basic package.
How do we measure whether a new brand portal has been successful or unsuccessful?
You shouldn’t measure the success of the platform by the number of files uploaded to the asset library. Rather, you should track the total number of hours saved each week by the design team in not having to email logos to the sales force. An internal reduction in requests to design indicates that the platform is being utilized.