With motorsports maintaining its high popularity throughout Europe and expanding beyond continental boundaries, Kawasaki and other similar brands are taking advantage of the growing racing market.
Kawasaki is a Japan-based multinational manufacturer of consumer and industrial products, including motorcycles, jet skis, personal watercraft, aircraft, and trains. Its European division uses PhotoShelter to support product launches and events. Additionally, its media clients use its PhotoShelter Brands account to access the brand’s cloud storage functionality.
Over the past two decades, Kawasaki’s European PR Manager Martin Lambert has seen media and various forms of communication rapidly change before his eyes.
The Situation
Recently, Martin Lambert discussed how Kawasaki Europe’s PhotoShelter for Brands DAM has helped transform its real-time event uploads and storage capabilities.
“The media obviously use PhotoShelter for downloading during the event,” Martin stated. “Because we run global events, we have a global user audience…We’ve got a 24/7 need for image access, a 24-hour-a-day need for client support and innovation.”
One example of Kawasaki’s use of PhotoShelter was on display at a supercharged motorcycle launch in Las Vegas. Hosting nearly 50 members of the media, each compiling over 300 pieces of visual content, the need for cloud-based storage was crucial.
“Even though we only have a select number of events each year, we have a lot of material to store,” he mentioned.
The Opportunity
Looking toward the future, Martin highlights how communication channels are changing fast. With companies innovating at a rapid pace after two years of disruption, it’s more essential than ever to deliver assets promptly.
“The manufacturer used to be the voice of authority, but now, peer-to-peer communication dominates. If a customer talks to another customer and recommends a motorcycle, that has much more traction than traditional advertising from the manufacturer,” he advised.
Martin shared an important note about PhotoShelter’s place in contributing to Kawasaki Europe’s efficiency in managing its digital assets.
“Looking outwardly as a manufacturer, there are things that we are not experts at, such as cloud storage that PhotoShelter offers. These key partnerships matter, enabling us to do what we do well and present ourselves successfully as a brand.”
PhotoShelter has eased the transition for Kawasaki Europe, meeting the changing needs of its global audience with efficient cloud-based storage and simple access for users.
The Future
The expanding motorsport market has caused a renewed focus on how innovative brands build their visual storytelling and digital asset management workflow. Companies react to fans, stakeholders, and athletes in real-time will be the clear winners in this race.
To learn more about Kawasaki’s evolving workflow and asset management solution, watch Martin Lambert’s 15-minute presentation below:
Want to learn more about how professional sports brands use digital asset management tools to organize massive media libraries so they can share content in real-time across international markets?
