Delaware North Selects Widen Media Collective to Manage Launch of New Brand Media Assets

MADISON, WI--(Marketwired - August 11, 2015) - Delaware North, a global foodservice and hospitality company based in Buffalo, N.Y., has selected the Widen Media Collective for its digital asset management (DAM) needs. Delaware North will use Widen's cloud-based DAM solution to organize many different types of digital media files and to improve collaboration between marketing and design teams.

Being a global company, Delaware North outgrew its previous storage process, which included managing media files at the local level, on desktop computers and in shared network drives. Visibility into the issue became evident as Delaware North maxed out its storage space, had no way to search or determine version or validity of assets and lost assets.

"We launched a new brand and the files were too large to share via email. We needed central storage and outside access for external vendors," said Kerry Hassen, digital marketing manager at Delaware North. "All of those forces came together and helped us realize we needed a system to help."

Delaware North began its research for a solution through search engines and peer-to-peer communication. The company developed a list of "must have" functionality to present to various DAM software vendors. Being new to the world of digital asset management, it also consumed various educational materials provided by many different sources.

"One of the things that I found was that Widen was forthright in the information it provides online," Hassen said. "It was not necessarily a sales pitch, but more general education on DAM that I found helpful in educating myself."

Ultimately, Delaware North chose the Widen Media Collective because it met the company's core functionality needs. Delaware North liked the simplicity and clarity in which the system presents options to users. The ease of use eliminated any concerns the company had of its external vendors being able to effectively work within the system, even without training.

"We also liked the workflow and administration functionality," Hassen said. "It gave us everything we wanted at a great price. The transparency and patience of the Widen team was also very comforting to us being new to DAM. They were able to share other customers of theirs that were like us, which gave us confidence in our decision."

Delaware North envisions the DAM giving the digital marketing team the tools it needs to have strong management and control of all its assets. As a small team, the ability for users to have on-demand global access -- eliminating the need to call or email -- will increase efficiency and reduce costs.

"We're excited to work with Delaware North on managing their digital media," stated Chris Rewey, senior advisor at Widen. "Central storage and global distribution are two strong benefits of the Media Collective so there is a perfect fit between our offering and Delaware North's needs. We also look forward to expanding and helping them with more of their media workflows as our relationship matures."

About Delaware North
Delaware North is one of the largest privately-held hospitality and food service companies in the world. Founded in 1915 and owned by the Jacobs family for 100 years, Delaware North has global operations at high-profile places such as sports and entertainment venues, national and state parks, destination resorts and restaurants, airports, and regional casinos. Our 60,000 employee associates are dedicated to creating special experiences one guest at a time in serving more than a half-billion guests annually. Delaware North has annual revenue of $3 billion in the sports, travel hospitality, restaurants and catering, parks, resorts, gaming, and specialty retail industries. "Delaware North" is a reference to Delaware North Companies Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries, including location-specific operating entities. Learn more about Delaware North, a global leader in hospitality and food service, at www.delawarenorth.com.

About Widen Enterprises, Inc.
Widen is a marketing technology company that powers the content that builds your brand. Leveraging cloud-based resources, Widen delivers configurable, scalable, and cost-effective digital asset management solutions to help you easily store, search and share your digital content. Organizations of all sizes use Widen's SaaS DAM solution, the Media Collective, to streamline their marketing and creative workflows and make their content work harder. Widen is trusted by hundreds of thousands of users around the world at organizations like LG, Roche, Trek, Cornell University, New Orleans Tourism Marketing, The Atlanta Falcons, Red Gold Tomatoes, Electrolux, and Yankee Candle. To learn more about Widen, go to http://www.widen.com.