20+
Countries unified under one platform
500K+
Digital Assets managed centrally
60%
Faster Time-to-Market for campaign launches
8
Content Channels integrated seamlessly
executive summary
A globally recognized premium fashion brand was struggling with fragmented digital asset management across its 20+ country operations. Campaign imagery, product photography, lookbook videos, and brand guidelines were scattered across local file servers, email attachments, and disparate cloud storage solutions, creating brand inconsistency, duplicated effort, and significant delays in campaign launches.
Our consultants were engaged to architect and implement a centralized Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform built on Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). The solution unified all brand media, product information, and video content into a single, governed repository with intelligent metadata, automated workflows, and role-based access for regional teams across Europe.
The engagement spanned 14 months from discovery and architecture through phased rollout, resulting in a 60% reduction in time-to-market for seasonal campaigns, 40% decrease in duplicated assets, and a unified brand experience across all digital and physical touchpoints.
We take our clients’ confidentiality seriously. While we’ve changed their names and certain identifying details, the results are real.
CLIENT PROFILE
Sector
Duration
14 months
Region
Europe
Solution
DAM
01. Context & Challenges
A Global Premium Fashion Brand
The client, a European luxury fashion house with a heritage spanning over five decades, had grown rapidly through international expansion. However, its digital infrastructure had not kept pace. Each regional office operated independently, creating a web of disconnected asset repositories that undermined the brand’s carefully curated identity.
Key Challenges
Fragmented Asset Storage
Brand assets were scattered across 15+ local file servers, 8 cloud storage accounts, and countless email threads. Regional teams spent an average of 3.5 hours per week searching for the correct version of campaign materials.
Brand Inconsistency Across Markets
Without centralized governance, regional teams frequently used outdated logos, incorrect color profiles, and unauthorized imagery, diluting the brand's premium positioning in key markets.
Slow Campaign Rollouts
Seasonal campaign launches required manual distribution of assets to 20+ country teams via FTP and email, resulting in 4–6 week delays between headquarters creative approval and local market activation.
No Video Asset Management
The brand's growing investment in video content (runway shows, behind-the-scenes, product videos) had no structured management system. Videos were shared via WeTransfer links with no version control or rights management.
Disconnected Product Information
Product descriptions, pricing tiers, material specifications, and care instructions were maintained in separate spreadsheets per region, leading to inconsistent product pages across e-commerce channels.
Compliance & Rights Gaps
Model release forms, photographer licensing agreements, and usage rights were tracked manually in spreadsheets creating legal exposure as the brand scaled its digital advertising spend.
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02. our approach
Our Approach & Solution
RedEx deployed a cross-functional team combining Adobe AEM expertise, luxury brand experience, and enterprise integration capabilities. Our approach centered on three strategic pillars: Consolidate, Govern, and Distribute ensuring the platform not only stored assets but actively accelerated the brand’s go-to-market velocity.
Services Provided
DAM Architecture & Design
Adobe AEM Assets platform architecture with custom metadata schemas for fashion taxonomy
Asset Migration & Taxonomy
Migration of 500K+ assets from 15+ sources with AI-assisted tagging and deduplication
Workflow Automation
Custom approval workflows for creative review, rights management, and regional distribution
Multi-Region Deployment
CDN-optimized delivery across 20+ countries with localized metadata and access controls
Video Asset Management
Integrated video transcoding, streaming, and version control for runway and campaign content
PIM Integration
Product Information Management bridge connecting DAM assets to e-commerce product catalogs.
Rights & Compliance Engine
Automated rights tracking for model releases, photographer licenses, and usage expiration alerts
AI-Powered Search & Discovery
Smart search with visual similarity, auto-tagging, and natural language queries across the asset library
Implementation Roadmap
Phase 1
Discovery & Architecture
- Stakeholder interviews across 8 regional offices
- Current-state asset audit and taxonomy analysis
- Adobe AEM architecture design and infrastructure planning
- Metadata schema design aligned with fashion industry standards
- Integration blueprint for e-commerce, CMS, and social platforms
Phase 2
Platform Build & Migration
- Adobe AEM Assets deployment on Adobe Managed Services
- Custom metadata schemas: Collection, Season, SKU, Campaign, Region
- AI-powered auto-tagging using Adobe Sensei for visual recognition
- Migration of 500K+ assets with deduplication (40% reduction)
Video transcoding pipeline with adaptive streaming
Phase 3
Workflow & Integration
- Creative approval workflows with multi-level sign-off
- Rights management engine with expiration alerts
- PIM integration bridging product data to asset metadata
- CDN configuration for optimized global delivery
- API layer for headless asset delivery to 8 channels
Phase 4
Regional Rollout & Training
- Phased rollout: Europe → Asia-Pacific → Americas → Middle East
- Role-based training for 200+ users across 20+ countries
- Regional admin onboarding with localized documentation
- Performance optimization and load testing
- Hypercare support and adoption monitoring
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03. The Outcomes
Deliverables
The engagement produced a comprehensive suite of deliverables spanning platform architecture, content governance, and operational documentation.
Description
Adobe AEM DAM Platform
Fully configured Adobe AEM Assets instance with custom schemas, workflows, and integrations deployed on Adobe Managed Services.
Fashion Metadata Taxonomy
Hierarchical taxonomy covering Collection, Season, SKU, Campaign, Region, Asset Type, Usage Rights, and 15+ custom attributes.
Asset Migration Report
Comprehensive migration documentation covering 500K+ assets from 15+ sources with deduplication analysis and quality audit.
Creative Approval Workflows
Multi-level approval workflows with role-based routing for creative review, legal sign-off, and regional distribution.
Rights Management Engine
Automated tracking system for model releases, photographer licenses, and usage rights with expiration alerts and compliance dashboards.
PIM Integration Layer
Bidirectional integration connecting DAM assets to product catalogs, ensuring consistent product imagery across all e-commerce channels.
API & Headless Delivery Layer
RESTful API layer enabling headless asset delivery to 8 channels including web, mobile app, social media, and in-store displays.
Governance & Operations Playbook
Comprehensive governance framework covering naming conventions, metadata standards, approval SLAs, and escalation procedures.
Technology Stack
- Adobe AEM Assets
- Adobe Sensei AI
- Adobe Dynamic Media
- AWS CloudFront CDN
- REST APIs
- Adobe Analytics
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04. The OUTCOMES
Key Results
Before & After Comparison
METRIC
BEFORE
AFTER
IMPACT
Campaign Launch Time
4–6 weeks
1–2 weeks
60% faster
Asset Search Time
3.5 hrs/week per user
< 30 min/week
85% reduction
Duplicate Assets
~40% redundancy
< 5% redundancy
40% storage savings
Brand Compliance Rate
~65% across regions
97% across regions
+32 percentage points
Video Distribution
Manual via WeTransfer
Automated streaming
Real-time global access
Strategic Impact
Revenue Acceleration
Faster campaign launches enabled the brand to capture seasonal demand windows more effectively, contributing to a measurable uplift in e-commerce conversion rates across key markets.
Brand Consistency
97% brand compliance rate across all 20+ markets — up from 65% — ensuring the premium brand identity is maintained from Paris to Helsinki.
Operational Efficiency
Creative and marketing teams reclaimed an estimated 1,200+ hours per quarter previously spent on asset searching, version management, and manual distribution.
Risk Mitigation
Automated rights management eliminated the risk of using expired licenses or unauthorized imagery, protecting the brand from potential legal exposure as digital ad spend scaled.
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05. Outcome Summary
Insights & Lessons Learned
With seasonal collections spanning ready-to-wear, accessories, leather goods, and fragrances, the brand produces thousands of product images, campaign videos, and editorial assets each year, all requiring precise management to maintain the brand’s premium positioning across every customer touchpoint worldwide.
01
- Taxonomy Is the Foundation of DAM Success
The most critical investment was not the technology but the metadata taxonomy. A fashion-specific schema — covering Collection, Season, SKU, Campaign, Region, and Usage Rights, ensured that every asset was discoverable, governable, and reusable. Without this foundation, even the most powerful DAM becomes an expensive file server.
02
- AI Tagging Accelerates Adoption, Not Replaces Governance
Adobe Sensei’s visual recognition capabilities dramatically accelerated the migration and ongoing tagging process. However, AI-generated tags required human validation for fashion-specific nuances distinguishing between ‘navy’ as a color and ‘navy’ as a style reference, for example. The hybrid approach of AI suggestion + human curation proved most effective.
03
- Regional Autonomy Within Global Governance
The key to 95% adoption was balancing central control with regional flexibility. Regional teams could create localized collections and add market-specific metadata while operating within the global governance framework. This ‘freedom within a framework’ approach respected local market needs while maintaining brand integrity.
04
- Video Is the Next Frontier for Fashion DAM
Video content represented only 8% of assets by count but consumed 60% of storage and generated the highest engagement across channels. Building a robust video pipeline with automated transcoding, adaptive streaming, and thumbnail generation proved essential for the brand’s content strategy evolution toward video-first storytelling.
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06. RedEx Perspective
Action That Translates Strategy
This engagement exemplifies RedEx’s approach to enterprise DAM where technology implementation is inseparable from content strategy, governance design, and change management. Adobe AEM provided the platform, but the real transformation came from understanding how a luxury fashion brand creates, curates, and distributes its visual identity across a complex global operation.
The phased rollout strategy, starting with the European headquarters and expanding region by region, allowed us to refine workflows and training based on real user feedback before scaling globally. This iterative approach was critical to achieving the 95% adoption rate within six months of full deployment.
Engagement Director
Strategic oversight, client relationship, executive steering committee alignment
DAM Consultant
Taxonomy design, metadata strategy, governance framework, training program
Migration & QA/QC
Asset migration, deduplication, quality assurance, data mapping
Solution Architect
Adobe AEM architecture, integration design, technical governance
AEM Developer (x2)
Platform customization, workflow development, API layer, video pipeline
Change Management Lead
Stakeholder engagement, regional training, adoption monitoring, documentation
READY TO TALK?
Ready to Centralize Your Brand Assets?
From DAM architecture and asset migration to global rollout and change management, let our Adobe AEM experts transform how your brand manages and distributes digital content.
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