Rand McNally

Rand McNally went through a rebrand, which prompted them to finally kick their FTP server to the curb in favor of a Digital Asset Management platform, Brandfolder. With Brandfolder, the folks at Rand McNally have found the perfect fit. They use the platform to house, share, and manage product imagery, logos, and even a brand style guide. In this case study, Rand McNally's Design Director, Joerg Metzner, shares why he selected Brandfolder, why it's been a great asset to their team, and how he achieved that elusive 100% adoption rate.

Why Rand McNally decided it was time for a new DAM

Rand McNally has been a Brandfolder customer since 2015 when they completed a corporate rebrand. "We needed to make new logo and brand files easily available to the whole organization," says Rand McNally Design Director Joerg Metzner. "We were mainly looking for a DAM solution for our photo library. I looked at a variety of solutions for our brand assets, and I looked at how we could best disseminate those assets in a way that would ensure that they were always correct."

Rand McNally was also impressed that its new DAM wouldn't require a new hire. "With a lot of other systems, you almost need a full-time administrator. For us, Brandfolder was a pretty easy sell." Metzner also says that getting approval for an increased budget, as they've grown their asset library, hasn't been difficult. The value add that Rand McNally execs see coming from Brandfolder makes adding more assets to their platform a no-brainer

Solution

"I reviewed a number of DAM platforms and I talked to a lot of sales representatives. Brandfolder was my recommendation to our CMO and CEO," says Metzner of the selection process. When asked what set Brandfolder apart from the other DAMs he vetted, Metzner was quick to respond, "Very clearly, it's the simplicity — from setup to the ease of use. Yet, when you dive in, there are a lot of features that have great depth, like how you can share, and how you can set links to expire."

Brandfolder has given me, as brand steward, the opportunity to seamlessly control brand assets and make it easy and painless for anyone to use them. – Joerg Metzner, Design Director at Rand McNally

Customer service and ease of use

Of the transition from onboarding to customer service, Metzner says, "It's been seamless. There is a consistent level of support. Brandfolder's Customer Experience team also checks up on us once in awhile, which is nice."

Before Brandfolder, Rand McNally had a central FTP server where they tried to keep images, logos, and other assets straight. "But everyone was on that FTP server, so it was hard to locate specific assets for specific projects. There were folders set up to push PR, sales, etc., too, but these folders were difficult to access, and you had to dial in. Many times, it was impossible to find what you needed."

Metzner continues by saying that his team would often get calls asking for assets. They would try to direct those asking for the correct folder, but much of the time the response was, "I don't have time to open the FTP."

Another big plus of Brandfolder is that it's very visual. You open a page and immediately see everything right there. That's how it should be. We looked at solutions that weren't visually appealing or intuitive. Brandfolder really nailed that part.

"We've broken it down by our various businesses. We're housing product logos as well as our overall brand logos. Then, we've got high-resolution, print-ready product images, and packaging and display collateral. This is great, because when someone asks us for presentation assets, we can just send them a link to our Brandfolder!"

Metzner also explains that his designers don't have a hard time taking advantage of Brandfolder features like resizing and changing the formatting on images.

"Before Brandfolder, a lot of people would default back to us because they didn't understand how to format or size images. We don't have that problem now."

I know that everyone, including our CEO, has become very reliant on Brandfolder. The fact that no one's talking about it much is great to me. It's part of the workflow that no one questions — but I know they're using it! – Joerg Metzner, Design Director at Rand McNally

Corporate rebrand and 100% adoption rate

"Brandfolder has been the perfect platform to make our new brand assets, like logos and product images, easily and quickly available to the entire organization. I love knowing whether an asset is up to date, or whether it needs the newest version added or created."

When we asked Metzner how he achieved a staggering 100% adoption rate among Rand McNally employees, he didn't flinch. "It's the simplicity. There simply was no choice. When we implemented Brandfolder, we took away the FTP and turned it off, so everyone needed to get to the Brandfolder. I can tell you that everyone was happy to have an easy way to access assets." In closing, Metzner was optimistic, "I feel we're just scratching the surface of what we can do with this platform."

Brandfolder has been the perfect platform to make our new brand assets, such as logos and product images, easily and quickly available to the entire organization. I love knowing whether an asset is up to date, or whether it needs the newest version added or created. – Joerg Metzner, Design Director at Rand McNally

Interested in learning how Brandfolder can help you manage, distribute and analyze your brand assets?